Dolmabahce Palace Istanbul,
It is impossible to describe briefly all the masterpieces of civil architecture which adorn Istanbul. The palaces and pavilions, historical mansions and seaside villas. They are living examples of our architectural history, built in the styles of various periods. We should rejoice when they have not been demolished or burned down, and protect them from further damage. After he conquered Istanbul, Fatih Sultan Mehmed built his first palace in Beyazit on the site of the Rectory of Istanbul University. After living there for a while he had a second palace built between the years 1475 to shores of the Golden Horn and the Upper Bosphorus and had summer palaces and houses built there. Among these is the Uskudar Palace on the site of the present Selimiye Kislasi built by Sultan Suleyman the Law Giver, the Aynali Kayak pavilion built by Ahmed I, the palace and pavilions of Bebek, Sadabad built by Ahmet III, and the Goksu Palace built by Mahmud I. In 1839 the then Sultan Abdulmecid decided to abandon Topkapi Palace whose dilapidated state made it no longer fit to live in, and build a new palace for use both winter and summer. Dolmabahce was chosen as the site for this new palace. The village here had been fully built up during the time of Ahmed I and Osman II, and so got the name Dolmabahce (full garden). The whole area from the village down to the seashore was filled with old palaces and pavilions. Besiktas Palace which was built by Abdulhamid I was here. Abdulmecid demolished Besiktas Palace, and bet-ween 1842 and 1853 Dolmabahce Palace was built in its place.
Please note that Dolmabahce Palace Museum is close on Monday and Thursday. You can visit the museum from 09.00 to 17.00. Also, Private Istanbul Tours have Istanbul day tours every day and some of them included Istanbul Dolmabahce Palace Museum.
You will continue to find more details about the Dolmabahce Palace Museum of Istanbul in Chapter 2.
