Yildiz Palace, the last palaces of the Ottoman Sultans

Istanbul is a city of ancient history and a sophisticated present. Istanbul is the most famous Turkish city, and it is the first city in all fields in terms of tourism, trade, economy, population and picturesque nature. Istanbul is also famous for its historical and archaeological monuments, which vary between mosques, castles and ancient and archaeological museums, which are unique, in addition to its picturesque gardens and wonderful climate and supervision of several seas.

Yildiz Palace is one of the most famous palaces of Istanbul and it is the last palace of the Ottoman Sultans, and Yildiz means a star in the Turkish language.

Yildiz Palace is located on the highest hill in Yildiz Park in Besiktas on the banks of the Bosphorus in Istanbul on the European side of it in a privileged location and a large area.

Yildiz Palace was built at the end of the nineteenth century during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III, as a gift to his mother, Sultan Mehri Shah.

Yildiz Palace was built in Yildiz Park, which is characterized by its tall trees and beautiful flowers that were brought from all over the world.

The Yildiz Palace became the palace of the Ottoman rule during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II and the seat of the government in 1853 instead of the Dolma Bahce  palace where it is the seat of government for more than 30 years, and many important personalities were received at Yildiz Palace during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, the most famous of those German emperor figures (William II).

Yildiz Palace is distinguished by its spacious area, elegant and unique design, in which its furniture combined between the Orient and the Ottoman taste in a unique design, where large fireplaces and luxurious and ornate chairs carved by the skilled carpenter Sultan Abdul Hamid II, in addition to huge wooden tables with beautiful inscriptions.

The palace includes a large number of suites and rooms for the Sultan and his family of princes, princesses and special rooms for servants in addition to the luxurious halls, including the luxurious ceremonial hall that its ceiling decorated with bright golden panels and furnished its floor with a one-piece carpet, this hall was used to receive guests during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

There is also the hall of seashell, which is the dining hall, and it is called the hall of seashell, because its doors that were brought from the Ciragan Palace and made of the shell, and the dining room’s equipment and tools were made in a special workshop inside the palace.

As for the external section of Yildiz Palace, the courtyards of the palace contain a number of suits, swimming pools, greenhouses and workshops separated from each other by corridors and gates.

Yildiz Palace contains two small mosques located at the entrance to the palace, one of these two is called the Hamidiyeh Mosque, which is a unique building that combined the Moroccan interior design, And theocratic interface ,and the classic Ottoman building with a touch of European Orientalism in addition to some elements inspired by the Andalusian Alhambra Mosque such as the arches that It supports the wooden dome coloured in blue and dotted with golden stars to indicate the name Yildiz, which means the star.

The Yildiz Palace also contains a theatre that is no less beautiful and important than the rest of the palace, which was built a cabin to the Sultan and the walls of the theatre were decorated with distinctive hand-painted drawings and patterns, while the ceiling of the theatre was illuminated with golden stars, which increased its beauty.

In our time, Yildiz Palace has been reused as the seat of government where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has received the leaders at Yildiz Palace.