Another Mosque and Palace

Wednesday dawned clear and sunny. Took advantage of the weather for pics of Blue Mosque and walked to Suleymaniye Camii via University of Istanbul.

Suleymaniye Camii dominates the Goldern Horn and is a landmark for the whole city. It was commissioned by the greatest and richest and most powerful of the Ottoman sultans, Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-66), and was the 4^th imperial mosque built in Istanbul. Although not the largest, it is the grandest, similar in size to the Blue Mosque.There were very few tourists, and we had the place to ourselves.

On to the Spice Bazaar…..a smaller version of the Grand Bazaar selling …..err...... spices of course…..and then walked across the Galata Bridge crowded with fishermen catching sprats from the Bosphorus. We had lunch of the aforesaid sprats on the Beyoglu side, in a sort of shack with open air tables…..quite delicious.

Caught a tram to the Dolmabahce Palace , which was stunning ….see the youtube video clip. Lonely Planet does not rate this for some reason, but the Palace and grounds are stunning, and the Ceremonial Hall with a dome of mosque-like proportions had a wow factor that did stun us in to silence …….re earlier quote. The chandalier weighs 4.5 tons (8,500 kilograms), and has 7,000 bulbs, so it is only lit for special ceremonial occassions. Apparently, it was lit for Sean Connery recently when he visited Istanbul. The room isn’t even mentioned in Lonely Planet, so god knows what planet they are living on. Click on arrow for video clip.