Dolmabahçe Palace Clock Tower, Istanbul, Turkey

            Dolmabahçe Palace (Turkish: Dolmabahçe Sarayı) located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coastline of the Bosphorus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922, apart from a 22-year interval (1887–1909) in which Yıldız Palace was used.

Dolmabahçe Palace was ordered by the Empire's 31st Sultan, Abdülmecid I, and built between the years 1843 and 1856. Hacı Said Ağa was responsible for the construction works, while the project was realized by architects Garabet Balyan, his son Nikoghayos Balyan and Evanis Kalfa. The construction cost five million Ottoman mecidiye gold coins, the equivalent of 35 tonnes of gold.[1] Fourteen tonnes of gold in the form of gold leaf were used to gild the ceilings of the 45,000 square metre monoblock palace, which stands on an area of 110,000 m².

The design contains eclectic elements from the Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles, blended with traditional Ottoman architecture to create a new synthesis. 

The world's largest Bohemian crystal chandelier is in the center hall. The chandelier, a gift from Queen Victoria, has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tonnes. Dolmabahçe has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world, and one of the great staircases has bannisters of Baccarat crystal.

The site of Dolmabahçe was originally a bay on the Bosporus which was reclaimed gradually during the 18th century to become an imperial garden, much appreciated by the Ottoman sultans; it is from this garden that the name Dolmabahçe (Filled-in Garden) comes from the Turkish dolma meaning filled and bahçe meaning garden.

Taken in: Turkey / İstanbul / İstanbul / Kabataş (show map)

Taken on: May 27, 2012

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Sets appears in: • Ottoman Turkish Architecture

Groups appears in: • Architecture • Towers more » • Buildings/Architecture • Palaces, Castles, Towers, Pagodas, Fortresses And Ruins of Old • Travel Photography • Architecture-Building & Construction • Architectural details and decorative elements • istanbulium • Architecture Travellers • You Think this is Art • Beautiful Capture • EXPLORE TURKEY ( Lütfen AÇIKLAMA'yı okuyunuz...!!! ) • The World of Travel • Architectural Beauty ! • Osmanlı Tarzı / Ottoman Style « less

Camera: NIKON COOLPIX P80, f/6.3, 1/308 sec, 4.7mm, ISO 64 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	NIKON COOLPIX P80
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/308)
Focal Length:	4.7mm
ISO:	64
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Macintosh
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