Category: Residential
Type: Museum
Location: Teşvikiye, Nişantaşı Ihlamur Yolu St. Beşiktaş
Date: 1849-1855
Designer: Nigoğos Balyan
Period: Ottoman Empire
Photo: T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Milli Saraylar Başkanlığı (millisaraylar.gov.tr)
The Ihlamur Pavilions, located in a scenic valley between Besiktas, Yildiz, and Nisantasi, transitioned from an 18th-century imperial garden and popular excursion spot into a significant royal retreat during the mid-19th century. Between 1848 and 1855, Sultan Abdulmecid replaced a modest earlier structure with two distinct buildings: the Ceremonial Pavilion, designed for official receptions with elaborate Baroque decorations and Western-style furnishings, and the Retinue Pavilion, which followed a traditional Ottoman architectural layout for the sultan’s family and entourage. After the fall of the empire, the site served various administrative roles before being transferred to the National Palaces in 1966 and eventually opening as a museum in 1985, preserving its historical heritage and original interior design for the public.
Beylerbeyi Palace was used as a summer residence and as the State Guest House. Many guests stayed here like Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary (1869); Eugénie, Empress of France (1869); Nikola, King of Montenegro (1874) and German Emperor Wilhelm II. Sultan Abdülhamid II, after he was dethroned, spent his last six years in Beylerbeyi Palace and died here in 1918.
