Dolmabahçe Palace marks 170 years
One of the most magnificent monuments of the Ottoman Empire’s westernization era, Dolmabahçe Palace is marking the 170th anniversary of its opening this year.
Commissioned by Sultan Abdülmecid and inaugurated on June 7, 1856, the palace continues to stand as a symbol of both the empire’s final century and the formative years of the Turkish Republic.
Located on the Beşiktaş waterfront, the palace complex covers 110,000 square meters on land that was once a natural bay. The area, which was gradually filled in during the reign of Sultan Osman II and came to be known as “Dolmabahçe,” later became part of the imperial gardens and the Beşiktaş Coastal Palace. Today, it is among Istanbul’s most important cultural and historical landmarks.
The sprawling complex includes the Mabeyn (State Apartments), the Ceremonial Hall, the Imperial Harem and the Crown Prince’s quarters, as well as structures such as the Bezmialem Valide Sultan Mosque, the Imperial Stables, the Palace Theater, the Clock Tower and several treasury and furnishing buildings.
