Built by Sultan Mahmut II at the most beautiful location of the Bosphorus in Istanbul between 1835 and 1841, this wooden palace was torn down in 1855 by Sultan Abdulmecit, who was worried about fire. Construction on the new Çırağan Palace began in 1861 and was completed in 10 years. It was used from 1871 to 1910. The fire of 19 January 1910 relegated the palace to the history books, but in 1986 restoration was undertaken by Yüksel İnşaat. As part of the restoration, the brick walls of the 43×123 m palace were completely torn down and the 22-meter high walls that were uncovered were reinforced with shotcrete. In addition to the restoration on the façade, the Saltanat Stairway, with marble on four sides, and the Hünkar Baths of the palace were restored with partial repairs. The domes of the bath were in ruins, so they were removed and 63 lights and 2 domes were constructed new from reinforced concrete. The stone sections of the bridge that connects the palace with Yıldız Park were repaired and the sections that were dirty were cleaned. The “Saltanat”, “Harem” and “Koltuk” doors made of Marmara marble were cleaned and marble was grafted onto the missing parts. The cast iron gates were sand blasted and restored. The interior of the palace was rebuilt with reinforced concrete core and steel construction in keeping with the blueprints approved by the Memorials and Antique Works Agency.
Location İstanbul / Turkey
