Evliya Çelebi stated in his Seyahatnâme that the construction of the palace began in 1454 on the site of an old church and that the palace was surrounded by a solid rectangular wall covered with a blue lead that had a perimeter of 12,000 arşın, approximately equivalent to 9 kilometres (5.6 mi).

[2] Historian Tursun Beg, a contemporary of Mehmed II, mentioned that the palace housed mansions, a harem, the Imperial Council, the throne room where the Sultan carried out state affairs, and its grounds included an area for hunting.

Although the Sultan lived in the Topkapı Palace, he continued to visit the harem at the Eski Saray on some days of the week.

In 1540–1541, the Eski Saray was largely destroyed by fire before being rebuilt by Kanuni.

When the complex of the Süleymaniye Mosque was constructed in 1557, it once again took up part of the Eski Saray's area.