The
palace, built by Sultan
Abdülâziz, was designed by the
famous Armenian
palace architect Nigogayos
Balyan and constructed by his
sons Sarkis and Hagop Balyan
between 1863 and 1867. This was
a period in which all
Ottoman sultans used to
build their own palaces rather
than using those of their
ancestors. Cıragan Palace is the
last example of this period. The
inner walls and the roof were
made of wood, the outer walls of
colorful marble. The palace is
connected with a beautiful
marble bridge to the
Yıldız Palace on the hill
behind. A very high garden wall
protects the palace from the
outer world.
The construction and the
interior decoration of the
palace continued until 1872.
After he moved in, Sultan
Abdülâziz was, however, not able
to live long in his magnificent
palace. He was found dead in the
palace on May 30, 1876, shortly
after he was dethroned. His
successor, his nephew Sultan
Murad V, moved into Cıragan
Palace, but reigned after only
93 days. He, who was deposed by
his brother Abdülhamid II due to
alleged mental illness, lived
here under house arrest until
his death on August 29, 1904.
During the Second Constitutional
Monarchy, Sultan Mehmet V Reşat
allowed the parliament to hold
their meetings in this building.
Only two months after, on
January 19, 1910, a great fire
destroyed the palace, leaving
only the outer walls intact.
Called "Seref Stadi", the place
served for many years as a
football stadium for the club
Beşiktaş J.K..
In 1989, the ruined palace was
bought by a Japanese
corporation, which restored the
palace and added a modern hotel
complex next to it in its
garden. Today, it serves as
luxury suites for the five star
Kempinski hotel along with two
restaurants that cater to
guests.
The restoration of the
Palace was considered a
travesty by many, who criticized
the government for allowing an
independent company to restore a
Turkish landmark at minimal cost
and with absolutely no regard
for the historical or
architectural history of the
building. The interior of the
building was a very bright neon
pink and contained several
stores and areas for events such
as banquets, many have
criticized it for resembling the
interior of an American shopping
mall. The German Artist Rainer
Maria Latzke redecorated the
interior with a bright and
colorful Mediterranean ambiance
by equipping the interior
swimming pool with beautiful
murals.
The
Palace was renovated again
during the first quarter of
2007, now resembling the
authentic palace with the baroqe
style and soft colors.
