Dolmabahçe Palace

Open everyday except Monday and Thursday from 09.00 to 15.00.
Entrance fee for Selamlık section 15.00 TL, for Harem section 10.00 TL.
It is visited by small groups with a local guide provided by the museum management.

You'll get fascinated by the glory of magnolia trees if you have a chance to visit Dolmabahçe Sarayı in June.

Construction of Dolmabahçe Palace is a result of westernization movements during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid I at which you can see the influences on its architecture. The older palace located at Beşiktaş was demolished and replaced by a new structure more western design (such as Çırağan, Beylerbeyi Palaces and Küçüksu, Malta and Ihlamur pavilions) ignoring the traditional architectural style.

The architect of Dolmabahçe Palace was Garabed Balyan, the best-known member of Armenian architect family, nine of whom served to six sultans. After his three sons studied architecture in Paris he applied the knowledge they brought back in the construction of Dolmabahçe Palace, which was built between 1843-1856 when the Ottoman Empire was losing its power.This marvelous palace displays the richness and powerthe Sultans had.

The palace consists of a Selamlık (men's quarters), a grand hall, a Harem (women's quarters) and Veliaht Dairesi (crown princes' quarters). Veliaht Dairesi is now being used as the Museum of Modern Art and Sculpture. Harem and the Selamlık were under the same roof for the first time in Ottoman Empire history.

Under the sultanate of Ahmet I, the area was filled with soil from a nearby hill to form a picnic area for the Sultans. The name "Dolmabahçe" comes from this landfill. "Dolma" means "filled" in Turkish while "bahçe" means "garden", therefore it is the "Filled Garden Palace."

The palace features two highly elaborate gateways, representing the empire's magnificence. The Treasury Gate faces the Clock Tower, and the Regal Gate faces the main roadway. Each columned gate focuses upon a central arch, framed by smaller side arches, within a graceful oval indentation of the palace walls themselves. Towers highlight these ovals. Columns dominate heavy ornamentation, badges, oyster shells, leaves and branches, and strung pearls.

The palace itself is a three-story building, with two main stories risings over a half sunken floor and contains 285 rooms, four grand halls, six galleries and six baths. There are five main staircases in the state and harem apartments except the service staircases.

The facade of Dolmabahce Palace stretches for 600 meters along the European shore of the Bosphorus. The huge reception hall, with 56 columns, and a gigantic crystal chandelier weighing four and a half tons and lit by 750 candles never fails to surprise visitors. In earlier periods, birds from all over the world were kept in the Bird Pavilion for the enjoyment of the palace's privileged residents. Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic, died in Dolmabahçe Palace at 09:05 on the 10th of November 1938. That's why all the clocks at Dolmabahçe show that time.

Dolmabahçe Mosque was built along with the Dolmabahçe Palace and is in neo-classical style. These types of mosques are quite rich in ornaments and decorations of rococo style. Other mosques in this style are, Nusretiye Mosque at Tophane, Selimiye Mosque in Üsküdar and Ortaköy Mosque

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