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El Badi Palace
Marrakech, Morocco · Palaces & landmarks
An Apollonaut travel guide
A city of palaces on the water.
An introduction to Istanbul’s waterfront palaces and the city around Dolmabahçe, from the Bosphorus shore to its gilded rooms.
On this page
Read the city from the water
Istanbul’s historic peninsula is a World Heritage site, and the Bosphorus shore beyond it is lined with palaces, pavilions and waterfront houses. Dolmabahçe faces the water across its whole length.
A city guide can give context without turning a neighbourhood into a backdrop. Notice how a façade addresses the sea, how a gate marks a passage, or how a garden softens a long wall. Respect homes, working businesses and places of worship.
Marble, crystal and carpet
White marble outside, and crystal, porcelain, carpets and gilded plaster inside, give Dolmabahçe its character. Hereke carpets and Yıldız porcelain were made in Ottoman workshops.
Begin with a material and ask how it was made, repaired and maintained. A photograph alone cannot tell you who made a carpet or a chandelier, or the conditions in which they worked.
A Dolmabahçe chapter
Dolmabahçe shows the 19th-century Ottoman court meeting European taste: a traditional plan dressed in Baroque, Rococo and Neo-Classical decoration.
Look at the meeting of the two: a central hall with rooms around it, crystal chandeliers above Hereke carpets, and a façade that turns its back on the city to face the sea.
Make room for context
Pair this city reading with the palace’s history and the Journal. This is an introduction for visitors, not a claim that our team manages these buildings, commissions their restoration or represents their makers.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
