Dolmabahçe Sarayı (Dolmabahce Palace), Turkey’s largest palace and one of the impressive landmarks of Istanbul, located in Beşiktaş, on the European coast of the Bosphorus is the symbol of Westernization of the 19 th century. The Palace was built by the order of Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid, believing Topkapi Palace being outdated, and a new modern, contemporary palace was needed. Balyan Family, the court architects, built the Palace between 1843 and 1856. It served as the official residence and main administrative center of the Empire from 1856 up until the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the Palace as a presidential office between 1927-1938 and enacted some of his most important works here, such as the Alphabet Revolution and the opening of the Parliament. Atatürk spent the last days of his life here and passed away at 9:05 a.m. on November 10, 1938, in a bedroom in the Palace. In his honor, all the clocks in the Palace were stopped and set to 9:05 after his death.
The design of Dolmabahce Palace contains Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical and traditional Ottoman architecture styles. It has an area of 45.000 m 2 and there are 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 Hamams and 68 toilets in the Palace. A notable feature of the Palace is the collection of Bohemian crystal chandeliers, one of which has 750 lamps weighs 4.5 tons and was a gift from Queen Victoria.
Today all the sections and units of Dolmabahce Palace is open to visitors: Precious Items Exhibition Halls, Internal Treasury Exhibition Building, Art Gallery, Abdülmecid Efendi Library and Historical Corridor.
We invite you to explore the magnificent Dolmabahce Palace and enjoy its rich history.
