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Topkapi Palace is one of Istanbul's top three tourist destinations,
located at the tip of the city's peninsula stretching into the
Bosporus. This is where the sultans lived, and indeed spent their
entire lives when not campaigning in the field, at least prior to the
1700's. Many of the rooms are decorated with elaborate Arabic
calligraphy, including the caligraphy of the sultan's individual stamp
or signature. The gate pictured here has the most impressive
calligraphy. This is the spot where the sultan's standard of
horse-tails was planted and displayed when the Ottoman Empire declared
the beginning of a new campaign of conquest or war. The third picture shows one of the icons of the palace, the Baghdad pavillion, built after the Ottoman conquest of Mesopotamia in the 1500's. This is the spot with the most impressive views of the entire city. [ Next page ] |
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