Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahce means “Filled up Garden”. Dolmabahce Palace built in 19th century is one of the most glamorous palaces in the world. It was the administrative center of the late Ottoman Empire with the last of Ottoman Sultans was residing there. The construction of the Palace completed in 13 years and cost five million Ottoman gold pounds (the equivalent of 35 tons of gold). After the foundation of the Turkish Republic in Ankara, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk transferred all government functions to the youthful capital but on his visits to Istanbul Ataturk occupied only a small room at Dolmabahce Palace as his own. He stayed, welcomed his foreign guests and made a practical center for national, historical and language congress and for international conferences.

Dolmabahce palace has a great meaning for Turkish people since the supreme leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had used the palace as a residence and spent the most serious period of his illness.

Designer: Garabet Balyan
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Date: 1843-1856
Type: Palace

Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and was the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is one of several mosques known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque has become one of the greatest tourist attractions of Istanbul.
The design of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the culmination of two centuries of both Ottoman mosque and Byzantine church development. It incorporates some Byzantine elements of the neighboring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic architecture and is considered to be the last great mosque of the classical period. The architect has ably synthesized the ideas of his master Sinan, aiming for overwhelming size, majesty and splendour, but the interior lacks his creative thinking.

Architect: Unknown
Location: Istanbul
Date: 1609-1616
Style: Islamic Ottoman Turkish (considered the last great mosque of the classical time)
Construction: brick and stone
Type: Mosque