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The Yıldız Palace complex in Istanbul, Turkey, was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for 22 years during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II. It’s located in Yıldız neighborhood of the district of Beşiktaş.
Introduction to the Yıldız Palace Complex
The Yıldız Palace complex is situated in a wooded area that had been used as an Ottoman imperial retreat and hunting ground since the reign of Sultan Ahmed I in the early 17th century. The first pavilion was built between 1798 and 1808 by Selim III as a retreat for his mother, Mihrişah Sultan (c. 1745-1805). Sultans Abdülmecid I and Abdülaziz built mansions on the site in the 19th century.
Sultan Abdülhamid II was terrified of a naval attack on Dolmabahçe Palace, which was the seat of government when he took the throne in 1876. He commissioned Italian architect Raimondo D’Aronco (1857-1932) to add new buildings to the complex. They were completed in 1880, and Abdülhamid II spent nearly 33 years there.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, the complex sat empty. Yıldız Technical University occupied several buildings of the Harem starting in 1937 and continues to own them. Military academies were located there from 1946 to 1974. The palace was transferred to the Ministry of Culture in 1978 and has been gradually restored ever since. The first building open to the public was the Yıldız Chalet in 1985 followed by other sections in 1993.
The Yıldız Palace complex covers an area of roughly 500,000 square meters and housed as many as 12,000 people. It was spread out to separate the Sultan’s business life from his personal life, much like Topkapi Palace.
Yıldız Palace
The buildings of Yıldız Palace (Yıldız Sarayı), which translates to Star Palace, are the main components of the complex. The first courtyard contains the main palace and administrative buildings as well as a pharmacy, library, carpentry workshop. The second courtyard consists of the Imperial Harem, the Sultan’s private quarters, a theatre, a private garden, the Island Kiosk, and Cihannuma Kiosk.
The palace underwent six years of restoration and finally reopened to the public in July 2024. It’s open daily except Wednesdays and public holidays. Admission for foreigners is 850₺ (as of May 2024). Check the official website for more information.
I was able to visit Yıldız Palace in 2011, well before it was closed to the public for restoration. I plan to visit again on my next trip to Istanbul and will update with further information and newer photos.
Büyük Mabeyn Pavilion
The Büyük Mabeyn Pavilion (Büyük Mabeyn Köşkü) is the most magnificent building in the complex. It was built in 1866 by Ottoman Armenian architects Agop (1838-1875) and Sarkis Balyan (1835-1899) as a summer residence for Sultan Abdülaziz. It served as the main palace building and is the largest of the complex, covering an area of 3,300 square meters.
During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II, the Büyük Mabeyn Pavilion hosted the offices of the Ottoman government. The Sultan held banquets and received foreign visitors and heads of state in the building, including President Ulysses S. Grant (1882-1885) of the United States in 1878, Prince Komatsu Akihito (1846-1903) and Princess Arima Yoriko (1852-1914) of Japan in 1887, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) of Germany in 1889 and 1898, and Qajjar Shah of Iran Mozaffar ad-Din (1853-1907) in 1900.
Yaveran Apartment
The Yaveran Apartment (Yaveran Dairesi) is opposite the Büyük Mabeyn Pavilion. It contained offices for government officials working for Abdülhamid II as well as a telegraph house and other functional rooms. The building was designedby Raimondo D’Aronco and consist of five semi-detached apartments with independent entrances.
Çit Pavilion
The Çit Pavilion (Çit Kasrı) is on the north side. It was also built during the reign of Abdülaziz and served as Abdülhamid II’s audience chamber. The interior walls were covered with dark red satin embroidered with white stars. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 and the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 were administered there so the Sultan never had to leave the palace. The building is now a museum dedicated to Abdülhamid II.
Yıldız Palace Library
The Yıldız Palace Library (Yıldız Sarayı Kütüphanesi) was originally built as a refectory for palace servants during the reign of Abdülhamid II. It was converted to the Armory (Silahhane) and later became the palace library, housing the Sultan’s extensive collection of manuscripts, books, maps, and photographs.
After Sultan Abdülhamid II was deposed on April 27, 1909, the library collection was transferred to the Ministry of Eduction on March 14, 1910. It was then transferred to the Istanbul University Library after the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923. The entire collection as well as the original wooden cabinets were moved back to Yıldız Palace after a decree signed on April 27, 2022.
Harem Gate
The Harem Gate (Harem Kapısı), which led to the Imperial Harem, is to the right of the Fence Pavilion. It’s 5 meters high and made of stone. A fountain is attached to its left side.
Küçük Mabeyn Pavilion
The most important building in the Harem is the Küçük Mabeyn Pavilion (Küçük Mabeyn Köşkü), which was built in 1901 and likely designed by Raimondo D’Aranco. The hall on the lower floor hall was sometimes used for banquets while the hall on the upper floor hall was used for concerts. It’s adorned with stained glass windows from France.
Abdülhamid II used the Küçük Mabeyn Pavilion as a private residence and study, and it was used by the subsequent Sultans for the same purpose. He also received the news that he was dethroned while he was in the building.
Sultan Mehmed VI lived there during the Armistice period and met with many officials, including Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), on May 15, 1919.
All photos of the Küçük Mabeyn Pavilion are from my visit in 2011. Unfortunately, I’m guessing and can’t tell you exactly in which room I took them. I apologize for the bad quality of some of the photos.
Yıldız Chalet
Yıldız Chalet (Yıldız Şale) is on the north side of the complex and was built in three phases. The first building was constructed between 1877 and 1879 to resemble a Swiss chalet. The second building was added in 1889 to accommodate Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who was the first foreign monarch to visit Constantinople. Both were designed by Sarkis Balyan and built with wood. A third building, designed by Raimondo D’Aranco was built in 1898, also for the Kaiser.
Highlights of the chalet include a single carpet covering an area of over 400 square meters. It was hand-woven by 60 people. Some of the furniture was actually made by Abdülhamid II, and one room is nearly covered from floor to ceiling in mother-of-pearl.
After the foundation of the Turkish Republic, the chalet was used to accommodate foreign dignitaries. Sir Winston Churchill, Nicolae Ceauşescu, and Charles de Gaulle were among the guests to stay there. The garden is also a pleasant place to explore. It contains ponds, bridges, and short walking trails.
Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque
The Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque (Yıldız Hamidiye Camii) was built by Sultan Abdülhamid II for Friday prayer ceremonies. It was constructed between 1884 and 1886, although it was put in service in September 1885. Ottoman Greek architect Nikolaki Kalfa designed it with a combination of the Neo-Gothic and classical Ottoman styles. The mosque was restored between 2013 and 2017.
The elaborately decorated mosque is on a rectangular plan and has one minaret. The prayer hall is entered through a narthex. The minbar is made of marble and there are 16 windows in the drum of the richly decorated dome. Four tall wooden columns forming two arches stand in the middle of the prayer hall to support the dome.
A unique feature of the mosque is that it has a pair of two-story Sultan’s loges, positioned on either side of the mosque and both accessible from the courtyard. This was to prevent potential assassins from knowing which loge the Sultan would be in during prayers. The frames and grills of the loges are made of cedar wood.
Assassination Attempt at the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque
The Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque was in fact the site of an assassination attempt on Abdülhamid II on July 21, 1905. Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation set a time bomb on a horse carriage in front of the mosque. The sultan was held up in a conversation and didn’t arrive at the carriage when the bomb was scheduled to explode. 26 people were killed and 58 were wounded. In response, Abdülhamid II carried out massacres of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks living in the Ottoman Empire. This became known as the Hamidian Massacres. Between 200,000 and 400,000 people lost their lives.
Yıldız Clock Tower
The Yıldız Clock Tower (Yıldız Saat Kulesi) sits on the northwest corner of the mosque’s courtyard. It was built between 1889 and 1890 and combines the Neo-Gothic and Orientalist styles. It has three stories and is on a square plan with a pointed dome.
The first floor contains four inscriptions while the second floor is fitted with a thermometer and barometer. The clock is on the third floor. The clock tower was restored in 1993.
Yıldız Park
Yıldız Park (Yıldız Parkı) was once the imperial garden of Yıldız Palace. The outer section is now one of the biggest public parks in the city and a wonderful place to escape the concrete jungle of Istanbul.
Yıldız Park was a forest during the Byzantine period and was used as a hunting ground by Süleyman the Magnificent in the 16th century. Sultan Ahmed I began using the area as a resting place in the early 17th century. After Çırağan Palace was built in the mid 19th century, Sultan Abdülaziz turned the grounds into the palace’s imperial garden. Sultan Abdülhamid II incorporated it into Yıldız Palace in the late 19th century, surrounding it with high walls.
The 25-acre park contains two artificial lakes and several different types of trees gathered from all around the world. The trees were planted during the late Ottoman period and include species such as oak, pine, cedar, ash, cypress, yew, chestnut, and magnolia.
Yıldız Park is very popular on weekends, especially for picnics, and has excellent views of the Bosporus. There are also two beautiful pavilions on the park grounds. Both serve as restaurants and are a great place to have tea, breakfast, or lunch. You’ll also find a couple other cafés and restaurants.
Tent Pavilion
The Tent Pavilion (Çadır Köşkü) sits in the lower part of the park on an artificial lake. It was built by Sultan Abdülaziz as the Cedar Pavilion (Sedir Köşkü) in 1871 and was designed by Ottoman Armenian architect Sarkis Balyan (1835-1899).
Midhat Pasha (1822-1883), a powerful Ottoman politician, was detained and tortured in the basement of the Tent Pavilion for 66 days. The trial took place in a tent behind the Malta Pavilion, and he was found guilty of murdering Sultan Abdülaziz, who died under mysterious circumstances at Çırağan Palace only a few days after he was deposed on May 30, 1876. Many historians believe the charges were made up, evidence was forged, witnesses were paid, and others were tortured to force confessions.
After the trial, the pavilion was mostly unused for several years. It was allocated to the Ministry of Finance in 1940, restored, and reopened as Markiz Pastanesi, a pastry shop that operated from 1949 to 1960. The Tanzimat Museum (Tanzimat Müzesi) occupied the building for a short time starting in 1960.
In 1982, the Tent Pavilion was given to the Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey (Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu). The city took over in 1995 and began restoration in June of that year. It reopened as a restaurant on January 1, 1997.
Malta Pavilion
The Malta Pavilion (Malta Köşkü) is in the upper part of the park. It was built by Sultan Abdülaziz as a hunting lodge and completed in 1870. The architect was Sarkis Balyan, who designed it in the Neo-Baroque style. It was named after its principal building material, limestone from Malta. Sultan Murad V was detained in the pavilion when he was deposed after his 93-day reign in 1876. It has been a restaurant since 1982.
The side facing the Bosporus opens to a large hall with staircases leading to the upper floor. In the center of the hall is a marble fountain with elegantly carved swans. The salons on the upper floor contain marble fireplaces and are decorated with oil paintings and flower motifs.
