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The date of construction of this gate is not clear, since the architecture of the towers is of Byzantine influence rather than Ottoman. It is speculated that the gate emulates the Gate of St. Barbara (Cannon Gate) which used to tbe royal seaside entrance to the palace gardens from the shore of the Bosphorus. An inscription at the door dates this gate to at least 1542 during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II. In a miniature painting from the Hünername from 1584, a low-roofed structure with three windows above the arch between the towers is clearly visible, probably a guards' hall that has since disappeared. The gate is richly decorated on both sides and in the upper part with religious inscriptions and monograms of sultans.
No one apart for official purpose and foreign dignitaries were allowed passage through the gate. All visitors had to dismount by the Middle Gate, since only the sultan was allowed to enter the gate on horseback. This was also a Byzantine tradition taken from the Chalke Gate of the Great Palace. |
