Dolmabahçe Palace

Located on the embankment, which housed a number of kiosks and gardens that the sultans used since the reign of Selim II (1566-1574), this palace was commissioned by Abdülmecid (1839-1861) and was initially known as “Beşiktaş Palace”. The names of Garabet Amira Balyan (d. 1866), Nigoğos Bey Balyan (d. 1858), as well as M. Smith and Avanis Kalfa, are mentioned in historic documents as the individuals in charge of the design and construction of the palace. Completed in 1855, while the palace features a “European” façade design, the presence of the inner hall plan known as “zülvecheyn / karnıyarık” is a reflection of the dichotomy between modernity and tradition in architecture during the Tanzimat Era. On the contrary, the relocation of the state’s administrative centre from the centuries-old Topkapı Palace to Dolmabahçe Palace, which neighbours the Galata-Pera region, is an indication of the new orientations in the relationship the Ottoman Empire has with the West.