The headland on which Topkapi Palace stands is known as Sarayburnu (Seraglio Point). Sarayburnu lies at the mouth of Bosphorus overlooking both this strait, the Golden Horn and the Marmara Sea. The palace built here by the Ottomans was for 400 years the administrative centre of the empire as well as the private home of the sultan. This picture of Sarayburnu in the mid-19th century shows the ruins of the summer palace on the shore, and Gulhane Barracks in the background.

A 16th century miniature showing the Topkapi Palace in the Plan of Istanbul (by Matrakci Nasuh)