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ALL TURKEY TOURS |
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INFORMATION |
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BEYLERBEYI PALACE;
One of the most important
Istanbul palaces is the Palace of Beylerbeyi. It is situated
at the foot of the Bosphorus Bridge on the Asian shore and
was built between 1861 - 1864 by Sultan Abdulaziz in place
of a wooden palace which was previously on the site. The
sultan, who was a keen sportsman and a known artist, is
believed to have prepared sketches for the decoration of the
palace, which were later used in the decoration of the
ceilings
The palace is a three story structure, and is set in
terraced grounds planted with
trees brought from all corners of the globe. On the
uppermost terrace of the grounds is to be found a marble
pool, surrounded by three pavilions, the Sari Pavilion, The
Marble Pavilion and the Ahir Pavilion, each of which is
important in its own right. The harem and selamlik quarters
of the palace are situated on the shore of the Bosphorus.
The palace is decorated in the style typical of 19th century
Europe, and the original furnishings are preserved there,
giving the palace the distinction of being a fully furnished
museum. The building, in the French baroque style, is
constructed of stone and marble. The harem and selamlik
sections are in two separate buildings.
The lowest story is subterranean, and above it are two other
stories containing six main rooms and 23 side rooms.
Entrance is via a curved marble staircase into the Harem
hall, the largest chamber on the lower floor is known as the
pool room, as it contains a large pool in the center. Rooms
on the lower floor are reached via a door on the shore
façade. In one corner of the shore façade is the Captain
Pasha room, and in the other two corners are reception
rooms. Rooms allocated to the harem as dining halls on this
floor were also used by Abdülhamit II as his privy
apartments on his return from Salonika.
The most interesting chambers on the upper story are the
inlay room and the magnificent blue room, decorated with
blue stucco columns, painted ceiling, inscriptions,
chandeliers and vases. On the garden façade of this chamber
are the apartments used by the Empress Eugene during her
stay in Beylerbeyi, and on the shore façade is to be seen
the mahogany revetted reception room of Abdulaziz. From here
one may enter the inlay room, which gives onto the paneled,
mukarnas niched ambassadorial reception room and the
conference room of the palace.
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