In the times of its splendour the palatial complex consisted of 72 buildings, including 18 baths and eight mosques. Approximately 34 thousand people lived in the palace area in its heydey. These inhabitants were served by six thousand members of palace staff. It these times the Edirne Palace competed with Topkapı Palace in Istanbul with its size and luxurious furnishings.
If you start sightseeing from the area of the car park, the first structure you can see is the Felicity Gate (Bab’üs Sa’ade), also called the Gate of White Eunuchs (Ak Ağalar Kapısı). It was reconstructed in the years 2001-2004. It used to lead to the main building of the palace, known as the Panoramic Pavilion (Cihannüma Kasrı) or the Imperial Throne (Taht-ı Hümayun). Now heavily damaged, it once consisted of the Sultan’s room, a flag room, a library, a small mosque, and other rooms. It was built between 1450 and 1451, as a seven-storey structure with an octagonal room on the top floor. Initial archaeological excavations of this monument took place in 1956, but it has not been reconstructed yet.
To the south of the Panoramic Pavilion, there were three adjacent pavilions, constructed for Mehmed IV, Mustafa II, and Ahmed III. There were also harem rooms for the sultan’s mother, his four wives, consorts, princes. All these buildings have been destroyed. Walking further to the north of the Panoramic Pavilion and crossing a small stream, you will reach another heavily damaged but visible structure of Water Depot (Su Maksemi). This building, which is rarely mentioned in the publications about Edirne New Palace, has a rectangular plan. The building has three floors and a basement. The first floor, rising on the two-partition basement floor, is divided into two sections. The third floor consists of a single room, located in the east-west direction. No known inscriptions provide the date of its construction, but on the basis of its architecture and building materials, the researchers attribute it to the 15th century. The interior walls of two rooms with cradle vaults, situated on the first floor of the building, were plastered with cement mortar, probably during the military use of the palace in the 20th century.
Sand Pavilion Bathhouse (Kum Kasrı Hamamı) lies to the east of the Panoramic Pavilion. This simple bathhouse, built by Mehmed the Conqueror, consists of three main sections, known as sıcaklık (caldarium – hot water room), ılıklık (tepidarium warm water room), and soğukluk (frigidarium – cold water room). These three sections are covered with three small domes. The bathhouse used to be connected to the main palace with a walkway. These baths were once used by the favourite concubine of Suleiman the Magnificient, the famous Hürrem Sultan (Roxolane). Archaeological excavations were undertaken there in 2000, revealing the existence of water supply system. The current appearance of the Sand Pavilion Bathhouse results from heavy restoration works, finished in 2011.
Imperial Kitchen (Matbah-ı Amire) is located to the south of the Panoramic Pavilion, on the other side of the modern road. It is a long, rectangular-plan building covered with eight domes. The western part of the structure is divided into four square spaces, and two equally large sections on the east side are divided into two square spaces. Each space is covered with a dome. There are four rectangular hearth furnaces made of bricks in the interior of the building and cut-stone chimneys on the roof. The building has been heavily renovated. Extensive excavations were carried out around the Imperial Kitchen in 2013, as can be seen to the south of the structure.
More historical structures stand close to the palace ruins, next to the oil-wresting stadium. The first of these is the so-called Justice Hall (Kasr-ı Adalet). It is a stone rectangular tower with a pointed metal roof, erected in 1561 by order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient. It is the only structure of the palace complex that remained intact. It is located next to the tiny Mehmet the Conqueror Bridge.
Just next to this tower, two stone columns with square bases still stand. The column on the right
side was called the Respect Stone (Seng-i Hürmet) where the subjects could place their petitions to the sultan. The left column was called the Warning Stone (Seng-i İbret). Its name perfectly reflects its function was to display the capitated heads of criminals or the palace officials who fell out of the sultan’s favour.
Just next to this tower, two stone columns with square bases still stand. The column on the right side was called the Respect Stone (Seng-i Hürmet) where the subjects could place their petitions to the sultan. The left column was called the Warning Stone (Seng-i İbret). Its name perfectly reflects its function was to display the capitated heads of criminals or the palace officials who fell out of the sultan’s favour.
Other structures from the Ottoman times in the area of the palace are the bridges that lead to the Sarayiçi Island: Şahabeddin Paşa Bridge from 1451, Mehmet the Conqueror Bridge from 1452, and Suleiman the Magnificient bridge from 1553-1554. They are discussed in a separate text.
Northeast to the Sand Pavilion Bathhouse, a prayer platform (namazgah) is situated which was built in the second half of the 16th century. Behind its marble mihrab, there is a fountain (Namazgâhli Çeşme).
Finally, as the palace was built near extensive hunting ground, there is the Hunting Lodge (Bülbül Kasrı or Av Köşkü), hidden the forest to the north-east of the palace comlex and the olive oil wrestling stadium (41.693987, 26.564407). It was built in 1671 by Mehmed IV, not surprisingly known as Mehmed the Hunter. It remained partly intact but underwent a restoration in 2002, funded by the municipality of Edirne. According to an existing drawing, the mansion, rising on a square-shaped pedestal, was built with regularly cut stones and had a folding roof.
Other structures from the Ottoman times in the area of the palace are the bridges that lead to the Sarayiçi Island: Şahabeddin Paşa Bridge from 1451, Mehmet the Conqueror Bridge from 1452, and Suleiman the Magnificient bridge from 1553-1554. They are discussed in a separate text.
Northeast to the Sand Pavilion Bathhouse, a prayer platform (namazgah) is situated which was built in the second half of the 16th century. Behind its marble mihrab, there is a fountain (Namazgâhli Çeşme).
Finally, as the palace was built near extensive hunting ground, there is the Hunting Lodge (Bülbül Kasrı or Av Köşkü), hidden the forest to the north-east of the palace comlex and the olive oil wrestling stadium (41.693987, 26.564407). It was built in 1671 by Mehmed IV, not surprisingly known as Mehmed the Hunter. It remained partly intact but underwent a restoration in 2002, funded by the municipality of Edirne. According to an existing drawing, the mansion, rising on a square-shaped pedestal, was built with regularly cut stones and had a folding roof.