Dolmabahçe Palace

Ottoman Sultan II. The Ottoman palace, which was started to be built by Mahmut in 1843, was established on the shore of the Bosphorus on an area of ​​​​250.000 m².

According to what history books, chroniclers and Evliya Çelebi tell us, Yavuz Sultan Selim had a mansion built in the same place before the palace was built. This area was filled with stones during the reign of Ahmet I, and the same mansion was enlarged. The construction of the palace, which started in 1843, was completed in 1856.

It was used as the Presidential residence with the proclamation of the Republic. Dolmabahçe Palace has a special importance in terms of witnessing history, as it is the place where Gazi Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, spent his last days and died on November 10, 1938.

Located on the European side of the Bosphorus, within the borders of Beşiktaş district today, the palace has a length of 600 meters by the Bosphorus. As a reflection of European architectural styles, it was built by Garabet Amira Balyan from the Balyan family, who also designed many works in Istanbul, and his son Nigoğos Balyan.

According to the news in the newspaper Ceride-i Havadis, the opening ceremony of the palace took place after the Treaty of Paris signed with the Russian Empire on March 30, 1856.

Although Dolmabahçe Palace does not have an architectural design that directly falls into a unique school, a unique work has been created by blending French Baroque, German Rococo, English Neo Classicism, Italian Renaissance architectural style, style and inspirations.

There are 285 rooms and 43 halls in the palace, which was built as three floors. The 56-columned reception hall and the 4.5-ton crystal chandelier illuminated by 750 lights in this hall are among the most interesting parts of the palace. This hall has the distinction of being the largest and the largest ballroom among the palaces in the world.