OTTOMAN PALACES ON THE BOSPORUS, DISCREETLY UP FOR SALE

ISTANBUL — A palace on the Bosporus, one of the fabled waterside summer houses of the Ottoman sultans, is like a work of art. There is no way to calculate its true worth until a buyer and a seller come together and set a price. Even then, the honor of the Turkish owners, some of whom are descendants of the original owners, the equivalent to royalty, keeps the price confidential and the sale a secret. Famous for their opulent lifestyle and exquisite taste, the Ottoman sultans first built their summer palaces 300 years ago along the shores of the Bosporus, the glittering 20-mile stretch of water that runs from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean, splitting the city of Istanbul and dividing the continents of Europe and Asia.