Dolmabahce Palace

About Dolmabahce Palace

Palace in Istanbul, Turkey

Dolmabahce Palace is a nineteenth-century imperial palace in the Besiktas district on the European shore of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, on the waterfront between Kabatas and Besiktas. Built by Sultan Abdulmejid I, it served as the main administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1887 and from 1909 to 1922, the last six decades of its existence, after the sultans moved here from Topkapi. It is one of the most lavish palaces in the world, with 285 rooms and 43 halls in a design that blends European Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles with Ottoman taste. The official Selamlik section contains the Imperial Mabeyn, the state apartments, and the vast Ceremonial Hall (Muayede) with its famous crystal chandelier; the Harem was the private quarters of the sultan and his family and contains the room where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died in 1938. The complex also includes the Painting Gallery, the Music Museum, the Clock Museum and the Museum of Palace Collections, with landscaped gardens looking onto the Bosphorus and a grand water gate. A visit reveals the European face of the Ottoman state in its final century, and complements Topkapi, which represents its classical age.

Where:

Istanbul, Türkiye