My Photos: Turkey -- Mosaics -- Istanbul -- Mosaic Museum

The Great Palace Mosaic Museum In the early to mid- fourth century AD, Emperor Constantine built the Great Palace, which was located between the Hippodrome and the Aya Sofia.  The Great Palace was almost completely destroyed in 532 AD.  During the following century, Emperors Justinian I and Justinian II undertook large-scale renovations, rebuilding and enlarging the original palace.  Some of the mosaic floors were renovated during this work, and new floors were added as well. During excavation work on the Blue Mosque in the 1930s, some of these mosaic floors were discovered.  After restoration, the floors have been put on display, although archaeologists believe what has been recovered is just a small portion of the original palace floors.   The mosaics depict a mix of nature, scenes from rural life, mythical creatures, and even stories from Greek mythology. *Due to the large number of photos here, this page may take a couple minutes to load.  Please be patient...it is worth the wait! Hoop trundling in the arena Pomegranate tree The Chimera, a 3-headed, snake-tailed monster Children riding a camel Tree detail Children with pet bird detail Feeding a donkey Palm tree detail Milking goats Bear eating a lamb Horses grazing Baby Dionysus riding on Pan's shoulders Goose tending Winged tigress eating a lizard Leopards eating a deer Young boy with dog Elephant and lion fighting     Eagle-headed lion detail  Hunter detail Leopard hunt Griffin and deer Tiger hunt details Wrestling a bear All photos are copyright protected property of  Brenda Pokorny unless otherwise noted. If you would like permission for use, please contact me.