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Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace (Turkish: Dolmabahçe Sarayı [doɫmabahˈtʃe saɾaˈjɯ]) is a 19th-century imperial palace located in Istanbul, Turkey, along the European shore of the Bosporus, which served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1887 and from 1909 to 1922.
Dolmabahçe Palace was ordered by the empire's 31st sultan, Abdülmecid I, and built between the years 1843 and 1853. Previously, the sultan and his family had lived at the Topkapı Palace, but as the medieval Topkapı was lacking in contemporary style, luxury, and comfort, as compared to the palaces of the European monarchs, Abdülmecid decided to build a new modern palace near the site of the former Beşiktaş Sahil Palace, which was demolished. Hacı Said Ağa was responsible for the construction works, while the project was realized by architects Garabet Balyan, his son Nigoğayos Balyan and Evanis Kalfa (members of the Armenian Balyan family of Ottoman court architects).
As of May 29, 2025[update], the construction cost the equivalent of ca. US$3 billion: five million Ottoman lira, or 35 tonnes of gold. This sum corresponded to approximately a quarter of the yearly tax revenue. The construction was financed through debasement, by massive issue of paper money, as well as by foreign loans. The huge expenses placed an enormous burden on the state purse and contributed to the deteriorating financial situation of the Ottoman Empire, which eventually defaulted on its public debt in October 1875, with the subsequent establishment in 1881 of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) for financial control over the "sick man of Europe" by the European powers.
The palace was home to six sultans from 1853, when it was first inhabited, up until the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924: The last royal to live here was Caliph Abdülmecid II. A law that took effect on March 3, 1924 transferred ownership of the palace to the national heritage of the new Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the palace as a presidential residence during the summers and enacted some of his most important works here. Atatürk spent the last days of his medical treatment in this palace, where he died on November 10, 1938.
Today, the palace is managed by Milli Saraylar Daire Başkanlığı (Directorate of National Palaces) responsible to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
The site of Dolmabahçe was originally a bay on the Bosporus which was used for the anchorage of the Ottoman fleet. The area was reclaimed gradually during the 18th century to become an imperial garden, much appreciated by the Ottoman sultans; it is from this garden that the name Dolmabahçe comes from طولمه dolma "filled (in)" and باغچه bahçe "garden" in Persian. Various small summer palaces and wooden pavilions were constructed here during the 18th and 19th centuries, ultimately forming the Beşiktaş Waterfront Palace complex. The area of 110,000 m2 is confined by Bosporus on the east side, while a steep precipice bounds it on the west side, such that after the building of the new 45,000 metres (147,637.80 ft) monoblock Dolmabahçe Palace a relatively limited space has remained for a garden complex which would normally surround such a palace.
Dolmabahçe is the largest palace in Turkey. It has an area of 45,000 m2 (480,000 sq ft), and contains 285 rooms, 46 halls, six hammams, and 68 toilets.
The design contains eclectic elements from the Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles, blended with traditional Ottoman architecture to create a new synthesis. The palace layout and décor reflect the increasing influence of European styles and standards on Ottoman culture and art during the Tanzimat. The exterior, in particular the view from the Bosporus, shows a classical European two-wing arrangement which is divided by a big avant-corps with two side avant-corps.
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Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace (Turkish: Dolmabahçe Sarayı [doɫmabahˈtʃe saɾaˈjɯ]) is a 19th-century imperial palace located in Istanbul, Turkey, along the European shore of the Bosporus, which served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1887 and from 1909 to 1922.
Dolmabahçe Palace was ordered by the empire's 31st sultan, Abdülmecid I, and built between the years 1843 and 1853. Previously, the sultan and his family had lived at the Topkapı Palace, but as the medieval Topkapı was lacking in contemporary style, luxury, and comfort, as compared to the palaces of the European monarchs, Abdülmecid decided to build a new modern palace near the site of the former Beşiktaş Sahil Palace, which was demolished. Hacı Said Ağa was responsible for the construction works, while the project was realized by architects Garabet Balyan, his son Nigoğayos Balyan and Evanis Kalfa (members of the Armenian Balyan family of Ottoman court architects).
As of May 29, 2025[update], the construction cost the equivalent of ca. US$3 billion: five million Ottoman lira, or 35 tonnes of gold. This sum corresponded to approximately a quarter of the yearly tax revenue. The construction was financed through debasement, by massive issue of paper money, as well as by foreign loans. The huge expenses placed an enormous burden on the state purse and contributed to the deteriorating financial situation of the Ottoman Empire, which eventually defaulted on its public debt in October 1875, with the subsequent establishment in 1881 of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) for financial control over the "sick man of Europe" by the European powers.
The palace was home to six sultans from 1853, when it was first inhabited, up until the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924: The last royal to live here was Caliph Abdülmecid II. A law that took effect on March 3, 1924 transferred ownership of the palace to the national heritage of the new Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the palace as a presidential residence during the summers and enacted some of his most important works here. Atatürk spent the last days of his medical treatment in this palace, where he died on November 10, 1938.
Today, the palace is managed by Milli Saraylar Daire Başkanlığı (Directorate of National Palaces) responsible to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
The site of Dolmabahçe was originally a bay on the Bosporus which was used for the anchorage of the Ottoman fleet. The area was reclaimed gradually during the 18th century to become an imperial garden, much appreciated by the Ottoman sultans; it is from this garden that the name Dolmabahçe comes from طولمه dolma "filled (in)" and باغچه bahçe "garden" in Persian. Various small summer palaces and wooden pavilions were constructed here during the 18th and 19th centuries, ultimately forming the Beşiktaş Waterfront Palace complex. The area of 110,000 m2 is confined by Bosporus on the east side, while a steep precipice bounds it on the west side, such that after the building of the new 45,000 metres (147,637.80 ft) monoblock Dolmabahçe Palace a relatively limited space has remained for a garden complex which would normally surround such a palace.
Dolmabahçe is the largest palace in Turkey. It has an area of 45,000 m2 (480,000 sq ft), and contains 285 rooms, 46 halls, six hammams, and 68 toilets.
The design contains eclectic elements from the Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles, blended with traditional Ottoman architecture to create a new synthesis. The palace layout and décor reflect the increasing influence of European styles and standards on Ottoman culture and art during the Tanzimat. The exterior, in particular the view from the Bosporus, shows a classical European two-wing arrangement which is divided by a big avant-corps with two side avant-corps.