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The
word "Dolmabahce" in English means "The filled garden".
Because the Dolmabahce Palace is founded upon a
reclaimed area by filling up the sea. It's a beautiful
19th C palace right by the Bosphorus, on the waterfront.
It's in baroque and rococo style and very French. Many
people think that it is a small model of the palace of
Versailles in Paris, France. It can be visited with a
tour guide of the palace as a group. Open everyday from
9:30-17:00 except Mon and Thu.
When
one enters the palace area, the first thing to see is
the beautiful French style gardens. After having a
lovely walk by the Bosphorus, one reaches the main
building. The palace was constructed between 1842-1853
by one of the Ottoman Sultans, Sultan Abdulmecid. The
architect was a famous Armenian architect, Nikogos
Balyan. The palace reflects the European and more
"modern" side of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultans moved
to Dolmabahce Palace after its construction was finished
and never went back to Topkapi Palace which hosted them
nearly 4 centuries.
Before
one enters into the main palace building, should wear
blue nylons over shoes due to keep the palace clean.
After wearing them, one faces with a huge entrance hall
with beautiful French Baccarat crystal chandelliers. The
palace altogether is decorated with French Baccarat and
Czech Bohemian crystal chandelliers.The entrance hall is
the hall where the visitors were used to welcomed. This
part is the official part (Selamlik) of the Palace that
was only open to the men. The women and the children
lived in a different part called "the Harem". The
Sultan's bedrooms were also in the Harem Part. The
founder of Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died
in this palace in 1938 of sirosis disease. He actually
lived in Ankara, Turkey's capital, but he used to come
to Istanbul quite often and Dolmabahce Palace was his
residence when he visited Istanbul. His room is also in
the Harem Part of the Palace. There are many portraits
in the palace by famous artists, like Aivazosvky of
Russia. It's a very ornate palace with its 285 rooms, 43
large halls and 6 Turkish baths. The large old carpets
on the floor are Hereke Carpets which were exclusively
woven for the palaces. Some rooms have a great parquet
floor with three different woods inlaid into each other
by using no nails. Many of the palace fabrics and the
curtains were also coming from Hereke, a small town 50
miles,70 kms. to the east of Istanbul. The palace
fabrics today were replaced by new ones which are very
similar to the original ones. |
