Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Dolmabahçe Palace, Turkey

Istanbul's Dolmabahçe Palace is the largest palace in Turkey. It is on the European side of the Bosporus and was built from 1843 to 1856.
It was the Ottoman Empire’s main administrative center. It was home to six sultans from 1856 until the end of the Caliphate in 1924.
This place is huge! 45,000 m² (11.2 acres). There are 1,427 windows, 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 Turkish baths and 68 toilets.
The inside is awesome but there is a strictly enforced no photography rule. Dang it!

The palace is home to the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world, including the world’s single largest chandelier. The great staircase even has Baccarat crystal banisters. Very fancy.












Turkey’s first President, and founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk used the palace as a residence until he passed away on November 10, 1938 at 9:05 AM. All of the clocks in the palace were stopped at 9:05.

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