Restoration at Dolmabahce Palace ends
Restoration work continues on the walls of the outer part of Dolmabahce Palace, including the Sultanate Gate. It was learned that the walls were strengthened by the Presidency of National Palaces using traditional Horasan mortar and various injections, and that the restoration process will be completed at the end of October.
In April, the Presidency of National Palaces started work on the 770-meter original walls of Dolmabahçe Palace, including the Sultanate Gate, which is located in the outer part of Dolmabahçe Palace.
In the work, which started due to the upper harpushta cover, which was destroyed over time for various reasons, and some parts of the walls taking water, it was stated that the tiles on the upper part of the wall will also be restored. It was learned that restoration experts identified the damaged sections of the walls and applied special injections to the damaged and cracked sections, and that a traditional mortar mixture, Khorasan mortar, was used in most of the exterior plaster.
It was learned that the ongoing restoration works on Dolmabahçe Street, a large part of which is known for its historical plane trees, will be completed by the end of October.
770 METERS LONG AND 6 METERS HIGH WALLS
Gökşen Yılmaz, Head of the National Palaces Restoration Department, gave information about the restoration.
Yılmaz said, “Dolmabahçe Palace is a building whose construction was completed in 1856 during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid. It is a building that architecturally embodies the social and artistic activities, changes and cultural reflections of the period. It was built as a prestige palace on the Bosphorus Coast at a time when the Westernization period intensified in the 19th century. It also caused a change in the rapidly growing silhouette of the city. While Topkapı Palace was a collection of buildings that expanded over time according to needs, Dolmabahçe Palace, on the contrary, has a pre-planned main structure, a structure surrounded by high walls, and architectural integrity. While Dolmabahçe Palace is surrounded by elegant cast iron railings on the sea side, which are also beautiful reflections of the Industrial Revolution, it is surrounded by 770 meters long and 6 meters high walls on the land side.”
“WE CONTINUED REINFORCEMENT WORKS WITH HORASAN MORTAR”
Yılmaz said, “The reason for the work here today was to repair the damaged parts of the upper harpushta cover. Immediately afterwards, we continued to scrape the plaster to remove the cracks in the plaster and walls. Then we washed the rubble stone walls with pure water to remove dust and dirt. We continued the filling and strengthening works with Horasan mortar. Afterwards, we plan to end with painting.”
“WE PLAN TO FINISH OUR WORK BY THE END OF OCTOBER”
Stating that the work continues with Horasan plaster filling, Yılmaz said that they started working in April and that they plan to finish the work towards the end of October.
“Of course, the walls will continue in the same way as they were in the original, in the same way as in our project. Only maintenance and repair will be carried out, nothing different will be encountered.” Yılmaz said, “The walls that have existed since the construction of the palace, as I said, unlike Topkapı Palace, there are perimeter walls that are interpreted differently here. We are already carrying out maintenance and repair works from time to time as the National Palaces Restoration Department.”
