Dolmabahce Palace

The True Opulence of Dolmabahce Palace

Istanbul is known across the world for many different things, and one of them is certainly the opulent buildings that once belonged to the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottomans lived in nothing but style, and nothing was ever too expensive, too large, too golden, too grandeur, or any other adjective that basically describes royalty in its most sophisticated and opulent of forms. One building which stands to this very day and shows visitors the scale of grandeur which the Ottomans adored, is Dolmabahce Palace.

Commissioned to be built by Sultan Abdulmecid, Dolmabahce Palace almost bankrupted the Ottomans, such was the scale of the building and the decoration that was ordered to go into it. It was originally intended to be the private residence of the Sultan, but was also used as the main office centre/administrative hub of the entire Ottoman Empire.

About Dolmabahce Palace

You can easily see Dolmabahce Palace from the main road or from a boat trip down the Bosphorus. It stands out because of its true lavish design, and it is one of those buildings which you simply have to go and visit, to explore just show stunning it in on the inside. If it looks this good on the outside, the interior must be something else, right? It truly is!

The palace is 600 metres in length and it took 13 years for building work to be completed, finally finished in 1856. The palace was the administrative main hub of the Empire until 1922. Dolmabahce Palace was designed by Karate Balian, and his son, who were both Armenian architects of prominence at the time. The palace has a variety of different architectural styles which run throughout it, including Ottoman, Rococo, Neo-classical, and Baroque. It encompasses every single thing about luxury you can imagine, and it came at a huge price tag. The estimate comes in at around $1.5 billion at today’s value, and it is this palace’s construction which weakened the financial status of the entire Empire.

Things to See Inside Dolmabahce Palace

There are countless ‘must see’ parts of this palace, but when you enter the Ceremonial Hall, be sure to look at the huge chandelier. It’s quite difficult not to look at it in truth, as it is weighs 4.5 tonnes and is the world’s largest of it’s type, made of Bohemian crystal. The chandelier was a gift from Queen Victoria to the Empire, upon the palace’s opening.

As you enter the Dining Hall, be sure to look at the opulence of every single item, but look down at the floor. You wouldn’t expect the floor to be this detailed, but it is handmade, and carved from mahogany, ebony, and rosewood. When the floor is so special, you know you’re somewhere dripping in luxury!

Inside Dolmabahce Palace you will also be able to visit the National Palaces’ Painting Museum, which houses more than 200 pieces of art from the late 19th and 20th centuries. There is an extra admission fee (more on that shortly), but it’s certainly worth a visit.

Dolmabahce Palace and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Dolmabahce Palace does not just have significance in Ottoman history, but also in modern Turkey. Dolmabahce Palace was the place where the great Mustafa Kemal Ataturk spent a lot of his time, and where he eventually died in 1938. The clocks within the palace are permanently set to 9.05am, the time of day he passed away. At this point, every year, the whole country stands in remembrance of the man who founded the Turkish Republic, and effectively changed the lives of millions from that point, to the modern day.

On the streets surrounding Dolmabahce Palace, as you head down towards Besiktas, you will see framed black and white pictures of Ataturk at various stages of his life, commemorating him for visitors from all over the world to see.

Visiting Dolmabahce Palace

There is some bad news. Dolmabahce Palace is a very busy place to visit, so you will need to get there early in the day, and you will need to make peace with queuing! The summer months are worse for crowds than at any other time, and weekends are worth avoiding too. Visiting in the morning, during the mid-week period is your best bet.

Dolmabahce Palace is open all week, apart from Mondays and Thursdays, and from 9am until 5pm. The cost of visiting Dolmabahce Palace is 60TL for the main palace section, with an extra 40TL to go into the Harem. You can buy a combined ticket for both sections at 90TL if you prefer to save 10TL! To go into the National Palaces’ Paintings Museum, it will cost you another 20TL. The Istanbul Museum Pass isn’t valid for Dolmabahce Palace.

Whilst this is one of the more expensive of Istanbul’s many cultural and historic buildings, it is certainly one which is worth the price tag. You will struggle to find opulence like this anywhere else in the world, and the chance to visit a palace which is steeped in so much history is not to be missed. It is also certainly worthwhile taking a guided tour, as you will get to learn a lot more, and appreciate what you are seeing to a greater degree.

Once you have finished your time in Dolmabahce Palace, you are well placed to explore some other areas within close proximity. Just outside of Dolmabahce Palace underneath the historic clock tower, you will find a cafe which allows you to sit and enjoy a hot drink by the banks of the Bosphorus. On a sunny day, whether cold or not, this is a wonderful experience, and you will be able to see right over towards the Asian side, as well as up towards the Golden Horn.

Of course, if you want to compare the opulence of Dolmabahce Palace to another imperial palace of the Ottoman Empire, why not jump on the tram up to Sultanahmet and visit Topkapi Palace too!