September 03, 2005

The Palace Next Door

Dolmabahçe Palace

This is the famous Dolmabahçe Palace, my next door neighbor. It is located on the European side of Istanbul along the shores of the Bosphorus . This palace used to be the residence of the Ottoman Sultans in the 1800s and was the residence of the founder of the Turkish Republic , Mustafa Kemal Ataturk . It has 285 rooms , 43 salons ( which are basically waiting rooms for guests of the Sultans or the former president) and six Turkish Baths ( hamams as they call it here) . On the other wing, almost two thirds of the whole palace, is where the women's quarters are. This place is where all the mistress and ladies of the Sultans stayed.

In English, the word Dolmabahçe translates to "filled garden" as the palace is surrounded with well manicured gardens similar to the luscious ones we can see at the Château de Versailles in France. Actually the whole interior of this palace is very french in style since it was designed by the famous French decorator Sechan, the designer of the Paris Opera. You can easily get lost inside with all the rooms and salons. The furniture are still intact, even the carpets. The highlight of the whole palace is the room where the world's largest chandelier hangs, the State Room. As the name suggests, this room was used to entertain foreign delegates or dignitaries and it is HUGE!

As my husband and I walked along the corridors of this palace, I couldn't help but imagine how grand this place must be in its glory days. Ordinary people like us would probably not even get close to the area where this palace is, but now, I am neighbors with it (as in 100 meters away from it). I feel privileged to have a palace just around the corner but I'd still prefer the good ol' neighbors whom I can go to when I run out of milk or eggs...

Right now, I'd settle for the guard standing patiently at the Dolmabahçe gates, constantly reminding me that my neighbors are not the ordinary.. they were great sultans and president...the only thing is, they are all dead.

Posted by duke at 9/03/2005 09:47:00 PM

15 Comments:

dreaming-neko said...: man that guard looks pretty stiff! i'm glad your much more relaxed :)

i have a high school friend in bangkok that has royal blood. they living in the palace living areas near siam-square and i visted him a couple of times... real trippy! it's good to be the king!; 9/04/2005 01:48:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Sound like a Five Star Cemetery garden. A parkland similar to the island garden were Diana is buried.

The architecture looks very 19th Century-ish UK Museum to me. Europe is old & the places you got there are amazzzzinggg! I'm tired with tallest buildings and neon lights.

Is Turkey resides in some part of Europe or is the Islam republic?

And how nice it is to live near the Great Sultans or former Presidents well at least you guys will take part from a prominent guard saluting you.

And BTW: you look gorgeous in that garden. Did you grab your hubby dear to take that shot? I bet you did!; 9/04/2005 07:24:00 AM
duke said...: neko- I wouldn't mind living like a queen myself even for a week :) Did youget the whole nineyard treatment when you visited your friend? that would be so cool!

First time I saw the guards, I thought they were statues not real people. You won't even notice if they are breathing!; 9/04/2005 11:49:00 AM
duke said...: knoizki!

I felt spooked out visiting palaces the fist time with all their soned walls and high ceilings but the gardens made me feel like royalty... i like to imagine kasi that I'm walking around it as a queen.. hahahahaha!

ahhh you should visit europe then and see all the truly amazing archi... yun nga lang, if you got used to elevators and escalators back there in tofu land you need to brace yourself with using the stairs or if not the old elevators ( just like the ones in HK Peninsula).

Turkey is a huge country. I only know that the capital, Ankara, is on the Asian side and Istanbul is where Asia borders with Europe. The other parts are along the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It's really RICH in culture. There are so many places to visit esp if you are into historic sites.

I love the feeling of being near this palace! The guard don't even give a salute. You wouldn't even think he is real. The only time he moves if during the change of guards . I wonder how he manages to pee while on duty?!

Thanks for the compliment ( eyelash batting).. Of course I dragged husband dear to take the picture but we were in such a hurry to take it coz we saw a tour group coming our way.; 9/04/2005 12:09:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Funny how you tag Hong Kong as Tofu land in which btw is true and tell me a story about the MTR escalators, people are standing on the right side while the left is being used as a stair by imaptient commuters.

A friend visited many parts of EU during their honeymoon and from those pictures I can tell how beautiful it is to visit. I think Isay went to EU a year ago in some part like Venice, Barcelona, etc. These are the places I only get to see in the pictures & calendars. I am always fascinated with Archi & wonderful cultures like that. The one that I'd like to see is ROME.

For Chinese or Japanese, I find chong-sams & kimonos the most beautiful thing to see in their country.

Ok, try to stand near the guard & watch how he blinks his eye. If he ain't moving, kilitiin mo kaya? It reminds me of the stupid movie of Mr Bean making fun of that poor guard outside Buckingham.

Sa Luneta meron deng guard na ganyan ah?; 9/04/2005 01:03:00 PM
JO said...: wow! galing naman ng location mo!; 9/05/2005 03:55:00 AM
tintin said...: Ah yes, its interesting seeing glimpses of how the other half lives.; 9/05/2005 09:42:00 AM
duke said...: knoizki- tara let's go on back packing sa europe!; 9/05/2005 10:12:00 AM
dwaipayan said...: i'd simply love to be there.; 9/05/2005 02:33:00 PM
Analyse said...: Ordinary people like us would probably not even get close to the area where this palace is

unless you become the sultan's mistress hehe..

hey, great neighbor, bat mo naman sila in-underestimate, who knows, they could just give you eggs or salt when you need them no..

remembered the guards in UK, they're the same, they arent moving, puro nga pose ko sa tabi e, di man lang sila natinag haha..; 9/05/2005 03:24:00 PM
grace said...: Duke ... isnt it just interesting to know that you have the elite for neighbors! naks you live in style! :); 9/05/2005 06:27:00 PM
duke said...: jo - this palce has been a pleasant surprise for me :)

tin- very interesting indeed. just looking at this palace 'm already wondering what our place used to be.; 9/05/2005 09:20:00 PM
duke said...: dwaipayan- thanks for passing by.. come over and visit istanbul. There's lots to see!

ana- heheheh ang mga mistress may sariling "wing" na palace din. oh di ba.. on call ang beauty nila!

parang mahihiya akong humingi ng kahit asukal man lang sa kanila. dadaan muna ako sa guard bago makapasok!

gracei- yeah yeah I'm in the elite part.. kapitbahay ko isang palasyo. Sa kabilang side naman is the Istanbul Army equivalent ng Camp Crame sa atin!; 9/05/2005 09:24:00 PM
Dr. Emer said...: It must be good to have a castle as a neighbor. :)

You feel like royalty everyday!; 9/05/2005 11:28:00 PM
duke said...: doc emer- I think about my neighbors and I alrady feel privileged!:)

Isay- Sayang I didn't take pictures of the inside. Makakasira daw ng mga paintings na andun.But there were some who insisted of taking pictures and they were required to secure a payment permit. Wow! re-decorating. That is a fun job! Show us some pics in your blog!; 9/06/2005 12:15:00 PM

Confessions of an Expat's Wife

September 03, 2005

The Palace Next Door

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