Beylerbeyi Palace

A Small Ottoman Summer Palace Built In 1865 For Sultan Abdulaziz, With A Mix Of Ottoman And European Rooms, A Marble Bathing Pavilion, Bohemian Chandeliers And Terraced Gardens On The Bosphorus. A Less Crowded Alternative To Dolmabahce, Visited With A Guide And Slippers Over The Shoes · Uskudar, Istanbul

Beylerbeyi Palace is a small Ottoman summer palace on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, in the Beylerbeyi quarter of Uskudar, just north of the Bosphorus Bridge. Sultan Abdulaziz had it built between about 1861 and 1865 (confirm) as a waterside retreat and a place to receive foreign guests, and the architect is usually given as Sarkis Balyan (confirm). The long white marble front faces the strait, two small seaside pavilions stand at the water, a stable block sits to one side and terraced gardens climb the hill behind. Inside are a couple of dozen rooms and halls with Hereke carpets, Bohemian and French crystal chandeliers, Egyptian reed matting and a central hall built around a marble pool and fountain (confirm). Visits are by guided group, and visitors wear cloth slippers over their shoes. Compared with Dolmabahce across the water, the rooms are fewer and the crowds thinner, so the visit feels closer to a private house. Abdulhamid II lived here as a deposed ruler from 1912 until his death in 1918 (confirm). A state palaces authority runs it as a museum, and entry is ticketed.

Beylerbeyi Palace, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus at Beylerbeyi in Uskudar, just north of the Bosphorus Bridge; coordinates approximate, Uskudar, Istanbul, Turkiye

Beylerbeyi Palace is commonly open from about 9 am to 5 pm in summer and a little shorter in winter, and it is usually closed on Mondays and possibly one other weekday (confirm days and hours). The last guided group tends to enter 30 to 60 minutes before closing, and the ticket desk may stop selling earlier on busy days. The rooms open only to guided groups that leave at intervals, so queues form on summer weekends and holidays. The gardens and sea pavilions may follow separate hours or need a separate ticket (confirm). The palace shuts on some national holidays and for repairs, so check the day before. Daylight lasts to about 8:30 pm in June and fades by 5 pm in December.

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