Büyük Saray Mozaikleri Müzesi

The Great Palace Mosaic Museum is located in Arasta Bazaar, to the south of the Sultanahmet Camii Complex. The building was constructed so as to enclose the partially preserved mosaic pavement in the northeastern section of the colonnaded courtyard of the Great Palace of the Byzantine Empire.

The mosaics exhibited in the Great Palace Mosaic Museum, dated to between AD 450-550, were crafted with unique mastery and are magnificent both artistically and in terms of the richness of the depicted scenes. The mosaic stones consist of limestone, terracotta and colored stones averaging 5 millimeters in size. The depictions were placed between pieces of marble and their surroundings were bounded by contours.

No religious subjects are encountered in the mosaics, worked in a fish-scale style on a white background. The subjects were taken from daily life and nature. Among these are scenes depicting a griffin eating a lizard, the struggle between an elephant and a lion, a mare suckling her foal, children herding geese, a man milking a goat, a child feeding his donkey, a young girl carrying a jug, bears eating apples and the struggle between a hunter and a tiger.

The museum was opened in 1953 under the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, and in 1970 it was attached to the Hagia Sophia Museum.

Places to Visit in Istanbul Address: Kabasakal Cad. Torun Arasta Çarşısı Sok. No:103, Sultanahmet Fatih Istanbul