Çırağan Palace Suite Renovations started
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Çırağan Palace Suite Renovations started
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Category: Middle East
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2006-03-10
The Çırağan Palace Kempinski, regularly awarded as one of the best hotels in Istanbul and the world since its opening in 1992, began renovation of its renowned Palace Suites in January 2006. The luxurious suites will be unveiled at a grand opening reception on 20 April 2006.
The Palace Suites Renovation Project, undertaken by architect
Ms. Hande Akın Tözün, will combine the magnificent decoration style of the Palace with the best of modern technological infrastructure. The Sultan Suite, one of the world’s most spacious and splendid suites, covers an area of 460 m2. The suite’s marble columns and ceilings are decorated with Ottoman motifs, while Ottoman Empire style furniture and accessories date back to the 19th Century.
Suites in the Palace, covering a total of 3,500 m2, will each be furnished with a 42" plasma TV screen and specially designed parquet, as used in the palaces of the 19th Century. A costly 37 m2 Hereke carpet and a rare 56 m2 Uşak carpet, both woven by hand, will be placed in the lobby as well as in the special shower area in the bathrooms. The lobby will also be decorated with replicas of paintings by the famous Ottoman Court painter Fausto Zonaro, who was the Palace’s artist, and Sultan Abdulmajid Efendi.
The Çırağan Palace Kempinski, where the Palace Suites are located, was built between 1864 and 1871 by the last of the Ottoman sultans, Sultan Abdul-Aziz. In 1910 a fire badly damaged the Palace and it lay abandoned until 1986 when restoration began. In addition to a careful restoration of the Palace to its original architectural grandeur, a grand European-style hotel was built on the grounds. In 1992, Kempinski assumed management of the landmark property in Istanbul.
Turkey’s legacy from the era of the sultans includes an extraordinary collection of art, architecture, jewels, precious metals, fabrics and cuisine. Part of this great legacy is the Çırağan Palace Kempinski. Elsewhere in Istanbul, there have been attempts to recreate the gracious lifestyle of the sultans within new hotels, but there is a world of difference between saying, “This is what the walls of a sultan’s palace would have looked like” and “These are the very walls”.
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