Politics · Turkey · 13 hrs ago
Five new museums open at Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened five museums at Topkapı Palace in Istanbul on Saturday.
The museums display 10,500 artifacts from the palace collection after the historic Darphane-i Amire complex was restored.
The collection includes more than 2,000 calligraphy works that had been kept in storage and are now being shown for the first time.
Topkapı Palace is a major landmark of the Ottoman Empire, and the new museums add to the historical and cultural objects visitors can see there.
Erdoğan said protecting heritage means passing its knowledge and traditions to future generations, not only restoring buildings and displaying objects.
He also criticized past administrations, accusing them of neglecting Türkiye’s history and cultural identity.
The restored complex is now open as a museum district, giving the public access to the newly displayed collection.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated five museums at Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace on Saturday.
The museums open 10,500 artifacts from the palace collection to the public after restoration of the Darphane-i Amire complex.
More than 2,000 examples of Islamic calligraphy, previously kept in storage, will be displayed for the first time across 12 halls.
The complex includes a museum of arms that Erdoğan described as the first established during the Ottoman period.
The restored site also includes a library and a research centre with more than 800,000 written and visual sources in digital form.
- Who
- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated the museums.
- What
- Five museums opened at Topkapı Palace, displaying 10,500 artifacts from its collection.
- When
- Saturday, October 24, 2026.
- Where
- The restored Darphane-i Amire complex at Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Türkiye.
- Why
- The restoration made more of the palace’s collection accessible to the public. Erdoğan said the work aimed to protect cultural heritage and pass it on to future generations.
Erdoğan
Critics of the restoration
Purpose of the project
Erdoğan
Erdoğan said the restoration created museums and a cultural destination.
Critics of the restoration
Critics alleged the site was being prepared as an office or residence for Erdoğan.
Outcome of the work
Erdoğan
Erdoğan said those allegations were false and that the complex had become a museum district.
Critics of the restoration
Erdoğan said the critics’ claims had proved false; their response is not stated in the sources.
Erdoğan said work on the Darphane-i Amire complex began, amid allegations that it was being prepared for use as his office or residence.
Three palace buildings—the Fatih Kiosk, Seferli Ward and Treasury Ward—and the Mecidiye Kiosk were opened to visitors, according to Erdoğan.
The Art Museum opened, Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan inaugurated five museums at Topkapı Palace, making 10,500 artifacts available to visitors.
- Museums opened
- 5
- Artifacts made accessible
- 10,500
- Restored complex
- 7 buildings, 46 halls and 17,000 square metres
- Islamic calligraphy
- More than 2,000 examples to be shown across 12 halls
- Digital research resources
- More than 800,000 written and visual sources
- Arms collection
- More than 2,500 items of military equipment
3 sources
What people are saying
We are working to protect Istanbul’s cultural heritage, keep it alive and pass it on to future generations
Of course, these works are important and valuable. They are treasures of our cultural heritage. But what matters most is preserving this accumulated legacy with a strong sense of awareness, enriching it further and passing it on fully to the generations that follow us
We were subjected to a policy of stripping people of their identity, one that sought Westernization only in clothing, denied our history and culture, and alienated people from their national and spiritual values