Dolmabahçe Palace

The 19th-century Bosphorus palace that replaced Topkapı — a European-style masterpiece dripping with crystal, gold and marble.

Commissioned by Sultan Abdülmecid I and completed in 1856, Dolmabahçe was built to bring the Ottoman Empire into the modern age. Its architects blended Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles into 285 rooms, 46 halls and 68 bathrooms, decorated with 14 tons of gold leaf and the world's largest Bohemian crystal chandelier — a 4.5-ton gift from Queen Victoria. The palace served the last six sultans and later became the residence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who passed away here on 10 November 1938. All clocks in the palace are still stopped at 09:05 in his memory.