Designed in the Baroque style by Sarkis Balyan, Beylerbeyi Palace seems fairly restrained compared to the excesses of the earlier Dolmabahçe or kücüksu palaces. It was built for Sultan Abdül Aziz in 1861 as a summer residence and a place to entertain visiting heads of state Empress Eugenie of France visited beylerbeyi on her way to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and had her face slapped by the sultan's mother for daring to enter the palace on the arm of Abdul Aziz. Other regal visitors to the palace included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The palace looks its most attractive from the Bosphorus, from where its two bathing pavilions - one for the harem and the other for the selatnhk (the men's quarters) -can best be seen. The most attractive room is the reception hall, which has a pool and fountain. Running water was popular in Ottoman houses for its pleasant sound and cooling effect in the heat. Egyptian straw matting is used on the floor as a form of insulation. The crystal chandeliers are mostly Bohemian and the carpets are from Hereke. Despite her initial reception, Empress Eugénie of France was so delighted by the elegance of the palace that she had a copy of the window in the guest room made for her bedroom in Tuileries Palace, in Paris. (s1)
It is known that Emperor Constantine had a series of entertainment places in this area Afterwards in the 16th century, during the reign of Murat III, European Commander in Chief, Mehmet Pasha, had a huge waterside residence, constructed here. The name of the palace comes from the title of Mehmet Pasha, the BeylerlTeyi (commander in chief). After first wood palace burned in a fire, it was reconstnicted with the order of Sultan Abdulaziz between 1861 - 1865. Its said that an orchestra was employed in order to hannonize the 5.000 workers. It was the second palace constructed on the Bosphorus and it was rather used to put foreign guests up.
Among its famous guests were King Edward VIII, Mrs. Simpson, Queen Eugenie (wife of Napoleon III) and the Iran Shah Masreddin. Queen Eugenie is said to have liked the palace windows very much and wanted them to be copied in the construction of Tuileries Palace. The palace has three entrances and elegantly decorated. It has six big halls and twenty four rooms. The building is sixty five meters long and forty meters wide. On the floors there are Egyptian matting and hanging from the ceilings Bohemian chandeliers. There are the most outstanding carpets on the floors which were brought from the weaving houses of Hereke. In back of the palace there are magnolia gardens, a big pool and a few villas. Facing the sea it has a beautiful garden, a pool and two lovely villas. After being dethroned following the World War 1, Abdülhamid II spent the rest of his life here. It is a museum today. (s4)
Designed in the Baroque style by Sarkis Balyan, Beylerbeyi Palace seems fairly restrained compared to the excesses of the earlier Dolmabahçe or kücüksu palaces.