Palace Carpets
The Ottoman empire has been ruled from three
cities in its history. The first capital was Bursa
where the Ottoman state was first founded, and the
second capital was Edirne. After that the capital
was moved to stanbul where the administrative
center of the state was transferred from one
palace to another along with the sultans. The
first palace built right after the conquest of
stanbul was the Eski Saray (=The Old Palace).
This one was followed by the palaces of Topkap,
Eski Çragan, Besiktas Coast, and the Eski
Beylerbeyi. The administration was finally
transferred to the palace of Dolmabahçe built by
Padisah Abdülmecit in 1856, moved to the Yldz
palace in 1877, and brought for the last time back
to its former home of Dolmabahçe palace 32 years
later.
When the dried yellow, red, brown leaves of autumn
make cracking noises under my feet, I feel like
its time to visit these magnificent places in
stanbul, the city of palaces. Among the palaces
that enhance the wonderful beauty of the Bosphorus
with their mighty splendour, let us go through the
gates of two of them, the palaces of Dolmabahçe
and Beylerbeyi. Lets climb their stairs and see
where precious carpets on their floors, the
mirrors on their walls, the carved ornamentations
on their ceilings, the consoles, armchairs,
tables, candelabrums, and the crystal chandeliers
are going to take us.
One of the favorite gardens of the sultans in Bogaziçi
in the 17th century, the Dolmabahçe garden had
been used as a part of the Besiktas Coast Palace.
The building was pulled down during the reign of
Sultan Abdülmecid (1839-1861) for being wooden and
impractical, and it was replaced by the palace of
Dolmabahçe that survived until today, its building
process completed in 13 years. The main structure
of the palace consisted of the Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn (Selâmlk)
where administrative processes of the state were
carried out, the Muayede Salonu (=Chamber of
Ceremonies) where important ceremonies of the
state were held and the Sultan exchanged good
wishes for bairams, and the Harem-i Hümâyûn which
was dedicated for the private life of the Sultan
and his family.
The palace has 16 other partitions except the main
buildings, and all of these occupy a total area of
over 110.000 m2. A Clock Tower and the Hareket
Mansions in the backyard of Princes Chambers have
been added later to these annexes which served as
stables, windmills, pharmacies, kitchens,
aviaries, a workshop for glass-making, a foundry,
and a confectionery.
The palace of Dolmabahçe on the European bank of
the Bosphorus has been the third largest palace of
the Ottoman sultans in stanbul. This palace
perfectly reflects architecturally the cultural
structure and the social and artistic influences
of the era. While touring its Hasbahçe (=most
favorite garden) and the 600 meters long
shoreline, one is accompanied by the seagulls
playing with the surf, the steamers on the
Bosphorus, and the fishermens boats. The palace
has 3 storeys and a symmetrical building plan, and
it includes 285 rooms, 43 guest chambers, 6
bathing chambers, and 68 lavatories. A most
prominent characteristic of the palace is the
abundant use of crystal including the 36 crystal
chandeliers, candelabra, some of the fireplaces,
staircases, and all of the mirrors. A crystal
chandelier with a height of 36 meters and weight
of 4.5 tons decorates the ceiling of the ballroom.
This is the largest ballroom among all the palace
ballrooms in the world. The interior decoration of
the Dolmabahçe palace the wealth and splendour of
which is thoroughly unequalled has survived until
today with its furniture, silken and woollen
carpets, curtains, all other artifacts, and the
memories of those days. The armchairs where the
Sultan used to sit, the woollen carpets over which
the princes rolled and played, the silken carpets
that
decorated the rooms of concubines in the harem or
the chambers of a sultan, the large tables on
which the padisah affixed his signature, the
tiled stoves of startling beauty, the crystal candeliers with tons of weight, the candelabra,
the clocks, and everything else is still intact in
its rightful place.
Golden ornamentations with tons of weight adorn
the walls and ceilings as depicted in the pictures
made by European painters. All floors are covered
with wooden parquets with various patterns of
geometrical shapes or plant motifs. 142 carpets
and 115 prayer rugs of a total area of 4454 m2,
woven first in the weaving room of the palace and
then in Hereke are spread over these parquets.
There are also a few among them woven in Kayseri,
Usak, and Iran.
Valuable carpets...
The Ottoman state had become a rich and prosperous
empire in the 16th century. The carpets woven in
this period are known as the Classical Carpets of
the Ottoman Era, and those woven around the palace
are called the Palace Carpets. Their warp and weft
yarns are of silk, wool, and cotton while their
knots are tied with wool and cotton, and they have
been woven with knots of Iranian style. It is
possible to see every color in these carpets of
pastel shades. Especially red, yellow, dark blue
and grass green are used. ranian influence was
prominent upon the colors and patterns at first,
but in time a more authentic style inspired by
Ottoman ornamentations were assumed. Blooming
roses, dagger leaves, spring flowered branches,
tulips, carnations and hyacinths, and cloud motifs
are the most prominent patterns. Some
carpets have enough abundance of flowers in their
backgrounds to make a flower garden jealous while
others have just a single coloured layer as
background. The borders exhibit cloud patterns and
the motifs that adorn the background. The cloud
patterns are a reference to rain and they
symbolize fertility. The medallions that are the
main elements of Iranian carpets look like they
have just been sprinkled over the other motifs on
the Palace Carpets. These medallions look like
they could leave the premises at any moment, but
they do not disrupt the pattern in general.
Although it was built after the example of
European palaces, the Harem part is pointedly
kept aloof in the palace of Dolmabahçe. Unlike the
structure in the palace of Topkap, the Harem here
is no longer a building set totally apart from the
main body, but it is a special reservation of
living quarters under the same roof. In the Harem
Quarters that constitutes approximately two thirds
of the Dolmabahçe palace, the entrance is made
through corridors with gates of iron and wood from
the Lounge of Mabeyn and Muayede, the general
setting exhibiting clearly the traditional
distinction. The salons overlooking the Bosphorus;
the bedrooms of the sultans, of their wives, and
of the princes; the study rooms and restrooms, the
concubines chambers, the Kadnefendi (=womens
master) rooms, and the artifacts, carpets and
works of art that render all these even more
valuable are aspects that draw attention upon
harems in general. Atatürks bedroom and study are
also in the Harem department.
When you stand on the shoreline of the Dolmabahçe
palace and look accross northwards at the opposite
bank, you will see the palace of Beylerbeyi. One
of the favorites used by the sultans of the
Ottoman empire especially in the 17th century and
at the beginning of the 18th century, this palace
had lost its significance for a short while, but
after that it became a frequented site of
administration in the 19th century after the
Topkap palace. Used mostly as a summer residence,
the palace of Beylerbeyi was equipped with every
utility to ensure peace. Cypress and orange trees,
lemon orchards, fountained pools with swimming
fish and swans, paths paved with sprinkled
seashells, mansions, and terraces were built. The
fire incidents of the era caused great damage in
stanbul where nearly all structures were made of
wood, but life just kept going each time with the
city re-erected right over the ashes. The parts
destroyed by the fire in Beylerbeyi in 1851 were
repaired and became available again in 3 years.
The construction of the palace under Sultan
Abdülaziz was completed in 1864. The Set Gardens
are among the most important aspects of the
palace. Built in the form of terraces going
upwards from the shore, the gardens were tended
and organized by gardeners from abroad.
The palace complex consists of the main structure
of Beylerbeyi, the seaside mansions of a harem
and a selamlk taking place in each corner of
the wall next to the shore, and the Marble
Mansion, the Yellow Mansion and the Hasahr on the
courtyard to the back. Among these, the seaside
mansions and the main building of the Beylerbeyi
Palace have been erected by Sultan Abdülaziz. The
rest of the structures belong to the former palace
that used to be here. The Beylerbeyi palace has
two stone-built storeys sitting on a high
basement. The face overlooking the Bosphorus is 65
meters long, and the structure has 6 halls and 24
rooms. Especially the Pooled Hall and the Blue
Hall which takes its name from the color of its
pillars are the most magnificent places in the
palace.
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DONT MISS !