Bosporus Palaces and Yalı Mansions, Dolmabahçe, Beylerbeyi and the Price of Imperial Vanity
The Ottoman sultans moved down to the water in the 19th century. For nearly four hundred years they had ruled from Topkapı, a cluster of pavilions on the hill above the strait's mouth. Then, as the empire lost wars and territory, they spent fortunes on European-style palaces…