The Topkapı Palace, or the Seraglio,[4] is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire and was the main residence of its sultans.
The palace kitchens were built when the palace was first constructed in the 15th century and expanded during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. They were modelled on the kitchens of Edirne Palace. After the fire of 1574, which damaged the kitchens, they were remodelled by the court architect Mimar Sinan. The rebuilt kitchens form two rows of 20 wide chimneys; these chimneys were added by Mimar Sinan.
The kitchens are located on an internal street stretching between the Second Courtyard and the Marmara Sea. The entrance to this section is through the three doors in the portico of the Second Courtyard: the Imperial commissariat door, imperial kitchen door, and the confectionery kitchen door. The palace kitchens consist of 10 domed buildings: Imperial kitchen, Harem, Birûn, kitchens, beverages kitchen, confectionery kitchen, creamery, storerooms and rooms for the cooks. They were the largest kitchens in the Ottoman Empire. Food was prepared for about 4,000 people, and the kitchen staff consisted of more than 800 people. The kitchens included dormitories, baths, and a mosque for the employees, most of which disappeared over time.
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