Istanbul: Sultanahmet - Sublime Porte

The name is a French translation of Turkish Bâbiâli (“High Gate,” or “Gate of the Eminent”), which was the official name of the gate giving access to the block of buildings in Constantinople.
From the Yeni Cami in Istanbul a street runs southeast, passing close to Sirkeci Station (Istanbul's main station), to the Sublime Porte, once the seat of the Grand Vizier, later the Foreign Ministry and now the office of the Governor (Vali) of Istanbul province.
Opposite it, at the corner of the Seraglio wall, is the Alay Köskü, from which the Sultan could watch, unobserved, the comings and goings at the Sublime Porte