Category: Cultural
Type: Museum
Location: Sultanahmet, Arasta Çarşısı St. Fatih
Date: 1953
Designer: Unknown
Period: Ottoman Empire
Photos: Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı Yenilik ve Eğitim Teknolojileri Genel Müdürlüğü
The Great Palace Mosaic Museum in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district is a dedicated conservation site housing the surviving floor mosaics of a grand peristyle courtyard from the Byzantine Great Palace. Dated primarily between 450 and 550 AD, these artworks are often attributed to the reign of Justinian I, although some historical analyses suggest they could date to the 7th-century reign of Heraclius. The mosaics were first identified in the 1930s by Ernest Mamboury and later systematically excavated by a team from the University of St. Andrews during the 1930s and 1950s. Unlike many contemporary Byzantine works, these pieces focus on secular themes, depicting vibrant scenes of hunting, pastoral life, and mythology, such as children riding camels or a mother nursing her child. The museum building, which serves as a protective shell over the original site, opened in 1953 and was significantly modernized through a collaborative restoration project led by Professor Werner Jobst between 1982 and 1997.
