Tekfur Palace: the Byzantine palace of Blachernae and its ceramics

Updated on October 4, 2026

Tekfur Palace (Tekfur Sarayı, also called the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus) is a three-storey building set against the Theodosian Walls in the Edirnekapı district of Fatih. Built in the late Byzantine period, it is regarded as the only large civil building from that era still standing in Istanbul, with a façade of alternating brick and white stone and tall arched windows. It belonged to the imperial Blachernae complex, where the court of Constantinople lived until the fall of the city in 1453. After the conquest the palace served as a menagerie, then as a ceramics workshop in the 18th century, producing the tiles and tableware known as "Tekfur Sarayı ware". It later became a glassworks and a shelter, before a restoration in the 20th century and a more recent campaign, and it now welcomes visitors as a museum. The visit is short: allow 30 to 45 minutes, and combine it with the walls and the Chora church nearby.

Highlights

The brick-and-stone façade

The decoration of the inner courtyard, with geometric panels of red brick and white marble, is the best-preserved part. The window bays give the building the look of a small urban palace, very different from the great mosques of the old city. The façade was restored in 1955 and again recently, with a new roof of traditional tiles.

A chapel on marble brackets

On one side, a small projecting volume, supported by marble brackets, houses a chapel. The walls rise over several storeys: the feeling of volume is one of the charms of the visit.

The link with the walls

The palace is attached to the stretch of the Blachernae walls just past the Edirnekapı gate. From the street you can see how the imperial residence leaned on the city's defences; the Theodosian Walls can be followed on foot down to the Golden Horn.

The Tekfur Sarayı ware

From 1719, a workshop set up in the palace produced tiles and tableware inspired by Iznik, now displayed in several Istanbul museums. The palace is not a ceramics museum as such: the story of this workshop is one more reason to stop here, but the interest of the visit remains the building itself.

Infos pratiques

Tips

The palace is small and quick to visit; make the most of it by continuing to Chora (Saint Saviour), a few minutes' walk away, and the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque at the highest point of the walls. For a full circuit, go on up to Balat and Fener and the Golden Horn, as in our guide to the Golden Horn. Payment at the ticket desk is by bank card only: bring your card.

How to get there

Ayvansaray Mahallesi, Şişhane Caddesi, Fatih, 34087 Istanbul (near the Edirnekapı gate). Tram T4 (Topkapı-Mescid-i Selam) and Metrobüs, Edirnekapı station, then a few minutes on foot down the street. Tram T5 (Eminönü-Alibeyköy), Ayvansaray station, then a ten-minute walk uphill. IETT bus from Eminönü or Taksim to Edirnekapı: check the route in the app.