Description

Essentials about Dolmabahçe Palace in brief

Dolmabahçe Palace (Palace of the Filled Gardens) is the most magnificent of Istanbul’s many palaces and definitely one of the must-see sights of the Turkish metropolis. It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus in Istanbul and was the residence of the Sultan since the middle of the 19th century. With a length of 600 meters, an area of 45,000 square meters and more than 300 rooms, Dolmabahçe Palace is one of the largest palace complexes in the world. The palace’s interior also rivals any other ruler’s quarters in the world in terms of luxury. Today, Dolmabahçe Palace is not only a popular tourist destination, but is also used for prestigious state occasions.

The history of Dolmabahçe Palace

Originally Dolmabahçe was a bay where the Ottoman fleet anchored. After it silted up in the 17th century, a royal garden (hence the name) was created there with several smaller castles and summer residences. This silted-up area is bordered by the Bosphorus to the east and by a steep slope to the west, so there was no space left next to the palace building for a garden of the size that usually surrounds such a palace in Europe.

Until the middle of the 19th century, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire resided in the largely medieval Topkapi Palace. After contact with Central Europe became increasingly intensive in the course of the 18th century and European cultural standards were also increasingly adopted in the Ottoman Empire, it seemed important to the sultan to be able to measure himself against European standards in terms of his main residence as well.

For this reason, Sultan Abdülmecid I commissioned the Dolmabahçe Palace to be built as a new residence between 1843 and 1856, and it was later expanded and remodeled by various rulers. The building has truly gigantic dimensions. It measures 600 meters in length, has an area of 45,000 square meters, and houses the floppy number of 46 halls, 285 rooms, six hamams, and 68 bathing rooms.

Not surprisingly, the construction cost was equivalent to about a quarter of the Ottoman Empire’s annual tax revenues. Although the construction of the palace was financed by the issuance of paper money, the construction of Dolmabahçe Palace placed an enormous burden on the state treasury and contributed significantly to driving the Ottoman Empire into national bankruptcy in the second half of the 19th century.

The parts of Dolmabahçe Palace

From the outside, Dolmabahçe Palace is a classical European two-winged complex, divided by a large projecting section of the building in the center and two more on the sides. Inside this European appearance, however, a traditional Ottoman spatial program was implemented. The palace is strictly separated structurally into a southern wing, which contains the public representation rooms, and a northern part, which contains the extensive private living quarters for the sultan and his harem. The connecting part between the two functional areas is the large reception hall with a floor area of 2,000 square meters and a 36-meter-high dome.

Since the harem had to be completely sealed off from the outside world, external visitors – unlike in a European palace – enter the building through the main entrance on the southern narrow side. This is where the representative rooms for receiving visitors and foreign diplomats are located. From here, the sequence of rooms develops towards the central reception hall, behind which the rooms of the harem unfold. The terrace facing the Bosphorus is closed off from the shore by a high fence, the gates of which lead to landing stages, which are no longer regularly used today.

The interior of Dolmabahçe Palace

The equipment of Dolmabahçe Palace is remarkable, as it was of the most modern technical standard at the time. For example, the palace had gas lighting and water-flushed toilets from the very beginning – facilities that were unknown in continental European palaces of the time. Central heating and an elevator were installed later.

The rest of the palace’s furnishings are also remarkable, stylistically corresponding to Ottoman historicism with European Renaissance and Baroque elements. 14 tons of gold were used to gild the ceilings alone. The central hall is decorated by the largest chandelier in the world, weighing 4.5 tons. The palace now houses the largest collection of crystal chandeliers from Bohemia and Baccarat. The banister in one of the representative staircases is also made of crystal.

The use of Dolmabahçe Palace

The move of the court from the old Topkapi Palace took place in 1856, and it was the residence of the Sultan from then until the end of the monarchy, except for the period from 1889 to 1909, when Yildiz Palace took over this function. After the deposition of the Sultan, Dolmabahçe Palace served as the seat of government for Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish Republic, until the capital moved to Ankara. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died in Dolmabahçe Palace at 9:05 a.m. on November 10, 1938. After that, all the clocks in the palace were set to 9:05 and stopped, and the clock in his death room still shows this time today.

Today, Dolmabahçe Palace is open to the public for viewing and is a very popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists. However, it continues to be used for representative state occasions, such as state visits.

Website

millisaraylar.gov.tr

Opening hours

Admission fees

Regular price: ₺60,00

Children (Ages 5 and under): free

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Bus lines TB1 and TB2: Stop Dolmabahçe Sarayı

Ferry lines Bostancı – Beşiktaş and Kadıköy – Sarıyer: Ferry terminal Beşiktaş

Ferry lines Beşiktaş – Adalar, Boğaz Hatti – kiş, Kadıköy – Beşiktaş, Küçüksu – Beşiktaş and R. Kavaği-Eminönü: Ferry terminal Beşiktaş Iskelesi

Ferry lines Beşiktaş – Üsküdar and Eminönü – Bebek: Ferry terminal Beşiktaş (Dentur)

By car:

In the immediate vicinity of the Dolmabahçe Palace there are a number of parking lots.