First established in 1914 at the Daruzziyafe of the Süleymaniye Complex, it was moved in 1938 to its present location on the site of the Byzantine Hippodrome, in the palace of İbrahim Paşa. This palace, built in 1524 by one of the most powerful Ottoman Grand Viziers, is the grandest Ottoman private residence.

The collection spans the periods of the Ummayids, Abbasids, Mamluks, Seljuks, Beyliks and Ottomans, and contains rare objects and works, including stonework, ceramics, metalwork, silver, brass, and wood objects and ornaments, as well as manuscripts, calligraphy, carpets and kilims.

Specific items on display here are funeral belts, bejeweled objects such as candlesticks decorated with valuable gems, pearl reading desks, carved cooper cups, royal crests, clothing belonging to Sultan Yıldırım Beyazıt and Sultan Selim II, carpets from the Caucasus, and intricately carved doors. In addition, there are exquisite manuscripts of the Quran, Ottoman miniatures, as well as various edicts of the Ottoman Sultans, not to mention keys to the Kaba.