Ottoman Porte

The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte (Ottoman Turkish: باب عالی, romanized: Bâb-ı Âlî or Babıali; Turkish pronunciation:), was a metonymy used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the building which housed the office of the Grand Vizier, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, and the Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances. Today it houses the office of the Istanbul governorate.