Great Palace Mosaics Museum — Attraction in Fatih

The Museum of Great Palace Mosaics

The Museum of Great Palace Mosaics is located in Arasta Bazaar within the Sultanahmet Mosque compound. The museum constituted in such a way that containing the mosaic pavement partially intact in the northeast section of the arcaded yard of the Great Palace of East-Roman period is an organizational unit of Hagia Sophia Museum.

Mosaics exhibited in the Museum of Great Palace Mosaics which have been dated to AD 450-550 are magnificent in terms of both art and wealth of portrayal scenes. Only a part of 180 m2 of the mosaic area which had been prepared by numerous master artists led by the prominent masters of the day is revealed. The average dimension of mosaic stones is 5 mm and they consist of limestone, earthenware and colored stones. Portrayals are "Opus vermiculatum" and placed in between marble pieces. As for the white marble sections on the background, "fish scale technique" has been applied. In addition, the surroundings of the portrayals forming the mosaic are bordered by contours.

There are no religious themes in mosaics. Instead, daily life, nature and mythology are examined. Some of these scenes are lizard eating gryphon, elephant and lion fight, lactation of mare, goose herding children, goat milking man, a child feeding his donkey, a young girl carrying a pot, apple eating bears, and fight of hunter and tiger. The Museum of Great Palace Mosaics had been bonded to Archeology Museums of İstanbul in 1953, while it has been is an organizational unit of the directorate of Hagia Sophia Museum.

Great Palace Mosaic Museum is available everyday for visiting

Summer Schedule- 15 APRİL - 25 OCTOBER Visiting Hours: 09.00 - 19.00

Hours of...

Located behind a small bazaar, between the Blue Mosque and the Sea, the museum houses a small part of the mosaics on which the Byzantine emperors walk, dressed in their purple robes, starting with Justinian, in the Royal Palace's rooms. You have the opportunity to see a wealth of colors and a finesse of detail that touched painting and give you an idea not only about the craftsmanship of the mosaic craftsmen for more than 1,500 years ago, but also about what Imperial luxury meant at that time. Many tourist guides allocate 1 hour for visiting, but you have to be hardened, so your soul will not resonate with such beauties that make you will not to leave. Entry is paid and can be shot indoors, but without a flash. Situat în spatele unui mic bazar, între Moscheea Albastră și mare, muzeul adăpostește o mică parte din mozaicurile pe care pășeau, îmbrăcați cu mantiile lor purpurii, împărații bizantini, începând cu Justinian, în încăperile Palatului Regal. Aveți ocazia să vedeți o bogăție a culorilor și o finețe a detaliilor care frizează pictura și să vă faceți o idee nu numai despre meșteșugul meșterilor mozaicari de acum mai bine de 1500 de ani, dar și despre ce însemna, la acea dată, luxul imperial. Multe ghiduri turistice alocă 1 oră pentru vizitare, dar trebuie să fi împietrit, pentru ca sufletul tău să nu rezoneze la asemenea frumuseți, încât să nu-ți mai vină să pleci. Intrarea este plătită și se poate fotografia la interior,...

I have visited a lot of Roman ruins and mosaics in many countries and these are the best, biggest, and most colourful and intricate mosaics I have ever seen. The people dissing it in the reviews here have no idea how amazing and special it is to see something like this!!

Before I visited I thought it was just a random collection of mosaics, but it is THE mosaic that decorated the Imperial Palace of Constantinople, in the time of Justinian I - an enormous floor mosaic (now displayed with some pieces separately as it hasn’t all survived).

The mosaics are intricate and colourful, with amazing gradients of colours and incredible subjects of hunting scenes, wild animals (often eating other animals, including mosaic blood), mystical creatures and children playing. Apparently there’s 40,000 tiles to the square metre with about 75-80 million tiles here total.

This is an incredibly underrated attraction and for people into Roman ruins, this will be a highlight.

If you have the highly worthwhile Museum Pass it’s free entry here (I recommend getting the pass as it saves you money if you plan to visit Aya Sofya, Topkapi Palace and the Archaeological Museum and you skip...