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As noted on the previous page, the Topkapi Palace is the best place to
orient yourself to the city of Istanbul. The best view is of the
great Suleimaniye mosque a mile away, designed to surpass the
Hagia Sophia in beauty and size. The bottom two photos show the view across the Bosporus into Asia (top), and the view across the Golden Horn to the Galata district north of town where the recent bombings took place. The large tower shown in across the Golden Horn controlled the all-important defensive chain that blocked access to the channel in times of war during Byzantine times. Mehmet the Conqueror bypassed the chain by having his fleet rolled overland into the Golden Horn, a sight that profoundly shocked the Byzantine defenders of the city in 1453. The earlier Venetian-Frankish invaders conquered the city by first seizing the Galata area, where the Venetians and Genoans had always maintained their trading houses. [ Next page ] |
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