Third Courtyard

The Gate of Felicity, known in Ottoman Turkish as Babüssaade or Bab-üs Saadet, was constructed in the mid-15th century under Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror as part of the original layout of Topkapi Palace after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. It formed the critical threshold between the Second Courtyard — the outer administrative and ceremonial zone — and the Third Courtyard, which was the Inner Palace, or Enderun, establishing a strict spatial hierarchy that reflected the sultan’s seclusion and absolute authority. Over the centuries it underwent multiple repairs and stylistic updates, most notably a major redecoration in the rococo style in 1774 under Sultan Mustafa III and further work during the reign of Mahmud II, giving it much of its present appearance while preserving its foundational 15th-century role as a symbol of imperial power and the boundary of the sultan’s private domain.

In daily palace life, the gate served as the exclusive entrance to the sultan’s private quarters, to the Enderun school for students, to the Audience Chamber, to the Imperial Treasury and to related inner structures. The passage was rigorously controlled by the Chief of the White Eunuchs — the Kapı Ağası — and his staff, and even the grand vizier could cross it only on designated days with explicit permission. Ceremonially it was far more significant: the sultan’s throne was placed directly in front of the gate for accession ceremonies, also known as Cülus, in which officials swore allegiance; for Bayram greetings at religious festivals; for imperial funerals; and for the solemn presentation of the Holy Banner — the Sancak-ı Şerif — to commanders departing on campaign. These rituals, conducted under the gate’s canopy, visually reinforced the sultan’s semi-divine status and the absolute separation between the outer world of state administration and the inner world of the sovereign.

The gate is a domed structure supported by slender marble columns, fronted by a broad portico or canopy with sweeping eaves. Its current decorative scheme blends Ottoman and European influences: the ceiling is painted and gold-leafed with a golden ball suspended from the centre, the archway bears verses from the Quran and imperial tughras — the imperial monograms — and the sides feature baroque elements together with landscape frescoes. White-marble columns with ornate capitals, gilded details and a generally elegant rather than purely defensive character distinguish it from the more fortress-like outer gates; the overall effect is one of refined ceremonial presence rather than monumental grandeur.

The Gate of Felicity stands as a well-preserved and highly visited feature of the Topkapi Palace Museum, which has operated as a public museum since 1924 and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Historic Areas of Istanbul. Visitors can freely approach and photograph the gate from the Second Courtyard and pass through it into the Third Courtyard to view the Audience Chamber, the Library of Ahmed III, the Treasury and the Sacred Relics chambers. It remains a key photographic and educational highlight, often framed by costumed guards in historical attire, and continues to illustrate the hierarchical organisation and ceremonial life of the Ottoman court for modern audiences.

The Enderun Library, also known as the Library of Ahmed III or III. Ahmed Kütüphanesi, was commissioned by Sultan Ahmed III and constructed in 1719 during the culturally flourishing Tulip Period — the Lâle Devri. It replaced an earlier, neglected pavilion known as the Havuzlu Köşk, built under Selim II by the architect Sinan, which stood in the centre of the Third Courtyard behind the Audience Chamber. The sultan ordered the new building specifically to gather scattered manuscripts from various palace treasuries, from the Has Oda and from other locations into a single, purpose-built structure, so that they could be properly preserved and made accessible rather than remaining unused in storage. Construction began in February 1719 with a ceremonial foundation-laying in which Ahmed III himself used a symbolic golden pickaxe associated with his grandfather Ahmed I, and the library was formally opened in November of the same year under a detailed endowment deed — the Vakfiye — that regulated its purpose, staffing and rules.

The library functioned primarily as a working research and study space for the elite pages and scholars of the Enderun school, as well as for the sultan and high-ranking palace officials. Its collection of theological, scientific, legal, literary and historical manuscripts in Ottoman Turkish, Arabic and Persian was actively consulted rather than merely stored. A dedicated reading alcove opposite the entrance served as the sultan’s private study, while the main hall and side iwans allowed controlled access according to the endowment rules, which prohibited books from leaving the premises.

Enderun pages who studied its volumes formed the administrative elite of the empire and frequently rose to the highest offices, including the grand vizierate, thereby linking the library closely to the training of future state leaders.

The library is a refined Tulip-Period pavilion in the form of a Greek cross, raised on a high basement to protect the books from dampness. A central square hall under a dome opens onto three rectangular iwans — side halls — covered by vaults, while the fourth arm consists of a three-arched portico reached by twin staircases and supported by marble columns. The entire exterior is clad in white marble; the entrance façade features an elegant fountain with rumî reliefs and drinking taps dated 1719. Inside, the walls are richly decorated with İznik tiles, painted and stuccoed domes, and mother-of-pearl and ivory-inlaid wooden bookcases and window shutters, creating an intimate yet luminous interior lit by numerous windows.

Today the Enderun Library remains a well-preserved and highly visited component of the Topkapi Palace Museum. Its manuscript collection was transferred in 1966 to the nearby Ağalar Mosque — now the main Topkapi Palace Library — so the building itself no longer houses the original books, yet the structure continues to be open to the public after successive restorations, the most recent major campaign completed between 2014 and 2018. Visitors can admire the marble exterior, the portico fountain and the richly decorated interior, which still conveys the intellectual and aesthetic ideals of the Tulip Period at the heart of the Third Courtyard.

The Privy Chamber, originally known as the Has Oda, was constructed in the late 15th century under Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror as part of the earliest core of the Third Courtyard. Positioned in the north-western corner overlooking the hanging gardens and connecting toward the Harem, it served as the sultan’s principal private residence, throne room and bedroom. After Selim I the Grim’s conquest of Egypt in 1517, the building acquired profound new significance when the Sacred Relics — the Mukaddes Emanetler — were brought to Istanbul and gradually housed there; by the reign of Mahmud II in the early 19th century it had been fully dedicated to these holy objects and became known as the Chamber of the Blessed Mantle, the Hırka-i Saadet Dairesi.

In its early centuries the Has Oda functioned as the sultan’s intimate living quarters, attended by the elite pages of the Has Odalılar. It was the site of private audiences, rest and daily life within the male inner palace. Once the Sacred Relics arrived, its role evolved into that of a sacred shrine. The sultan and selected officials performed annual ceremonial visits, especially on the 15th day of Ramadan, to venerate the objects. Continuous Quranic recitation began as a tradition under Selim I and has continued almost without interruption for over five centuries, reinforcing the chamber’s dual identity as both a former imperial residence and the spiritual heart of the Ottoman caliphate.

The chamber stores one of the world’s most important collections of Islamic sacred relics, primarily objects associated with the Prophet Muhammad, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Companions and earlier prophets, as well as items linked to the Kaaba.