Dolmabahçe Palace, a grand neoclassical masterpiece on the Bosphorus, served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Built by the Armenian Balyan family, the palace reflects a Western-style luxury with its ornate interiors and extravagant design. This palace can be deemed as the beginning of the financial decline of the empire since it's a great example of decadence as the cost of the construction was a quarter of the yearly revenue at the time. Its most iconic feature is the high-ceilinged main hall, an architectural marvel that showcases the empire’s opulence. Today, Dolmabahçe functions as a museum, with part of it dedicated to a painting collection, offering visitors a glimpse into the palace’s artistic and historical grandeur.