Yildiz Palace was built in the 19th century by Sultan Abdulhamid II and differently from the architecture of Dolmabahçe Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace and Cırağan Palace, it is a vast complex of mansions and pavilions that stretches from the hill of Yildiz to the neighborhood of Beşiktaş and Ortakoy.

There are several buildings connected by gardens. In one of them, Sultan Abdulhamid II built a long woodworking shed to entertain himself with his hobby. In another building we see a very interesting theater where plays were performed for the sultan and his distinguished guests, and further on we see a delicate Turkish bath.

Today the palace is in use by the government and is not open for visitation.

Yildiz Park

You will enter the Yildiz Park which is a beautiful complex with set in a very large park of flowers, plants and trees, gathered from every part of the world, the park grounds offer one of the most beautiful panoramic views of the Bosphorus Strait. Usually Turks make picnic at the park on weekends and also use two very beautiful old kiosks to rest, drink tea, eat breakfast and lunch. If you like walking you can walk through the park but I remind you the park is on a hill. So you go up from the Ciragan Palace to the Yildiz Chalet, Tea Kioks and Yildiz Porcelain Factory which are on the top of the hill.

Yildiz Park during the Tulip Festival

Yildiz Chalet

The Yildiz Chalet is inside the Yildiz Palace complex but you can not walk to this spot from the Yildiz Palace, you will have to take a taxi to go there. Yildiz Chalet is an elegant wooden building which served as residence for foreign state guests.
One curiosity about the Yildiz Chalet is that it has the biggest carpet in Turkey. It is 440 squared meters and they had to break a whole wall to bring the carpet inside that ballroom.

Yildiz Porcelain Factory

From the Yildiz Chalet you can walk 20 minutes and reach the Yildiz Porcelain Factory. At the Yildiz Porcelain Factory you will find a small shop were you can buy some of the beautiful Turkish porcelain. This factory is very important because it was used to make the porcelain for the sultans. You can also tour at the factory and see how the turkish porcelains are painted.