The
Sublime Porte, also known as the
Ottoman Porte or
High Porte (
Bâb-i Âli or
Babiali, from ,
bab "gate" and ,
ali "high"), is a
metonym for the central government of the
Ottoman Empire, by reference to the gate giving access to the block of buildings that housed the principal state departments in
Istanbul. Today, the buildings house the provincial
Governor of Istanbul.