Discover Dolmabahçe Palace

Dolmabahçe was designed by members of the Armenian Balyan family of imperial architects, who broke decisively from traditional Ottoman palace design in favor of a lavish European eclectic style blending Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical elements. The result is a building that looks, at first glance, more like a European royal palace than anything in the Ottoman architectural tradition that preceded it.

The palace covers an enormous footprint along the Bosphorus shoreline and contains 285 rooms, 44 halls, and 6 baths, lavishly decorated with gold leaf, hand-woven Hereke carpets, and one of the world's largest collections of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers — including a ceremonial hall chandelier weighing several tons, among the largest of its kind anywhere.