| Çığaran Palace |
 Sultan Abdül Mecit I started work on Çırağan Palace in 1864, but it was not completed until 1871, during the reign of Abdül Aziz . It replaced an earlier wooden palace where torch-lit processions were held during the Tulip Period .The palace was designed by Nikogos Balyan. At the sultan's request he added Arabic touches from sketches of Moorish buildings such as the Alhambra at Granada in Spain. Externally this is evidenced in the honeycomb capitals over its windows. The sultan entered Çırağan Palace directly from the Bosphorus, through the ornate ceremonial gates along its shoreline. Çırağan Palace had a sad, short history as an imperial residence. Abdül Aziz died here in 1876, supposedly committing suicide - although his friends believed he had been murdered. His successor, Murat V . was imprisoned in the palace for a year after a brief reign of only three months. He died in the Malta Pavilion 27 years later, still a prisoner. The palace was eventually destroyed by fire in 1910. It remained a burnt out shell for many years, before being restored in 1990 as the Çırağan Palace Kempinski (s1) |