Çırağan Palace

Overview

On a Bosphorus cruise, just after Dolmabahçe, a long marble front glides by on the left, white against the green hill of Yıldız behind it. Palm trees stand in the garden, while an ornate gate opens toward the water. At first, it looks perfect. Yet this is Çırağan Palace, the scene of a long house arrest, a parliament and a great fire. With a guide, join our Yıldız Palace tour.

So look closely as your boat passes, because every window here has a story.

Çırağan Palace on the European Shore

To begin with, the palace stands on the European shore of the Bosphorus, between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy. Behind it, in turn, a stone bridge crosses the coast road and once linked it to Yıldız Palace on the hill, above the green slopes of Yıldız Park.

History of Çırağan Palace

Abdülaziz’s marble palace

First, Sultan Abdülaziz began the palace in 1863 on the site of an older one. The Armenian architect Nigoğayos Balyan designed it, and his sons Sarkis and Hagop Balyan built it. Outside, marble covered the facades, while inside, the rooms were decorated with marble, porphyry and mother-of-pearl. However, the sultan did not enjoy it for long. Days after he lost his throne in 1876, he died in the neighboring Feriye Palace.

A prison for a sultan

Next came his nephew, Murad V, who reigned for only 93 days. In August 1876 he was deposed in favor of his brother Abdülhamid II, and Murad lived on in Çırağan under house arrest for 28 years, until his death in 1904.

Parliament, fire and football

After the return of constitutional rule in 1908, the palace was given to the Ottoman Parliament, which opened its new session there in November 1909. Only two months later, on January 19, 1910, a great fire swept through it and left only the outer walls. After that, the ruin stood empty for decades, and its garden even served as a football field.

Çırağan Palace Today

From ruin to hotel

Finally, the restoration began in 1987, and Çırağan Palace Kempinski opened on January 15, 1991, with a modern hotel wing beside the palace. Since then, it has been a luxury hotel, and its palace rooms hold suites and restaurants.

The gate and the bridge

Even from the outside, the details are worth a look. For example, the carved gate faces the water, and on the land side, the stone passage over the coast road still shows how the palace once joined Yıldız.

How to Visit Çırağan Palace

Getting there

Simply put, the palace stands on the coast road between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy, and buses along the shore stop nearby. As a hotel, it does not run museum visits, so in general, enjoy it from the outside or from the water.

Seeing it with us

You pass right in front of it on our Bosphorus tour and on a Bosphorus cruise. Then, for palaces you can walk through, visit Dolmabahçe Palace next door and Beylerbeyi Palace across the water.