It’s hard to miss the Dolmabahce Palace, an enormous walled palace guarded in by handsomely dressed, rigidly disciplined Turkish soldiers. Sitting on the shores of the Bosphorus in Besiktas, the Palace was built by Sultan Abdul Mecit in 1856. Often, visiting heads of state would be greeted by the Turkish Sultan or President, who would stand awaiting them on the docks of Dolmabahce. Once inside, marvel at the extravagance of the design, the seeming fragility of the crystal staircase, the beauty of the Imperial gardens, the stunning views of the Bosphorus from the alabaster-lined bathroom, and the grandeur of the Ceremonial Hall, where the heaviest chandelier in the world hangs pendulously from the ceiling. Also, take some time to notice the clocks- they are all stopped at 9:05, the exact time when on the morning of November 10, 1938, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, died in his bedroom here.