Yildiz Palace - 3D Virtual Tour
Yildiz Palace virtual tours can be started by clicking the preview window or by downloading the stand-alone versions. Just drag the mouse to the direction you want to look. Use the scroll wheel to zoom at the details. Press F9 to get a list of the 3D sites you downloaded (residing in the same directory). To install the listed sites as a screensaver press F5. Our advise is to install all the sites, including Yildiz Palace, as a screensaver. When the screensaver starts, a random site is chosen and shown around automatically (this gives the impression of looking at a documentary in HD quality). To see the usage of other keys press F1. Press Ecs to exit.
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Yıldız Palace and park covered an area of 500,000 square metres on the hillside overlooking the Bosphorus between Beşiktaş, Ortaköy and Balmumcu. This area of natural woodland became known as Kazancıoğlu Park after the Turkish conquest, and probably became an imperial estate during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I (1603-1617).
Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640) is known to have enjoyed excursions here, and Selim III (1789-1807) had a country pavilion or köşk known as Yildiz built here for his mother Mihrişah Valide Sultan. It is after this köşk that the park came to be named.
Selim's successor Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839), Sultan Abdülmecid (1839-1861) and Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) had new mansions and pavilions constructed in the park, and in the late 19th century Sultan Abdülhamid (1876-1909) abandoned Dolmabahçe to make this complex his home. He greatly expanded the palace with many new buildings during his reign.
Yıldız Palace became the fourth seat of Ottoman government in İstanbul, after Eski Saray (the Old Palace) which stood where İstanbul University is today, Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace.
Source: TBMM Department of National Palaces
