Ihlamur Palace

Ihlamur is not a palace in the sense that Dolmabahçe is a palace. It is a pair of small pavilions in a wooded valley between the slopes of Beşiktaş, Yıldız and Nişantaşı, built for Sultan Abdülmecid between 1849 and 1855 and given the name Nüzhetiye, meaning pleasantness and joy. The valley was already an imperial retreat before anything was built in it. Monday. Garden paths are mostly level, but pavilion entrance steps and historic thresholds prevent a complete independent interior route. Monday. No. No. Yes. Garden access follows the operator's site ticket rules. Osmanbey on M2. Open Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-17:00; closed Monday. National Palaces holiday closures apply. Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules. Garden paths are mostly level, but pavilion entrance steps and historic thresholds prevent a complete independent interior route. IETT buses stop at Ihlamur and Teşvikiye; Osmanbey M2 is about a 20-minute downhill walk. Monday. No. No. Yes. Garden access follows the operator's site ticket rules. Osmanbey on M2. Open Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-17:00; closed Monday. National Palaces holiday closures apply. Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules. Garden paths are mostly level, but pavilion entrance steps and historic thresholds prevent a complete independent interior route. IETT buses stop at Ihlamur and Teşvikiye; Osmanbey M2 is about a 20-minute downhill walk. Monday. No. No. Yes. Garden access follows the operator's site ticket rules. Osmanbey on M2. Open Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-17:00; closed Monday. National Palaces holiday closures apply. Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules. Garden paths are mostly level, but pavilion entrance steps and historic thresholds prevent a complete independent interior route. IETT buses stop at Ihlamur and Teşvikiye; Osmanbey M2 is about a 20-minute downhill walk. Monday. No. No. Yes. Garden

There are two buildings and they were built for two different sets of people. The Merasim Köşkü, the Ceremonial Pavilion, was the sultan's - used for official functions and for receiving guests. It is single-storey, rectangular, cut stone on a high foundation, and its exterior carries the ornamental relief and Baroque detail that make it the photogenic half of the site. Inside, an entrance hall opens onto adjoining rooms. The Maiyet Köşkü, the Retinue Pavilion, was for the court and the harem. No. IETT buses stop at Ihlamur and Teşvikiye; Osmanbey M2 is about a 20-minute downhill walk.

An hour. That covers both interiors and a proper walk through the grounds, and it is a generous hour rather than a rushed one. The reason it is only an hour is the scale. The Merasim Köşkü is a single storey of a handful of rooms; the Maiyet Köşkü is smaller and plainer still. Neither has the enfilade of state rooms that makes a visit to a full imperial palace take half a day, and there is no long museum route to follow. No.

Open Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-17:00; closed Monday. National Palaces holiday closures apply. IETT buses stop at Ihlamur and Teşvikiye; Osmanbey M2 is about a 20-minute downhill walk. Garden paths are mostly level, but pavilion entrance steps and historic thresholds prevent a complete independent interior route. Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules.

Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules. The base amount and currency follow the operator tariff; premium products and separate institutions remain excluded unless named. Garden access follows the operator's site ticket rules.

IETT buses stop at Ihlamur and Teşvikiye; Osmanbey M2 is about a 20-minute downhill walk. Garden paths are mostly level, but pavilion entrance steps and historic thresholds prevent a complete independent interior route. Open Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-17:00; closed Monday. National Palaces holiday closures apply. Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules.

Garden paths are mostly level, but pavilion entrance steps and historic thresholds prevent a complete independent interior route. Open Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-17:00; closed Monday. National Palaces holiday closures apply. IETT buses stop at Ihlamur and Teşvikiye; Osmanbey M2 is about a 20-minute downhill walk. Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules.

The Merasim Köşkü's facade is the shot, and the way to get it is to walk back across the garden until the whole front is in frame with lindens on either side. Filling the frame with the building loses the thing that makes it work, which is a small ornate object sitting in a large green one. Light comes late here. Foreign adult admission is TRY 280; ages 0-6 enter free. Garden and cafe use follow the operator's current access rules.