DK Travel : Istanbul : Dolmabahçe Palace

Dolmabahçe Palace

5.0 /5 (1 vote)

Rate it

Review this attraction

Are these details incorrect?

In 1843, Sultan Abdül Mecit, who wanted to reinvent the Ottoman Empire in a European image, employed Armenian architects Karabet and Nikoğos Balyan to build a luxurious new palace on the Bosphorus shore. Dolmabahçe Sarayı, completed in 1856, is the result. Luxurious it certainly is, with 46 reception rooms and galleries, and lavish decoration in gold and crystal that rivals the Palace of Versailles in France. Ironically, this extravagance hastened the end of the Empire, and the last emperor fled from here into exile in 1922.
Admission to the palace is by guided tour only. There are two itineraries: one of the Selamlık (the areas reserved for men, including the Ceremonial Hall); the other of the Harem (including the living quarters of the royal women, the sultan’s private quarters, and Atatürk’s bedroom, bathroom and study). There is a café in the Clock Tower, and toilets near both entrances. If you only have time for one of the two tours, visit the Selamlık: the Ceremonial Hall and Crystal Staircase are unmissable. The former Crown Prince Pavilion, adjacent to Dolmabahçe Palace, now houses the Museum of Painting and Sculpture (see Museum of Painting and Sculpture (Resim ve Heykel Müzesi) ).

Top 10 Features

1. Gates

1. Gates

The palace had two ceremonial entrances, both highly ornamented: the Treasury Gate, which is now the main entrance, and the Imperial Gate. Both gates still have a guard of honour.
2. Waterfront Façade

2. Waterfront Façade

The marble façade is 284 m (930 ft) long. The State Rooms are on the left, the Ceremonial Hall in the centre, and the Harem on the right.
3. Ceremonial Hall (Muayede Salonu)

3. Ceremonial Hall (Muayede Salonu)

The dome in this vast hall is 36 m (118 ft) high. The crystal chandelier, a gift from Queen Victoria of England, has 750 lights and weighs 4.5 tonnes (more than 9,000 lb). It is the world’s largest chandelier.
4. Harem

4. Harem

A fascinating mix of East and West, the Harem has several apartments, furnished to various grades of luxury (for the sultan, his mother, wives, concubines, servants and guests) – also baths, a school, a maternity ward and a central salon where the wives and concubines would meet for tea, chat and embroidery.
5. State Rooms (Selamlık)

The rooms on the palace’s seaward side were used by the Grand Vizier and ministers, while those on the landward side were administrative offices. They are all lavishly decorated and furnished.
6. Atatürk’s Rooms

6. Atatürk’s Rooms

In the first years of the republic, Atatürk used the palace as his Istanbul base, keeping an office and bedroom in the Harem. He died here, from cirrhosis of the liver, on 10 November 1938 – all the palace’s clocks are set to 9:05am, the moment of his death.
7. Crystal Staircase

7. Crystal Staircase

This ornate double-horseshoe staircase has balusters of Baccarat crystal. It links the administrative offices with the ceremonial and function rooms upstairs.
8. Sultan’s Bathrooms

The Sultan had two bathrooms: one in the main palace, faced in marble; the other in the Harem, decorated in violet flowers and with a Murano glass mirror.
9. Clock Tower

9. Clock Tower

The four-storey tower, 27 m (90 ft) high, was added to the palace in 1890, during the reign of Sultan Abdül Hamit II (see Yıldız Palace (Yıldız Sarayı) ). The clock – which still keeps time – was built by the celebrated Parisian clockmaker Paul Garnier.
10. Gardens

The palace and gardens stand on reclaimed land (the name Dolmabahçe means “Filled Garden”). In addition to the palace and its 16 external pavilions, the grounds once held a flour mill, pharmacy, aviary, glass factory and foundry.

Practical Information

Admission to the palace is by guided tour only. There are two itineraries: one of the Selamlık (the areas reserved for men, including the Ceremonial Hall); the other of the Harem (including the living quarters of the royal women, the sultan’s private quarters, and Atatürk’s bedroom, bathroom and study). There is a café in the Clock Tower, and toilets near both entrances. Dolmabahçe Cad (0212) 236 90 00 Tram: Kabataş, then a 5-minute walk Open 9am–4pm Tue, Wed, Fri–Sun (to 3pm, Oct–Feb) Adm $10 for Selamlık, $7 for Harem; $14 for both