Istanbul's Palaces

Topkapi Palace     On a spit of land at the confluence of the Bosphorus and  Golden Horn stands Topkapi Palace, the maze of buildings at the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 16th centuries. In these opulent surroundings the sultans and their court lived and governed.

Dolmabahce Palace Built in the mid-19th by Sultan Abdul Mecit 1, the facade of Dolmabahce Palace stretches for 600 meters on the European shores of the Bosphorus. The vast reception  salon , with 56 columns and a huge crystal chandelie weighing four and a half tons  and lit by 750 lights. Ataturk , the founder of the Turkish Republic, diesdin Dolmabahce on the tenth of November, 1938.

Ciragan Palace

Ciragan Palace is located on the west,  European shore of the Bosphorus and was built by Sultan Abdulaziz.It served as a jail for his successor Sultan Murat V. The Palace also served for Deputies and Senators as the Parliament building in 1909 but was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1910. The original palace was rebuilt many times over the last two centuries.Finally the palace was restored for the Kempinski Hotel group and  now it is one of the best hotels in the world.

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