After being deposed in 1908, Sultan Abdül Hamit II spent the last years of his life here. Facing north-west, the palace gets little direct sunlight - it was...
Abdullah Aĸa Caddesi 12
Constructed around AD 500, the palace was extended in the 11th and 12th centuries, by which time it had become the favoured imperial residence. It's now...
Ivaz Aĸa Caddesi
Irrefutable evidence of an empire on its last legs, Dolmabahçe Palace was built for Abdül Mecit by Karabet Balyan and his son Nikoĸos. It was completed in...
Dolmabahçe Caddesi
Completed in 1857, this relatively small palace was used by Ottoman sultans for short stays during country excursions and hunting trips. Unlike other...
Küçüksu Caddesi
Directly behind Haghia Sophia are the walls shielding the Topkapı Palace complex. Part command centre for a massive military empire, part archetypal Eastern...
Bab-ı Hümayün Caddesi
Most of the palace dates from the late 19th century when the paranoid Sultan Abül Hamit II ('Abdül the Damned') abandoned waterfront Dolmabahçe for fear of...
Yıldız Caddesi