Dolmabahçe Palace

Dolmabahçe Palace lines the European shore of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, a long white facade of columns and carved stone reflected in the water. Its name means "filled-in garden": the site was once a bay where the Ottoman fleet anchored, reclaimed in the eighteenth century as an imperial garden. Sultan Abdülmecid I, finding the medieval Topkapı Palace too old-fashioned beside the courts of Europe, had it built between 1843 and 1853, to designs by Garabet Balyan and his son Nigoğayos of the Armenian Balyan family of court architects. The cost was enormous and strained the empire's finances, which slid towards default in 1875.

The palace blends Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical ornament with a traditional Ottoman plan. The southern wing, the selamlık, held the state rooms; the northern wing was the harem; between them lies the Ceremonial Hall under a high dome, lit by a chandelier of about 750 lamps weighing some 4.5 tonnes, reputed to be the largest crystal chandelier in the world. Gold leaf covers ceilings throughout, the collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers is exceptional, and the Crystal Staircase, in the form of a double horseshoe, is built of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany. Floors are laid with Hereke carpets woven in the imperial workshops.

Six sultans lived here, and the last Ottoman caliph left it in 1924. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk used the palace as his residence in Istanbul, and he died in a bedroom in the former harem at 9:05 on the morning of 10 November 1938; the palace clocks were stopped at that minute, and the room is kept as it was. The palace is now run by the Directorate of National Palaces, and its ornate gates, including the Gate of the Sultan and the Treasury Gate by the clock tower, are sights in their own right.

Getting there

The palace is in Beşiktaş, across the Bosphorus from Üsküdar (about 2 km). The T1 tram ends at Kabataş, a 10–12 minute walk along the waterfront; the F1 funicular from Taksim also descends to Kabataş, and ferries call at Kabataş and Beşiktaş. The nearest airport is Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), about 30 km away.