Dolmabahce Palace History

Between 1843 and 1856, Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid (1839-1861) constructed Dolmabahce Palace Istanbul on an area of 110,000 square metres. The fact that it was built on the brink of the Bosphorus was taken as proof that the Ottomans had broken the traditional link to the past. They used to rule the empire from Topkapi Palace and the Historical Peninsula, as you know.

From 1856, when the Ottoman Caliphate was disbanded, Dolmabahce Palace was home to six sultans and the final Ottoman Caliph Abdülmecid Efendi. Between 1927 and 1938, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, studied in the palace in Istanbul and died here on November 10, 1938. As a result, the palace holds a special place in the hearts of the Turkish people. Between 1926 to 1984, the palace was half open to protocol and visits, and after 1984, it was finally opened to the public as a museum.

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Things to See in Dolmabahce Palace

Unlike Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace was constructed as a one huge edifice with multiple pavilions and a large park surrounding it. On the land side, it was encircled by high walls. There are two main gates and seven smaller gates, as well as five ports on the seashore side. Dolmabahce Palace’s gardens and gates are particularly stunning. The gates are among the best examples of metalwork and are extremely thrilling.

Over 50,000 artefacts are housed in the palace’s hundreds of chambers. The palace’s interior is designed in the style of wealthy European palaces and depicts the era’s grandeur. The colossal crystal stairwells and chandeliers, as well as the enormous oil paintings and sofas, are all very appealing. The palace’s priceless watches will pique your interest.

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How to Get to Dolmabahce Palace Istanbul

From Sultanahmet, you can take the tram to Dolmabahce Palace. You can get out at the last stop, Kabatas, if you ride the tram from Sultanahmet Tram Station in the direction of “Kabatas.” The palace is only a five-minute walk from Kabatas Tram Station.

You can ride Funicular F1 from Taksim Square to Kabatas in minutes to go to Dolmabahce Palace. Following the shoreline from Kabatas Tram Station will take you to the palace in a few minutes.

Dolmabahce Palace Map

Dolmabahce Palace Opening Hours

Dolmabahce Palace is open from 9:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. The ticket offices close 60 minutes before the doors close. The last opportunity to enter is at 17:00. Please note that Mondays are closed at Dolmabahce Palace.

Dolmabahce Palace Entrance Fee

As of 2021, the entrance cost to Dolmabahce Palace is 120 Turkish Liras. You will have to spend an additional 90 TL to visit the Dolmabahce Palace Harem. The combination ticket is 150 TL and includes both the palace and the harem. An audio guide is included in the ticket fee.

There is also a combo ticket available for 200 Turkish Lira. This ticket also includes a portion titled “Museum of Palace Collections,” which features artworks placed on top of the locations specified in the previous lines.

STRUCTURE OF DOLMABAHCE PALACE

With over 110.000 square meters of construction on 250.000 square meters of land, it sure is an impressive palace on the Bosphorus. The palace is consisted of three main sections: Administrative apartments (Selamlik or Mabeyn-i Hümayun), Ceremonial Hall (Muayede Salonu), and Imperial Harem (Harem-i Hümayun). The impressive Ceremonial Hall was built between other two sections, where the sultan received his important guests and foreign statesmen. Besides the main palace, there are several other buildings in the complex such as imperial kitchens, Crown Prince rooms (Veliaht Dairesi), barracks, stables, pharmacy, flour mill, aviary (Kusluk), glass manufactory, foundry, plant house (Fidelik), greenhouse, carpet workshop, clock tower, etc. Some of the smaller buildings were destroyed or demolished during the years. There are two monumental gates giving access to the main garden (but only one is open today) of the administrative part; Treasury Gate (Hazine Kapisi) and Imperial Gate (Saltanat Kapisi).

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The Mabeyn-i Hümayun (state apartments) is the most important section in terms of function and splendour. There is a large hall at the entrance, a crystal staircase (banisters), and other decorative elements to impress the visitors. A couple of large halls upstairs decorated with Hereke carpets, crystal chandeliers and fireplaces, and a fine imperial Hamam decorated with Egyptian alabaster are other impressive parts of the Selamlik section.

The Ceremonial Hall is a large square hall of monumental proportions, over 2.000 square meters of area and 36 meters high ceeling. It is decorated with a huge Hereke carpet and a 4,5 tons of crystal chandelier which was sent by Queen Victoria. Important state and religious ceremonies were held here. Upper galleries were used by foreign ambassadors invited to the religious ceremonies but also by the orchestra at special occasions. Women weren’t allowed in this ceremonies so they watched it from the windows of a long corridor connecting the Selamlik with the Harem, passing just above the Ceremonial Hall. During the winter, the hall was heated with the hot air blown from the heating system at the bottom of 56 tall columns, it took them about 3 days to heat the hall properly before any ceremony.

The Harem was connected to the Selamlik section by a long corridor which was guarded all the time to make sure that nobody passes. It was strictly prohibited by any man to go in, except the sultan himself of course and the eunuch servants. The Harem section is formed by several rooms, baths, and halls. There were suites of the sultan, quarter of the Queen mother (Valide Sultan), rooms for official wives, favorites (Gözde) and concubines (Cariye), and some education rooms for the young children of the sultan. Just next to the Harem section, there was the Palace of the Crown Prince.

Imperial Gate of Dolmabahce Palace rises on two floors above a basement. Local stone and some marble was used in its outer walls, brick in the inner walls, and parquet wood on the floors. It has a European design with neo-baroque style, typical of the Ottoman tradition of the mid-19th century. Even the interior furniture is of typical western design, with the exception of the plan (traditional Turkish house symmetrical plan) and Turkish rugs. Electricity and central heating system was introduced around 1910. The palace has 285 rooms, 46 reception halls and galleries, 6 Turkish baths (Hamam), and 68 toilets. There are over 600 oil paintings.

Just outside of the palace, Dolmabahce Mosque (or Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Mosque) was built at the same time and the Clock Tower was built a short afterwards.

Admission to Dolmabahce Palace is charged in Turkish Lira, the ticket cost for visiting both the Selamlik and the Harem section combined is 100 Lira per person. Children up to 6 years are free of charge. There are also some charges for smaller exhibitions and kiosks in the palace grounds. You’re not allowed to take any photos or film inside the palace buildings. The visit is based on a guided tour usually every 10-15 minutes. During your visit, you can relax in one of the several caffe’s on the grounds of the museum.

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