İstanbul · Kağıthane · Turkey

Kağıthane Kasrı / Sadabad

hidden gem

Sadabad (Kagithane Imperial Gardens)

HistoricNaturegoogle verified

easy

6/10

contemplative

A local would say...

The Istanbul Versailles that never survived — where sultans held tulip festivals lit by tortoises carrying candles

The site of the Ottoman 'Tulip Era' pleasure gardens — where Ahmed III built his famous pavilions modelled on Versailles in the 1720s. Nothing of the original structures survives, but the valley where sultans held tulip festivals and nocturnal festivities remains a park. Murat Belge calls it 'the Istanbul Versailles that never was.'