Boukoleon Palace, Byzantine palace in Sultanahmet, Turkey
Boukoleon is a Byzantine palace in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, with remains standing directly on the Sea of Marmara. Three marble doorways and a balcony survive from what was once a large complex facing the southern side of Constantinople.
Construction began during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II in 408 AD along the shores of the Sea of Marmara. Emperor Theophilos carried out extensive renovations between 829 and 842, expanding and modernizing the palace.
The palace name comes from a sculpture showing a lion fighting a bull, which stood at the harbor entrance until the sixteenth century. Today only the three marble doorways and the balcony remind visitors of how closely the Byzantine rulers lived near the water and how they used their direct access to the sea.
The Istanbul city administration plans to turn the ruins into an open-air museum with walking paths and exhibition areas. Visitors can view the remains from outside and move along the shoreline to see different angles of the surviving structures.
A private harbor with marble steps connected directly to the palace and allowed rulers to board their ships straight from their residence. This architectural solution saved the emperors from traveling through the city to the main harbor and offered both protection and discretion when traveling.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
