Yildiz Parki

Lonely Planet review

Sultan Abdül Hamit II (r 1876-1909) didn't allow himself to be upstaged by his predecessors. He built his own fancy palace by adding considerably to the structures built by earlier sultans in Yıldız Parkı, continuing the Ottoman tradition of palace pavilions that had been employed so wonderfully at Topkapı. It was to be the last sultan's palace built in İstanbul.

The park began life as the imperial reserve for the Çırağan Sarayı, but when Abdül Hamit built Yıldız Şale, largest of the park's surviving structures, the park then served that palace and was planted with rare and exotic trees, shrubs and flowers. It also gained carefully tended paths and superior electric lighting and drainage systems. The landscape designer, G Le Roi, was French.

The park, with its kiosks, had become derelict, but was restored by the Turkish Touring & Automobile Association (Turing) in the 1980s, under lease from the city government. In 1994 the newly elected city government declined to renew the lease and took over operation of the park. Today it's a pretty, leafy retreat alive with birds, picnickers and couples enjoying a bit of hanky-panky in the bushes.

Near the top of the hill (to the left of the road if you enter by the Çırağan Caddesi entrance) you'll see the Çadır Köşkü. Built between 1865 and 1870, the ornate kiosk is nestled beside a small lake and now functions as a café.

At the top of the hill, enclosed by a lofty wall, is the Yıldız Şale (Yıldız Chalet Museum; 212-259 4570; admission around YTL4 , camera around YTL6 , video camera around YTL15 ; ; 09:30 - 17:00 Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun, 21:30 - 16:00 winter), a 'guesthouse' built in 1875 and expanded in 1889 and 1898 by Abdül Hamit - both times for the use of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany during state visits. As you enter the palace, a Turkish-speaking guide will take you on a half-hour tour through the building. The chalet isn't as plush as Dolmabahçe, but it's far less crowded (in fact, it's often empty), so you get more time to feast your eyes on the exhibits.

It would seem the Kaiser had enough space to move in, as the chalet has 64 rooms. After his imperial guest departed, the sultan became quite attached to his 'rustic' creation and decided to live here himself, forsaking the palaces on the Bosphorus shore.

Abdül Hamit was paranoid, and for good reason. When eventually deposed, he left this wooden palace in April 1909 and boarded a train that took him to house arrest in Ottoman Salonika (today Thessaloniki, Greece). He was later allowed by the Young Turks' government to return to İstanbul and live out his years in Beylerbeyi Sarayı, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus.

Yıldız Şale was to be associated with more dolorous history. The last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmet V (Vahideddin), lived here until, on 11 November 1922, he and his retinue, accompanied by trunks full of jewels, gold and antiques, boarded two British Red Cross ambulances for a secret journey to the naval dockyard at Tophane. There they boarded the British battleship HMS Malaya for a trip into exile, ending the Ottoman Empire forever. On the way to the quay one of the tyres on the sultan's ambulance went flat; while it was being changed the 'Shadow of God on Earth' quaked, fearing he might be discovered.

In the republican era, the Yıldız Şale has served as a guesthouse for visiting heads of state, including Charles de Gaulle, Pope Paul VI and the Empress Soraya of Iran.

The first room on the tour was used by Abdül Hamit's mother for her religious devotions; the second was her guest reception room with a very fine mosaic tabletop. Then comes a women's resting room and afterwards a tearoom with furniture marked with a gold star on a blue background, which reminds one that this is the 'star' ( yıldız ) chalet.

During the 1898 works the chalet was expanded, and the older section became the harem (with steel doors), while the new section functioned as the selamlık (ceremonial suites). In the selamlık are a bathroom with tiles from the Yıldız Porcelain Factory and several reception rooms, one of which has furniture made by Abdül Hamit himself. The grand hall of the selamlık is vast, its floor covered by a 7½-tonne Hereke carpet woven just for this room. The rug is so huge that it had to be brought in through the far (north) wall before the building was finished.

Around 500m past the turn-off to Yıldız Şale you'll come to the Malta Köşkü, now a restaurant and function centre. Built in 1870, this was where Abdül Hamit imprisoned the deposed Murat V and his family. With its views of the Bosphorus, the terrace here makes a great place for a light lunch, tea or coffee.

If you continue walking past the Malta Köşkü for 10 minutes you'll arrive at the Yıldız Porselen Fabrikası (Yıldız Porcelain Factory; 212-260 2370; ; 09:00 - 15:00 ). The factory is housed in a wonderful building designed by Italian architect Raimondo D'Aronco, who was to introduce Art Nouveau into İstanbul. Constructed to manufacture dinner services for the palace, it still operates and is open to visitors. There's a small ceramics shop (; 09:00 - 19:00 ) at the entrance.

If you come to the park by taxi, have it take you up the steep slope to Yıldız Şale. You can visit the other kiosks on the walk down. A taxi from Taksim Square to the top of the hill should cost around YTL7.