Dolmabahçe Palace

Dolmabahçe Palace, the largest and most sumptuous palace in Turkey, located on the coast of the Bosporus in Istanbul. It is Istanbul’s first European-style palace, built between 1843 and 1856 by by Sultan Abdülmecid I in an attempt to modernize Istanbul, at a cost of 5 million Ottoman gold pounds—the equivalent of 35 tons of gold. It was on the site of a former wooden Ottoman palace and imperial gardens constructed on the shore of the Bosporus (the name Dolmabahçe means “filled-in garden”). The sultan spared no expense in furnishing the palace, even though many of his subjects lacked the basic necessities.

The palace is divided into three sections: the Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn or Selamlık (men’s quarters), the Muayede Salonu (ceremonial hall), and the Harem-i Hümâyûn (the harem, or the apartments of the sultan’s family). There are 285 rooms, 44 halls, 6 hamams, or Turkish baths (the main one decorated with pure alabaster), and 68 toilets. It is said that some 14 tons of gold and at least 6 tons of silver were used in interior decorations. The Crystal Staircase, in the shape of a double horseshoe, is constructed of Baccarat crystal, brass, and mahogany. In the vast ballroom-cum-throne room hangs a Bohemian crystal chandelier weighing more than 4 tons. It was long believed to have been a gift from Queen Victoria and hangs from the dome, which is 120 feet (36 m) high. The upper galleries were reserved for orchestras and the diplomatic corps. The palace also contains a large collection of European porcelain and Hereke carpets made for the palace by the Hereke imperial workshops.

The Dolmabahçe Palace was home to six sultans between 1856 and the abolition of the caliphate in 1924. The founder and first president of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk, stayed in the Dolmabahçe Palace when he visited Istanbul, and he died there on November 10, 1938. It continued to be used as a presidential residence until 1949, and since 1984 it has been operated as a museum by the Directorate of National Palaces.