Dolmabahce Palace » Distance: 8 km. Located along the coast of the Bosphorus in Beşiktaş, 300 yards from the Beşiktaş ferry-boat quay, this palace is the grandest imperial Ottoman residence. It was constructed by the Armenian architects Karabet and Nikogos Balyan for Sultan Abdülmecid (1839-61) who, preferring a more modern residence, decided to move out [...]
Beylerbeyi Palace » Distance: 15 km. Situated along the banks of the Asian side of the Bosphorus in the district of Beylerbeyi, this palace complex consists of the main palace building plus five pavilions (Köşk). The architect Sarkis Balyan, the brother ol ilit architects responsible for the Dolmabahçe Palace, built this modern palace for Sultan [...]
Yildiz Palace » Distance: 10 km. Located in between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy, in the Yildiz Park the Yıldız palace is a complex which extends 500,000 spuare meters and consists of several pavilions(köşk), palace buildings (kasr), and other service and management buildings. The name of this complex comes from the pavilion built by Sultan Mahmud II [...]
Topkapi Palace » Distance: 300 m. Topkapi is the largest and oldest palace in the world to survive to our day. In 1924 it was turned into a museum at Atatiirk’s request. Situated on the acropolis, the site of the first settlement in Istanbul, it commands an impressive view of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus [...]
