Çırağan Sarayı Gate

The palaces of the rulers of the Ottoman Empire were surrounded by a blank stone wall, first for defensive purposes, and then so that the personal life of the sultan's court was not accessible to the eyes of ordinary mortals. But this had one drawback - the splendor of the palace was also hidden by a fence. Therefore, the only way to communicate their greatness and wealth to the common man in the street was the gate. These monumental structures were often decorated even more exquisitely than the palace itself. The main gate of the Çırağan Palace (Çırağan Sarayı kapısı) is located, as you might guess, on Çırağan Street. As you know, this palace was built by Sultan Abdulaziz according to the project of the family of court architects of the Armenian dynasty Balyan in 1863-1867. The Sultan wished to have a traditional Islamic decor, so in the design of the gate we see motifs of Arab architecture borrowed by architects in North Africa. Now there is a hotel on the territory of the palace, and the gates are not in use.

..

..

..

..