Ciragan Palace

The Ciragan Palace is a former Ottoman palace, is now a five-star hotel of the Kempinski Hotels chain. It is located on the European shore of the Bosporus between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy in Istanbul, Turkey.

The palace, built by Sultan Abdülâziz, was designed by the famous Armenian palace architect Nigoğayos 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. Çırağan 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 Sisli Palace on the hill behind. A very high garden wall protects the palace from the outer world .