The Dolma-bahce Palace (Dolmabahce Saraye; Dolmabahce Cadessi, tel. 212/258-5544), finished in 1853, was intended as a bold statement of the sultan's faith in the future of his empire, but instead it turned out to be a monument to folly and extravagance.
The palace was finished in 1688, built to trivialize the sultan, who was hated and did not have faith in his own empire.