Topkapı Palace
Following the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, Topkapı was transformed into a museum by a government decree dated April 3, 1924. The Topkapı Palace Museum is administered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public today, including the Ottoman imperial harem and the treasury, called "hazine" where the Spoonmaker's Diamond and Topkapi Dagger are on display. The museum collection also includes Ottoman clothing, weapons, armor, miniatures, religious relics, and illuminated manuscripts like the Topkapi manuscript. The complex is guarded by officials of the ministry as well as armed guards of the Turkish military. Topkapı Palace is part the Historic Areas of Istanbul, a group of sites in Istanbul that were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
Topkapı Palace
There are multiple entrances to the council hall, both from inside the palace and from the courtyard. The porch consists of multiple marble and porphyry pillars, with an ornate green and white-coloured wooden ceiling decorated with gold. The exterior entrances into the hall are in the rococo style, with gilded grills to admit natural light. While the pillars are an earlier Ottoman style, the wall paintings and decorations are from the later rococo period. Inside, the Imperial Council building consists of three adjoining main rooms. The 15th century "Divanhane", built with a wooden portico at the corner of the Divan Court, was later used as the mosque of the council. There are three domed chambers: the first chamber where the Imperial Council held its deliberations is called the "Kubbealtı", the second was occupied by the secretarial staff of the Imperial Council, and the third—called "Defterhāne"—is where the head clerks kept records of the council meetings. The main chamber "Kubbealtı" is, however, decorated with Ottoman Kütahya tiles.