Palaces

Dolmabahçe Mosque

Dolmabahçe Mosque
Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Camii, Situated at the southern end of the Dolmabahçe Palace complex, the mosque was built by Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan Abdülmecid. The mosque is commonly called the Dolmabahçe Mosque due to its location. It is a selâtin cami (imperial mosque), which means, it was built by a…
Read more

Dolmabahçe Clock Tower

Dolmabahçe Clock Tower
Dolmabahçe Saat Kulesi, Dolmabahçe Clock Tower, included in the palace complex, was built by Sultan Abdulhamid II (1876-1909). It is located between the  Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Camii (Mosque) and the Treasury Gate of the palace. Constructed by the Ottoman architect Sarkis Balyan between 1890 and 1895, the four-floor tower was designed in Ottoman Neo-baroque…
Read more

Museum of Painting and Sculpture

Museum of Painting and Sculpture
Resim ve Heykel Müzesi, This large fine arts museum, founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1937, is located in the Crown Prince's Suite (Veliaht Dairesi) at Dolmabahçe Palace. The Museum in Beşiktaş houses an extensive collection of Turkish and European works of art from the 19th and 20th centuries. There are over 10,000 paintings and…
Read more

Museum of Palace Collections

Museum of Palace Collections
Saray Koleksiyonları Müzesi, The valuable artworks of the Ottoman Palaces are now exhibited in the original building of Dolmabahçe Palace Kitchens (Matbah-ı Amire). The Museum with a 2,000-m² exhibition area is located at the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. Until the opening of the depot-museum in 2006, these art pieces had been kept in the storage…
Read more

Çırağan Palace

Çırağan Palace
Büyük Saray-ı Hümâyûn The construction of the Çırağan Palace, commissioned to Sarkis Balyan, was completed in 1871, eight years after construction had started. It covers the area of 76,400 m2 (664m X 115m). It was built in an eclectic style with an Eastern flair, mainly North African. The architectural style was inspired by  Alhambra, the…
Read more

Feriye Palaces

Feriye Palaces
In later years of the Ottoman Empire, especially after Abdülmecid died in 1861, the Empire needed new residences for Abdülmecid’s family (25 wives and 43 children) and the other extended royal family members. Instead of sending them away, they kept them in the palace. Therefore, they built private residence buildings next to the Palace toward Ortaköy,…
Read more

Small Mecidiye Mosque

Small Mecidiye Mosque
Küçük Mecidiye -Teşrifiye- Camii (1848) Built by Sultan Abdülmecid (1839-1861) in 1848, the Small Mecidiye Mosque was located on the Eastern entrance of the Yıldız Park, just behind the Çırağan Palace. The mosque is a part of the complex (külliye) built by Sultan Abdülmecid, which also included Sıbyan Mektebi (elementary school), medrese (theological school), and…
Read more

Yıldız Palace Complex and Yıldız Park

Yıldız Palace Complex and Yıldız Park
The palace complex consisting of an Ottoman palace and a picturesque park with a spectacular view of the Bosphorus is one of the best spots in Istanbul. It was the fourth and the last palace complex of the Ottoman Empire after Mehmed II’s Old (first) Palace, the Topkapi Palace and the Dolmabahçe Palace. It consists…
Read more

History of the Yıldız Palace

History of the Yıldız Palace
The history of the well-protected vast imperial complex, housing imperial Ottoman pavilions and structures in a magnificent natural park with walled sections, goes back to the 16thcentury. In earlier Ottoman periods, even from the time of Süleyman, the Magnificent (1520-1566), the large area between Beşiktaş, Ortaköy and Balmumcu was an uninhabited woodland, named Kazancıoğlu Bahçesi.…
Read more

Great Mâbeyn Pavilion

Great Mâbeyn Pavilion
Built by Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) in 1866, the Great Mâbeyn Pavilion became the main structure of birun (administrative) section of the palace complex. This magnificent building, designed by Agop and Sarkis Balyan, included a combination of Baroque, Art Nouveau and Neo Classic styles. It is located in the first court and is close to the…
Read more