Beylerbeyi Palace

Infobox Historic building
name = Beylerbeyi Palace

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caption = Beylerbeyi Palace from the Bosphorus
map_type =
latitude =
longitude =
location_town = Istanbul
location_country = Turkey
architect = Agop Balyan, Sarkis Balyan
client = Sultan Abdülaziz
engineer =
construction_start_date = 1829-1832
date_demolished =
cost =
structural_system = main palace, pavilions and gardens
owner = Turkish state
style = Ottoman, Baroque
size = The Beylerbeyi Palace ( _tr. Beylerbeyi Sarayı) is a palace located in Beylerbeyi neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey at the Asian side of the Bosphorus, situated just north of the Bosphorus Bridge today.

Designed in the baroque style by Sarkis Balyan, Beylerbeyi Palace seems fairly restrained compared to the excesses of the earlier Dolmabahçe or Küçüksu palaces. It was commissioned by Sultan Abdülaziz (1830-1876) and built between 1861 and 1865 as a summer residence and a place to entertain visiting heads of state. Empress Eugénie of France visited Beylerbeyi on her way to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and had her face slapped by the sultan's mother for daring to enter the palace on the arm of Abdül Aziz. Other regal visitors to the palace included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The palace was the last place of captivity of the deposed sultan Abdulhamid II from 1912 until his death there in 1918.

The palace looks its most attractive from the Bosphorus, from where its two bathing pavilions, one for the harem (women's only) and the other for the selamlık (men's only), can best be seen.

One of the most attractive rooms is the reception hall, which has a pool and fountain. Running water was popular in Ottoman houses for its pleasant sound and cooling effect in the heat.

Egyptian straw matting is used on the floor as a form of insulation. The crystal chandeliers are mostly Bohemian and the carpets are from Hereke. Despite her initial reception, Empress Eugénie of France was so delighted by the elegance of the palace that she had a copy of the window in the guest room made for her bedroom in Tuileries Palace, in Paris, France.

See also

* Ottoman architecture

Literature

* Hakan Gülsün. "Beylerbeyi Palace". TBMM. Istanbul, 1993.

External links

* [http://www.millisaraylar.gov.tr/source.cms4/index.snet?wapp=historyen&did=BF185EA6-3B06-4E36-9AF6-6F9EC00B0FA0 Department of National Palaces | Beylerbeyi Palace]
* [http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7704&bcsi_scan_F9A015837D4CE903=hYJzGC1gi+SQc2H566ClTgIAAACdAUED&bcsi_scan_filename=one-site.jsp Archnet.org | Beylerbeyi Palace]