The Great Transition

• Topkapi Palace: He began construction of Topkapi

Palace which served as the primary residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman Sultans for nearly 400 years.

• The Grand Bazaar: He initiated the construction

of the Grand Bazaar (Çarşı-yı Kebir) the core of Istanbul’s legendary market.

• Preserved the Orthodox Church: After 1453,

Mehmed declared himself as (Caesar of Rome). He preserved the Greek Orthodox Church, and appointed Gennadius Scholarius as Patriarch. He gave the Church autonomy and protected the rights of the Greek population. In addition, he saved many Greek and Latin manuscripts from the Byzantine imperial libraries,

• Art and Culture: He invited Italian Renaissance

artists (like Gentile Bellini) and Greek scholars to his court, blending Eastern and Western cultures.

The world’s largest cannon was cast in Edirne in 1452 under the supervision of Urban, a Hungarian expert. The massive bronze bombard (Basilica) was capable of hurling stone projectiles weighing over 1,000 pounds against Constantinople´s outer walls.