![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Istanbul_asv2020-02_img15_Topkap%25C4%25B1_Palace.jpg/640px-Istanbul_asv2020-02_img15_Topkap%25C4%25B1_Palace.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Seraglio
Admin buildings in the former Ottoman Empire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Saray (building)?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SHOW ALL QUESTIONS
A seraglio,[lower-alpha 1] serail,[lower-alpha 2] seray or saray (from Persian: سرای, romanized: sarāy, lit. 'palace', via Turkish, Italian and French) is a castle, palace or government building which was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ottoman Empire.
"Saray" redirects here. For other uses, see Saray (disambiguation).
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Istanbul_asv2020-02_img15_Topkap%C4%B1_Palace.jpg/640px-Istanbul_asv2020-02_img15_Topkap%C4%B1_Palace.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Ottoman_Sultan_Selim_III_%281789%29.jpg/640px-Ottoman_Sultan_Selim_III_%281789%29.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Ottoman_officers_in_front_of_the_Karak_Saraya_in_Transjordan_1910.jpg/320px-Ottoman_officers_in_front_of_the_Karak_Saraya_in_Transjordan_1910.jpg)
"The Seraglio" may refer specifically to the Topkapı Palace, the residence of the former Ottoman sultans in Istanbul (known as Constantinople in English at the time of Ottoman rule).[1] The term can also refer to other traditional Turkish palaces (every imperial prince had his own) and other grand houses built around courtyards.