Audio GuideBeylerbeyi Palace
Beylerbeyi Sarayı
This 19th-century palace with gardens was once a summer residence for Ottoman sultans.
Museum
Istanbul, Türkiye
On the Asian shore of Istanbul, right at the edge of the Bosphorus, stands Beylerbeyi Palace, a grand summer residence built for the Ottoman sultans. Before this stately building was finished in the mid-eighteen sixties, an earlier wooden palace stood here, but it was damaged by fire and replaced at the command of Sultan Abdülaziz. The architect Sarkis Balyan blended traditional Ottoman layouts with touches from Renaissance and Baroque styles. This gave the palace both an airy, elegant feel and a hint of European sophistication.
Beylerbeyi Palace was more than a royal home. During the warm months, sultans left their winter palaces for Beylerbeyi's milder climate. The palace often welcomed important foreign guests. Its rooms once hosted Empress Eugénie of France, Iranian royalty, and later, famous dignitaries from around the world. There is a story that Empress Eugénie loved the guest room’s window so much that she created a copy of it for her Paris bedroom.
Inside, the separation of the Selamlik, for men, and the Harem, for women, reflected both Ottoman privacy and social rules. There are more than twenty rooms and several grand halls. Floors are covered with soft Hereke carpets and reed matting shipped from Egypt to keep the palace cool and dry. French crystal chandeliers, delicate vases from Asia and Europe, and detailed wood carvings fill the halls, showing off the international tastes of the Ottoman elite.
Central to the palace is a sunlit hall with a marble fountain and pool. The gentle sound of running water not only cools the air but also adds to the calm, luxurious atmosphere. Outside, gardens once had rare trees and wide lawns. Today, while the grounds are smaller and the Bosphorus Bridge now stands nearby, the charm of the palace remains. After years of change and even a period of house arrest for Sultan Abdülhamid in the early twentieth century, Beylerbeyi became a museum, allowing visitors to walk in the footsteps of sultans and statesmen and discover how Ottoman power and hospitality once met at the water's edge.
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