Khedive's Palace

Abbas II (reigned 1892–1914) was the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. Unlike his predecessors, Abbas II sought cooperative relations with the Ottoman Empire, whose sovereignty over the Khedivate (which continued to be an autonomous vassal of the Ottoman Empire until 1914) had effectively been rendered nominal ever since Muhammad Ali's seizure of power in 1805. Abbas saw this as a potential means of undermining the British occupation (since 1882) of Egypt and Sudan. As part of his efforts to improve relations with the Ottoman Porte, Abbas made several visits to the Ottoman capital Istanbul, and commissioned a Slovenian architect Antonio Lasciac (1856–1946) to work with the Italian architect Delfo Seminati to build a summer residence for him on the Bosphorus. In her memoir "Harem", Abbas' unofficial and secret Hungarian second wife, Javidan Hanım (Lady Djavidan, born May Countess Torok von Szendro), described how she oversaw the palace's development right through to the interior design. She also designed the layout of the gardens, including the planting of the trees, the rose garden and the winding paths through the woods. ==Modern use==

At the behest of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of Turkey, the City of Istanbul purchased the palace in 1937. Under the guidance of TTOK's director general Çelik Gülersoy, the palace was restored over the next two years. It opened to the public in 1984. The premises were managed by the TTOK for ten years with the inner halls used as a restaurant, the upper levels as a hotel, and the marble hall and surrounding gardens as a café. However, in 1994 the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality took over the running of the establishment from the TTOK. The hotel facility is now closed.The building has the capacity to host meetings of up to 1000 people in summer, with cocktail facilities for up to 1500. In winter, it can accommodate up to 450 people and cocktails for 700. The grounds of the Palace serve as a venue for the annual Istanbul Tulip Festival in April. ==See also==