National Palaces visiting rules
The rule covers every palace, pavilion and museum run by the National Palaces Administration, Dolmabahçe included. Here is the exact text, where it applies, and how a group can meet it without renting receivers.
Photo: Julian Lupyan, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Yes. Under the National Palaces visiting rules (article 8/1-b), a group visiting with a licensed tour guide must use a headset once it has more than 8 people. Indoors, guides may not narrate loudly without one (article 7/2-d). The rules do not name a type of device.
Three provisions of the National Palaces Administration's Visiting Procedures and Principles, quoted in the original Turkish.
Madde 8/1-b
Original (Turkish)Eylemli Turist Rehberi eşliğinde yapılacak ziyaretlerde, ilgili gruptaki birey sayısı 8 kişiyi aştığında headset kullanmak zorunludur.
On visits accompanied by a licensed tour guide, using a headset is mandatory when the number of individuals in the group exceeds 8.
Madde 7/2-d
Original (Turkish)Grup halinde gelen rehber eşliğindeki gezilerde, iç mekânlarda rehberler headset sistemi kullanmaksızın yüksek sesle diğer ziyaretçileri rahatsız edecek şekilde anlatım yapamazlar.
On guided group visits, guides may not narrate indoors without a headset system in a loud voice that disturbs other visitors.
Madde 7/5
Original (Turkish)Ziyaret kurallarına uymayan ziyaretçi, görevli personel tarafından ziyaret alanı dışına çıkartılır.
A visitor who does not follow the visiting rules is removed from the visiting area by staff.
Translations are ours and are not an official text. The Turkish original is authoritative.
The rules belong to the National Palaces Administration, so they apply at all of its sites open to visitors, not only at Topkapı. Sites include:
Hagia Sophia, the Istanbul Archaeology Museums and other sites run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have their own rules. This page covers the National Palaces sites only.
A group can follow the palace audio guide, bring rented receivers, or listen to the guide on the phones it already carries. They solve different problems.
| Question | Palace audio guide | Rented receiver set | Phones with Your Next Tours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is speaking | A recording. Your guide is not narrating. | Your guide, live. | Your guide, live. |
| Cost per guest | Included with an entry ticket. Not available to MüzeKart holders (article 8/1-ç). | Typically €1.50 to €1.80 per person per day in the Turkish market. | Nothing for guests. The guide pays one subscription. |
| What the guide carries | Nothing. | A case of receivers, a transmitter, chargers and spare batteries. | One phone, plus a pocket WiFi router if there is no signal. |
| Hygiene | Shared devices. | Shared earpieces, cleaned between groups. | Each guest uses their own earbuds. |
| Mixed-language groups | Fixed list of recorded languages. | One language per channel, one guide per language. | Live translation into each guest's language (needs internet). |
Rental prices measured on September 21, 2026 from published Turkish tariffs. Compare with renting a headset set
What makes the entrance smooth with a phone-based setup.
Put it in the pre-tour message. Wired or Bluetooth both work. Most people already carry a pair.
Someone always forgets. A handful of cheap wired pairs covers the group.
Open the tour in the app and show the QR code while the group waits in the ticket or security queue.
Before the first interior, say one line and ask for a raised hand from anyone who cannot hear you.
The rule targets loud narration. With everyone on earbuds, a normal speaking voice is enough.
The text says the number of individuals in the group must exceed eight, so nine or more. It does not say whether the guide is counted. If your group is close to the line, plan for headsets.
No. The rule is part of the National Palaces Administration's visiting procedures, so it applies at all of its sites: Dolmabahçe, Beylerbeyi, Yıldız, the pavilions and its museums as well.
The rule requires a headset and does not name a device type. With Your Next Tours, each guest listens to the guide through earbuds on their own phone, so nobody hears the narration except the group. If you want certainty for a specific visit, the palace directorate is the authority to ask.
No. The guide's phone can broadcast over a pocket WiFi router with no internet at all, which also avoids weak signal behind thick walls. Where mobile data is good, guests can listen over the internet instead, which is also what live translation needs.
The audio guide replaces your narration with a recording. It is included with an entry ticket but not with the MüzeKart. A headset setup lets you keep guiding your own group.
Article 7/5 says visitors who do not follow the visiting rules are removed from the visiting area by staff. In practice that means a group that cannot comply may not be let in.
Install the guide app, create a tour and share its QR code. Your group listens on their own phones, and you narrate at room volume.
Everything above runs from the guide's phone, so that is the only device that needs the app. Your guests carry on scanning a QR code and listening in their browser.
Free to download · iPhone, iPad and Android · What the guide app does
