The impressive Dolmabahçe Palace is one of the most visited landmarks in Istanbul. It conquers all visitors with its beauty and grace. Dolmabahçe was built between 1843 and 1856 as a new palace for Sultan Abdülmecid, who until then resided in Topkapi Palace. He wanted a new palace that would be in a more modern style and that would exude luxury and wealth. And indeed, during your stay in Domlabahče you will see splendor, elegance, refinement and luxury.
The work on the palace was monitored by Haci Said Aga, and the main architects were Garabet Balyan, his son Nigoğayos Balyan and Evanis Kalfa. The area of the palace is 45,000 m2 and it is also the largest palace in Turkey. There are a total of 285 rooms, 68 toilets, 6 hammams and 46 halls. The styles that can be seen are baroque, rococo and traditional octagonal. By looking at the exhibits, you can create a clear idea of how life went on in the palace as well as what Turkish homes looked like in the past. Also, here you can see the premises of the harem.
The value of the palace is shown by the fact that more than 1.5 billion dollars have been invested in it today. The palace is decorated with gold and crystals and while you are visiting it, you can only follow the directions where you can walk so that some exhibit is not destroyed. The palace is also recognizable by the chandelier, which is the pure jewel of this place. It weighs 4.5 tons and has 750 lamps. There is also a collection of oil paintings in the palace, and there are a total of 202 works of art of this type.
From its construction until 1924, a total of six sultans lived in the palace. In 1924, the palace became a national heritage. The palace was used as the president's residence, so it was first used by the president of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Selamlık + Harem + Ticket to the Museum of Paintings (valid for 7 days)
Ticket price for foreign visitors: 300 TL
Working hours every day from 09:00 to 16:00
the palace is closed on Mondays
Author of the text:
Maja Glavaš, Bachelor with Honours in Communicology. Works in Tourism.
Contact: [email protected]; instagram: travel_europe1
Photo by Berkin Üregen on Unsplash
