Ephesus Ancient City

Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahce Palace construction was ordered by the Ottoman Empire's 31st Sultan, Abdulmecid I, and was built between the years 1843 and 1856. Haci Said Aga was responsible for the construction works, while the project was realized by architects Garabet Balyan, his son Nigogayos Balyan and Evanis Kalfa (members of the Balyan family of Ottoman court architects.) The construction cost five million Ottoman mecidiye gold coins, the equivalent of 35 tonnes of gold. 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. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who is the founder of the Turkish Republic and or modern Turkey died here in 10th of november in 1938. It is still visited by enormous number of people everyday as one of the most attractive place of the city.