Dolmabahce

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Salon in the Harem

As  with most museums the use of flash and tripods is forbidden.   It is very dark in the palace and not conducive to conventional photography  even with fast film.
The bedroom where Kemal Ataturk ( literally Father Turk) died of cirrhosis on November 10th 1938 at 9.05am.  All the clocks in the palace were stopped at that time.

Ataturk lived in Ankara the new capital but kept a suite of rooms in the Harem for his frequent visits to Istanbul
Magnificent is the only way to describe the main double horseshoe staircase.   The balustrades are of French Baccarat Crystal.  The banisters of mahogany and brass, the flooring is parquet using 3 different woods.  The carpets throughout were made especially for the palace in  Hereke not far from Istanbul.  
View from an upper window.  Dolmabahce is the first Ottoman palace to be built to take advantage of the waterfront.   The Sultan could enter his palace from the royal barge through one of these impressive gates.
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