Ciragan Palace Kempinski, Ottoman palace hotel in Yildiz, Turkey
Çırağan Palace Kempinski is a hotel occupying a 19th-century Ottoman imperial palace on the Bosphorus in the Yıldız Mahallesi neighborhood of Istanbul. The building has high-ceilinged halls, marble facades, and an outdoor pool that sits right at the water's edge.
The palace was built in the 19th century for Sultan Abdülaziz and later housed other Ottoman sultans, including Murat V who was kept there under confinement. A fire in 1910 gutted much of the interior, leaving it unused for decades before a major restoration brought it back in 1991.
The Tuğra Restaurant inside the palace serves Ottoman court cuisine in grand dining rooms with ornate ceilings and gilded details. Sitting there gives a sense of how formal meals once looked in an Ottoman imperial setting.
The hotel sits on the European shore of the Bosphorus, close to Yıldız Park, and is reachable from central Istanbul without much difficulty. The grounds have several levels and staircases, so comfortable footwear is a good idea.
After the 1910 fire, the palace sat in such disrepair for so long that trees were reportedly growing inside before restoration work began. The marble facade visible today is largely original and survived the fire nearly intact.
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