Dolmabahce Palace (Dolmabahce Sarayi)
Dolmabahce Palace is Turkey’s most famous luxury palace, with a stunning 600-meter-long facade overlooking the Bosphorus. The white marble rococo style palace was built under Sultan Abdul-Mejid in 1834, when the Topkapi Palace finally bored him and he wanted a change. The architects of Dolmabahce were the Turkish Armenian Karapet Balian and his son Nikogos. The sultans of the last years of the Ottoman Empire preferred to live here, abandoning Topkapi Palace.
General information
In the gardens of Dolmabahce Palace, away from the noise of the city, you will find cafes and souvenir stores. Tours of about an hour are organized every 15 minutes for those wishing to enter the palace.
The official chambers still at times fulfill their ceremonial function. The exquisite interiors bring to mind French palaces, particularly Versailles. A separate pavilion houses feathered birds from all over the world.
Dolmabahce Caddesi, Besiktas (500 meters from Kabataş Marina on the European side of the Bosphorus). Open: Tues, Wed, Wed, Fri and Fri – Sun 9.00-15.00. Closed: Mon, Fri, Thurs. Entrance fee. Additional charge for photography and videography. The palace receives 1500 visitors a day, once this figure is reached, it closes.
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