Dolmabahçe Palace

Dolmabahce, the Sultan’s favorite residence, used to be a cove that sheltered anchored ships. It carries the memories of many centuries, located right next to the clear waters of the spectacular Bosphorus.

It was one of the administrative palaces during the Ottoman Empire after the 19th century. The palace’s location was a place that had been used as a settlement since early times, and was constantly transformed. Over the ages, its functions included the royal garden, pavilion and port. During the Byzantine period, a palace called Aya Mamas was built at this location. It was a strategic and popular place where states and monarchs enjoyed its location, function and natural beauty. The Besiktas coast and its immediate surroundings continued to attract the same attention during the Ottoman period. The construction of Dolmabahce Palace began on June 13, 1843. In 1856, Sultan Abdulmecid definitively left Topkapi Palace and settled in Dolmabahce Palace.

The main structures of Dolmabahce Palace are the Harem, the Mabeyn-i Humayun (Imperial Men’s Section), the Clock Tower and Dolmabahçe Mosque. The balustrades of the Mabeyn stairs are breathtakingly decorated with crystals, and the four-ton crystal chandelier located in the Throne Hall in Mabeyn adds a European air to the Hall with seven hundred and fifty light bulbs dangling from the 36-meter dome. The Harem has different sections such as the Blue Hall, where ceremonies are held; the Pink Hall, where women are entertained; the rooms where Atatürk stayed, and the Valide Sultan (Sultan Mother) rooms. The thirty-meter-high clock tower at the entrance to the palace is said to have been completed in 1895. The Dolmabahce Mosque next to the palace was completed in 1853 by Nikogos Balyan of the prominent Balyan family, an Armenian family of court architects who designed many masterpieces of Ottoman architecture. At the back of Dolmabahce Palace is a small mansion built in the 19th century for the Sultan's birds. Many birds of different species were housed in the structure at that time. Dolmabahçe Palace, which has been converted into a museum today, is connected to the Department of National Palaces.