Palaces in Istanbul

On a finger of land, at the confluence of the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara stands, the Topkapi Palace, the maze of buildings that was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries.
Yildiz Palace is located inside a 500.000 square-meter woods between Besiktas and Ortakoy provinces and is comprised of a mansion, summer palace, administrative and service buildings.
Aynali Kavak Summer Pavilion is built in the 18th century and later restored by various sultans. This palace on the Golden Horn is one of the most beautiful examples of traditional Turkish architecture.
The Istanbul Florya Ataturk Sea Pavilion served as a summer residence for Turkish presidents, beginning with Ataturk Built in 1935 in a T-shaped design on land jutting out over the Sea of Marmara..
The Goksu Palace, also known as Kucuksu, takes its name from the streams which empty into the Bosphorus near the tiny palace. Built by Abdulmecit I in the middle of the 19th century, it was used as a summer residence.
The 19th-century Ihlamur Pavilion is named for the linden trees that grow in its gardens. Now in the heart of metropolitan Istanbul, when it was originally constructed, the pavilion lay in the rolling countryside that surrounded the city.
The Maslak Pavilions on a shady green hill were conceived by Sultan Abdulaziz as hunting lodges. These are particularly noteworthy as superb examples of the late 19 thcentury Ottoman decorative style.
The Ciragan Palace, replacing an earlier wooden palace, had been built in 1871 for Sultan Abdula'ziz by court architect Serkis Balyan. The construction took four years and cost four million gold pieces.