The Great Palace Mosaic Museum is located in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The mosaic collection, overshadowed by the more popular museums, sheds light on Eastern Roman (Byzantine) culture in late antiquity.
In this article you can find information about the history of the Great Palace of Constantinople. In addition, the Great Palace Mosaics Museum entrance fee and opening hours are also noted.
The Great Palace Mosaic Museum still closed to visitors due to restoration as of November 2025. It is not yet known when it will open. I will update this post when the official announcement regarding the reopening date is made.
📌 Great Palace Mosaic Museum 2025 Visitor Summary
A quick guide for travelers interested in the Great Palace Mosaic Museum — one of Istanbul’s hidden Byzantine treasures.
🏛️ Status: Currently CLOSED for restoration. Reopening date not yet announced.
💶 Entrance Fee: Last listed at 10 Euros before closure (subject to change when reopened).
⏰ Opening Hours: 09:00 – 19:00 (expected schedule upon reopening).
🎫 Museum Pass: Accepted (check again after reopening).
📍 Location: Inside the Arasta Bazaar, behind the Blue Mosque – Sultanahmet District.
🗓️ Last Updated: November 2025
Insider’s Note: As a local guide, I began this article about the Great Palace Mosaic Museum by tracing the city’s story back to its Roman foundations and the rise of the Great Palace itself. I wanted to provide a solid historical background before focusing on the mosaics. If you’re mainly interested in the artworks, feel free to skip ahead to the middle section dedicated entirely to the mosaics.
History of the Great Palace (Constantinople)
The history of the Great Palace dates back to the 4th century. In order to fully understand the sophisticated history of the Great Palace, we need to have a look at the Roman Empire era. Having remained a free Greek colony for 800 years, Byzantium was conquered by the Romans in 195 AD.
1. The First Roman Emperor in Istanbul
Septimius Severus was the first Roman emperor to come to Byzantium in 2nd Century. However, Septimius’ arrival wasn’t friendly at all as he was punishing every city that supported his rival Pescennius Niger. Since Byzantium was one of these cities, it was burned and destroyed by Septimus.
After he cooled down, he realized that the city was on a strategic location and he decided to rebuild the city and constructed the first Roman buildings in Istanbul. However, in these years Byzantium was not a city of great importance for the Roman Empire.
2. Civil Wars of Tetrarchy
Byzantium gained importance during the Tetrarchy (the reign of 4 emperors) and the civil wars that followed. Emperor Constantine realized the strategic importance of Byzantium as he fought his rival Licinius to become sole emperor.
Licinius went on the defensive after Constantine attacked him via land by the Balkans and via sea by the Dardanelles and he stayed in Byzantium that provided an excellent defensive advantage.
However, due to the concern of being surrounded by both sea and land, Licinius moved to the Asian Side (Uskudar) and was defeated by Constantine at the Battle of Chrysopolis. Thus, the long years of Tetrarchy civil wars ended and Constantine the Great became the sole ruler.
3. Constantine Realizes the Importance of Istanbul
It’s assumed that Constantine realized Istanbul’s importance during this war. He noticed this peninsula provided an excellent defense and Golden Horn in the north functioned as a hidden port.
Emperor Constantine came to the conclusion that if strong walls were built on the Western side of the city, which was the only part vulnerable to attacks, the city would be impenetrable.
Constantine made a radical decision in 324 AD and he decided to change the old capital of the empire. Most Romans were taken by surprise by this decision as Byzantium definitely wasn’t one of the most important cities of the empire back then.
However, this decision showed Constantine’s vision as he could picture Istanbul being an important cross point in the future. Time proved Constantine right, and Istanbul (Constantinople) eventually became the most important port of the Eastern Mediterranean.
4. Byzantium Being the “New Rome”
Emperor Constantine sent Byzantium an army of architects, engineers, and artists. The whole city was planned to be reconstructed and Byzantium evolved only in 6 years to be named as “Nova Roma” which means the New Rome. The most noteworthy monuments of the city were the Great Palace and the Hippodrome.
In the illustration above, you can see the Hippodrome where the obelisks are in the center. These obelisks can still be seen at Sultanahmet today. The collection of buildings on the right side of the Hippodrome is the Great Palace, which is the subject of this article.
5. The Great Palace of Roman Emperors
The Great Palace of Roman emperors was located in the best area of the city. The Great Palace stretched from where the Blue Mosque is today to the Sea of Marmara. Inside the palace were mosaic-adorned courtyards, churches, pavilions, and even a polo field.
All the Roman (then Eastern Roman) emperors lived in this place approximately from 4th to 11th century. As the Palace of Blachernae at Golden Horn came into prominence, the Great Palace fell from favor. The Sack of Constantinople in (During the Fourth Crusade in 1204) also contributed to the fall of the Great Palace.
The city remained under the occupation of the Crusaders for 57 years and the Great Palace went to ruin and it was in disrepair. Unfortunately, there were no recourses to rebuild this majestic monument when the city was taken back finally in 1261.
Things to See in Istanbul Mosaic Museum
The mosaics displayed in the Great Palace Mosaic Museum are among the most remarkable remnants of Byzantine art that survived from the Great Palace of Constantinople. Dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries, they once decorated the floors of a large courtyard in the imperial complex — an area estimated to have covered nearly 2,000 m². Only a fragment of that grand mosaic pavement remains today, but what survives is enough to convey the refinement, imagination, and daily life of the Byzantine world.
1. The Mosaic Floor – A Journey Through Time
Walking through the museum feels like stepping onto the palace floor of an emperor. Each tessera (small stone piece) was hand-placed to form a vivid scene, using limestone, colored marble, and terracotta. The surviving section shows a lively world that is surprisingly secular — there are no saints or halos here, only scenes of nature, myth, and human life. This sets it apart from the religious mosaics of churches like Hagia Sophia or Chora.
2. Mythological and Animal Scenes
The mosaics are full of movement and drama. Lions, elephants, horses, and griffins are locked in fierce battles. A lion is seen attacking an elephant; an eagle swoops down on a snake; a griffin devours a lizard. These motifs may symbolize the eternal struggle between good and evil, or perhaps they simply reflect the Byzantine fascination with exotic beasts and far-away lands.
Between these wild encounters, you’ll also find peaceful glimpses of rural life: a shepherd leading his flock, a boy feeding a donkey, or children playing with geese. Such details reveal a softer side of Byzantine art — the joy of everyday scenes rarely captured elsewhere.
3. Technical and Artistic Details
The craftsmanship of these mosaics is astonishing. Some panels feature intricate “opus vermiculatum” patterns, where each tiny stone follows the contour of a figure, creating fluid motion and depth. The color palette is dominated by natural tones — ochre, ivory, black, and deep red — chosen to give the figures a lifelike sense of warmth and volume. Unlike many other Byzantine artworks, these mosaics were never framed by geometric borders; instead, one scene flows seamlessly into the next, creating a continuous narrative across the floor.
4. The Museum Setting
The museum itself is modest in size but atmospheric, located beneath the Arasta Bazaar, just behind the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet. The lighting is soft, allowing you to focus on the delicate details of the mosaics. Informative panels explain the historical context, while a walkway above the ancient floor lets you view the artworks closely without damaging them. A visit here offers an intimate, almost contemplative experience — a quiet contrast to the bustling streets of Sultanahmet above.
5. Highlights Not to Miss
If you have limited time, make sure you notice:
- The Lion and Elephant Scene – the most dynamic and dramatic composition.
- Mare Nursing Her Foal – a tender portrayal of maternal instinct in nature.
- Boy Feeding a Donkey – a charming everyday image that brings warmth to the imperial setting.
- Griffin Devouring a Lizard – one of the finest mythological depictions, rich in detail and motion.
Each of these mosaics tells a fragment of a lost imperial world — a place where art bridged the realms of myth and reality. Though the museum is currently under restoration, its mosaics remain one of the most vivid links to the grandeur of Constantinople’s Great Palace, waiting to be rediscovered by the next generation of visitors.
Explore Byzantine Istanbul with a Licensed Guide
If you’re fascinated by the mosaics, palaces and lost glory of the Byzantine Empire,
👉 Learn more about the Byzantine Istanbul Tour here.
you can book one of my private guided tours in Istanbul.
Great Palace Mosaic Museum Entrance Fee 2025
Great Palace Mosaic Museum entrance fee is 10 Euros as of 2025. Museum Pass Istanbul is valid in this museum. The information about the ticket price was last updated on November 30, 2025. This information was recorded when the museum was last open. Please note that the museum is currently closed for restoration!
Great Palace Mosaic Museum Opening Hours 2025
The Great Palace Mosaic Museum opening hours are from 09:00 in the morning to 19:00 in the evening. The Museum is open to visit every day of the week. This was last updated on November 30, 2025. This information was recorded when the museum was last open. Please note that the museum is currently closed for restoration!
Visiting times of museums in Istanbul may change due to events and renovations. Before going to the museum, I recommend you to visit the official website of The Museum and review the latest situation.
👉 For up-to-date information on all Istanbul museums, visit this guide.
How to Get There?
The Museum of Great Palace Mosaics is located within the Arasta Bazaar next to the Blue Mosque. The easiest way to find the museum is to pass through Arasta Bazaar.
Arasta Bazaar is a historical Ottoman bazaar very similar to the famous Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar. However, the 400-year-old Arasta Bazaar, unlike other traditional bazaars, is not covered.
In the middle of the Arasta Bazaar, which stretches as a long corridor, there are signs showing the way to the Great Palace Mosaic Museum. So you can find the courtyard of the museum decorated with ancient columns.
Written by Serhat Engul
Great website Serhat however would be great to have the fact that the mosaics museum is shut at the start of the article rather than in the middle after a section that has entrance prices for 2024.
Dear Paul Sode, thank you for your suggestion. I will take this into account when updating the article. It is difficult to keep the introduction of the articles up to date, but I will do my best.