You have to go by yourself and see how the Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul, one of the most magnificent sights in Turkey, stands out with its gold, paintings and crystals. Dolmabahçe Palace is one of the must-see places in Istanbul. A palace that literally amazes you that the kings of the Ottoman era lived a luxurious life.
In the architecture and decoration of Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul, valuable elements of stone, crystal and gold have been used to prove that this place is more than one of the sightseeing places in Istanbul. Dolma Baghche Palace, which is considered to be the largest palace and rightly one of the must-see places in Turkey, was the place where six Ottoman kings lived and did their administrative work.
The idea of building this palace came from the mind of Abdul Majid I, one of the Ottoman kings, and his intention was to have a magnificent and modern palace unlike his previous palace.
Where is Dolmabahçe Palace?
As I said in the beginning of the article, Dolma Baghche Palace is one of the must-see places in Istanbul, which is located on the European side of the Bosphorus. The location of this palace is somewhere between two ports named Besiktas and Kabatas. To go to Dolmabaghce Palace in Istanbul, you need to go to Besiktas district, Vishnehzade neighborhood and Dolmabaghce Street.
The best time to visit Dolmabahçe Palace
From spring to autumn, when Istanbul becomes more touristy and crowded, you usually have to stand in long queues to go to Dolma Baghce Palace. Of course, if you go to Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul first thing in the morning, it is unlikely that the palace will be crowded and you will be delayed a lot, while the weather is cool at this time.
If you think you can’t go to the palace first thing in the morning, be aware of the time you go because this palace is only open until 4 pm.
Access route to Dolmabahçe Palace
To go to Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul, let me tell you one thing to put your mind at ease. This palace is located in an area that has easy access to all kinds of public transportation such as buses, subways, and trams.
I am telling the access route to Dolmabahçe Palace from two very famous areas of Sultan Ahmed and Taksim, where travelers usually stay in these areas.
If you want to go from Sultanahmet district to Dolma Baghce Palace or Palace of Istanbul, take the Bagjilar-Kabatash tram. Get off the tram at Kabataş station, which will be its last stop. After this station, walk for about 10 minutes to reach the palace.
The closest metro station to Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul is located in Taksim Square. If you are a hiker, walk the route from Taksim to Dolma Dolmabahçe, which takes about half an hour. Another way to go from Taksim to Dolma Baghçe Palace in Istanbul is to take the underground funicular train that takes you to Kabatash station.
Beşiktaş Estadiomo is one of the bus stops close to Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, which is about a quarter of a mile away from the palace. Whether you are in Taksim or Sultan Ahmed area, in both cases you can go to Dolma Baghche Palace by taxi, but keep in mind that it will cost you several times more than public transportation.
Istanbul Ataturk Airport is about 22 kilometers away from Dolma Baghce Palace, which takes about 45 minutes.
Istanbul Dolmabahçe Palace Guided Tour
Architecture of Dolma Dolmabahçe
A family named Balyan, who were famous architects during the Ottoman Empire, built the Dolma Baghche Palace in Istanbul with European and Ottoman architectural styles in 13 years. Of course, despite the interior brick walls and stone exterior walls and wooden floor, this palace has taken the shape of traditional Turkish houses.
Dolmabahçe Palace has three floors with 285 rooms, 44 halls, 68 toilets and 6 Turkish baths. Add a 600-meter pier to all these parts.
By going to the 45,000 square meter space of Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, you will step into the largest palace in Turkey, which is decorated with crystal, gold and paintings. The dots of this Dolma Palace are filled with precious items and show the perfect example of a luxurious life. Crystal chandelier or crystal chandelier is probably the first thing that comes to your eyes in the palace with its shiny crystals and great awe.
They spent as much as they could to decorate the roofs of Dolma Baghche Palace. Think about 14.5 tons of gold was used to decorate the roof of the palace in addition to the crystal chandeliers.
Dolmabahçe Palace carpets in Istanbul are selected from the best silk carpets in the world named Herke. The most professional Turkish carpet weavers, Taropod, have woven and shaped these carpets. Another artistic value of this palace is its 202 paintings, which were drawn by the most famous painters in the world. When climbing the stairs of Dolmabahçe Palace, be sure to pay attention to the base of the stairs. These stairs are not like any other stairs and are designed with precious crystals.
Different parts of Dolmabahçe Palace
The large space of Dolma Baghche Palace in Istanbul has many and varied sections, and in this section, I have carefully looked at each of these sections.
Salamlik or Mabini Humayun
Salamlik or Mabini Homayun is the first part of the first floor of Dolmabahçe Palace, where the most important administrative and political work was done here in the old days, and it is filled with luxurious sofas, carpets, and chandeliers. I think this part of the palace was formed with a sense of gender and class discrimination because women were not allowed to enter it.
Also, a part of Salamelik of Dolmabahçe Palace, which had a view towards the Bosphorus Strait, was reserved for ministers and emperors, and the other part, which had a waterless, grassy and dry view, was given to lower government officials. Salamlik or Mabini Homayun itself has two floors and different sections, which I will explain below.
Photo from: Google Maps site
Madhal Hall
The first place you come across in the Salamlik section is Madhal Hall. In the old days, different people could not enter the palace without permission, that’s why they waited in the Madhal hall, which was called the waiting hall, for the officer to get their permission to enter.
If you look carefully at the tables of the Madhal Hall, you will see a portrait of Sultan Abdul Majid with the art of inlaying. The chandelier with 60 crystal branches and “Harke” silk fabrics with red color are among the sights of Madhal hall.
Photo from: Wikimedia site
Secretariat room in Dolmabahçe Palace
By going to the secretary’s room or the tiling room, you will have the opportunity to see the most beautiful paintings by the most famous painters in the world. A famous Italian painter named “Stefano Ossi” painted a picture of travelers from Istanbul to Mecca, which is installed on the left wall of the room.
On the right wall of the room, you will see a painting by the Austro-French painter, which shows the Paris theater on fire. The existence of classic sofas with French model and Chinese vases are attractive decorative components in the secretary’s room.
Photo from: Move2turkey
Hall of Ambassadors
The Hall of Ambassadors, with its beautiful and symmetrical decorations, was a place for foreign guests of the Ottoman emperors to spend their free time.
Crystal staircase
The railings of the staircase from the first floor to the second floor are made of sparkling crystals, and in this staircase you can also see a crystal chandelier made of crystals from the famous French company called Baccarat.
Photo from: Google Maps site
red room
As soon as you enter the red room, seeing the red decoration, you will understand why this room was named red. Of course, not all parts of this room are red, and some parts of it are decorated with gold sheets.
Photo from: Taximsuites
Zolochin
Zolochin on the second floor of Salamlik, with a prayer room, a Turkish bath and a study hall, was the place where the Sultan did his personal work. Zolochin has beautiful views towards the garden of Dolmabaghche Palace and the Bosphorus Strait.
Photo from: google Map
Ceremonial hall
Ceremonial Hall is one of the most magnificent and beautiful parts of Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul, which is located between Salamlik and Haremsera. In the 2,000-meter space and 34-meter ceiling of the hall, you can see the largest Bohemian chandelier (land in Central Europe) whose crystals sparkle. If you do not know the numerical and numerical information of this chandelier, such as having 750 bubbles and weighing 4.5 tons, you will understand its glory with one look.
Some sources say that the Queen of England gifted this chandelier to Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, but some sources have rejected this statement and say that one of the Ottoman kings reached into his pocket to buy the chandelier and it was not a gift. Religious ceremonies were sometimes held in the upper parts of the ceremonial hall, and sometimes the orchestra came here and performed.
Photo from: Google Maps site
harem
The Haremsara of Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, like many harems you have probably seen in historical movies, was a place for the king to live with his wives. In the old days, the security guards strictly controlled the access to the palace so that no one but the sultan, his wives, mother and eunuchs could enter this space. The architecture of the harem is different from other parts of Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul, which is more traditional than European.
The beauty of the Haremsara’s decorations does not diminish anything from the other parts of the palace, despite the carpets, paintings, furniture and luxurious chandeliers, and this space has the following luxurious halls.
Photo from: Google Maps site
Blue Hall
The Blue Hall of Haremsaras was an important place for holding various celebrations of the mother and wives of the Sultan of Dolmabahçe Palace, and because of its blue color, it was known as the Blue Hall. If you look at the four sides of the blue hall, you will see a ceiling full of gold sheets and walls with paintings.
Pink hall
Whenever the mother and wives of the Sultan of Dolmabahçe Palace wanted to receive their guests, they invited them to the Pink Hall. The pink hall is not as big as the blue hall, but it has beautiful decorations such as hand-woven silk carpets and paintings. You can find the pink hall next to the blue hall of the palace harem.
Library
The last Ottoman king named Abdul Majid II used the library of the harem of the Dolmabahçe Palace for his important meetings, and now this library has become the storage place for the books of the first presidents of Turkey. The last Ottoman king must not have fond memories of the library because he was told the news of the fall of his rule in this place.
Atatürk’s room
Every time you enter Atatürk’s room, the clock shows only one time, which is 9:05 am. This is the time when the first president of Turkey, Atatürk, took his last breath and died in this room. The clock in the room stopped at the time of Atatürk’s death, and the Turkish flag was spread over his bed so that his memory would live forever.
Photo from: Google Maps site
Yard and outside area
In the outer area of Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, you can see various parts such as mosque, clock tower, several palaces, kitchen, carpet workshop and garden. The garden of this area was for the sultan’s women to freshen up.
Dolmabahçe Mosque
In 1853-1855, the mother of Sultan Abdul Majid ordered to build a magnificent mosque like a palace in the southern part of Dolma Baghche Palace. The architecture of Dolma Baghcheh mosque is in neoclassical style and is not similar to many mosques of the Ottoman era.
Dolmabahçe Mosque, although it has a dome, porch, and minaret, but with its lanterns and luxurious decorations, it evokes the feeling of a luxurious palace rather than a holy place. This mosque has two floors and is very similar to Ortakoy Mosque in Istanbul, which I will talk about in the later parts of the article.
clock tower
It is located exactly in front of Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul and next to the treasury gate of the clock tower with 4 sides and 4 floors and a height of 27 meters. The titles of the Sultan are written on the watch with a special type of calligraphy called Toghreh, and the famous French watchmaker Jean-Paul Garnier made the Tower Clock. It is said that a French family made this watch and the mechanical parts of this watch were replaced by electronic parts in 1979.
photo by: Wikimedia
Crown Palace
The Crown Palace used to be the residence of the Crown Prince, but since 2014, it has been turned into the National Palace Painting Museum. The number of paintings in this palace reaches 200, which is a reminder of the art and taste of painters of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Photo from: Google Maps site
History of Dolmabahçe Palace
The thirty-sixth Ottoman king or Sultan named Abdul Majid I, who lived in the relatively simple Topkapi Palace, told the famous architects of his time to build a modern and luxurious palace in the Besiktas area. This palace, which is Dolmabahçe Palace, was built between 1843 and 1856 at a total cost of 35 tons of gold. The cost of building the Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul was such a pressure on the Sultan that he had to borrow money from Europe to cover the costs.
Between 1856 and 1924, Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul was the residence of six Ottoman sultans, and after the Turkish revolution, this palace was handed over to the national heritage of the Republic of Turkey. Later, Dolma Baghce Palace in Istanbul became the residence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of Turkey, and as I wrote in the description of Atatürk Room, Atatürk died in this palace room.
Currently, the administration and supervision of Dolmabahçe Palace is given to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. Now, due to having all those precious and old items, this palace has become a museum and occasionally hosts foreign guests.
Photo from: Google Maps site
The reason for the naming of Dolmabahçe Palace
In order to better understand the reason why Dolma Palace is named Baghcheh, first let me say that Dolma means filled or filled and Baghcheh means our own garden. Before it was a palace, Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul was a place full of gardens and gazebos for the Ottoman kings to have fun, that’s why they named this palace Dolmabahçe.
Recommendations for visiting Dolmabahçe Palace
- Early in the morning is the best time to go to Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, so that you have enough time to visit different parts of the palace in peace and quiet.
- Some sources have written the visiting hours of Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul from 9 am to 6 pm, but the official website of this palace has announced the visiting hours from 9 am to 4 pm.
- Be aware that Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul is closed on Mondays and Thursdays, as well as on occasions such as Eid al-Fitr and Qurban.
- To enter Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, you must be accompanied by a tour leader and you will not be allowed to enter alone.
Be aware that taking photos inside Dolmabahçe Palace is prohibited. - You have to get a ticket to enter the palace and museums such as Salamlik, Painting Museum and Haremsara, but visiting the garden is free.
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