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Byzantine floor mosaic with animals in the Great Palace Mosaic Museum
Photo: Byzantine mosaic artists from the 5th century / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, resized

Culture · Istanbul · Fatih

Great Palace Mosaic Museum

Büyük Saray Mozaikleri Müzesi

Floor mosaics from a peristyle courtyard of the Byzantine emperors' Great Palace, shown where they were found behind the Blue Mosque.

  • Closed to visitors No reopening date announced
  • Ticket €10
  • Visit ~30–45 min
  • Museum Pass

Directions See it on the Istanbul map

Build a day-by-day plan with closing-day warnings and ticket totals.

What to see

The mosaics, probably from the sixth century, show hunting scenes, animals fighting, children at play and a remarkable range of everyday and mythical figures, set in a white background of tiny stones.

A compact visit of 30–45 minutes, reached through the Arasta Bazaar.

Combine it with the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome next door.

Getting there

Through the Arasta Bazaar behind the Blue Mosque; Sultanahmet stop on the T1 tram is five minutes away.

Transport lines are general directions, not checked against the operator's timetable.

Nearest rail & tram stops

  • T1 Sultanahmet in Turkish Tram stop ~450 m~8 min walk (estimate)
  • Marmaray Sirkeci in Turkish Suburban rail station ~1,050 m~18 min walk (estimate)

Straight-line distance; the walking time adds a rough allowance for detours. Stops on operating lines only (OpenStreetMap, via ilçemde, our sister directory); station pages open on ilçemde and show what is around each station (in Turkish — names, phone numbers and map work in any language).

Open in OpenStreetMap See it on the Istanbul map

Nearby

Open now near me →

Eat & drink nearby

Restaurants

Cafés

  • Turkish Street Cafe Café · ~200 m (straight line) 5.0 on Yandex (31 reviews)
  • North Art Coffee Coffee shop · ~250 m (straight line) 4.8 on Yandex (63 reviews)
  • Semaver Cafe Café · ~250 m (straight line) 4.7 on Yandex (76 reviews)
  • Cafe Restourant Café · ~300 m (straight line) 4.8 on Yandex (34 reviews)
  • Meşale Cafe Café · ~200 m (straight line) 4.2 on Yandex (190 reviews)

Bakeries

Listings from ilçemde, our sister directory; ratings from the map service shown. We don't rank by payment. Nearer places come first (within 300 m, then 700 m), then ratings weighted by how many reviews they have. Opening hours can change; “Open now” uses Istanbul time.

Also in this area

Straight-line distances.

Where to stay nearby

Fatih has 493 places to stay licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Ministry list, counted on ilçemde on 30 Sep 2026).

Hotels and guesthouses in Fatih ↗

Accommodation lists open on ilçemde, our sister directory of Turkish businesses (new tab). We do not take bookings or commissions.

Pharmacies on duty tonight in Fatih ↗ The list changes every day; on-duty pharmacies stay open when the others are closed.

About this page

Location: OpenStreetMap — Büyük Saray Mozaikleri Müzesi (way/1153966162; Nominatim, 01.10.2026). Ticket, hours and closing days: only from the operator's own pages; anything we could not confirm there is marked “Not verified”. Last checked 1 Oct 2026.