Hello everyone, Napoleon called Istanbul, "The centre of the world." Half the city is in Europe, the rest in Asia. Connection is with a bridge across the Bosphorus Straight. The three big things to see in Istanbul are the Sultan's Palace, Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. Dolmabahce, the Sultan's Palace took thirteen years to build--1843 to 1856. Six Sultan's lived there. It has 385 rooms, 43 halls, 68 toilets, 600 paintings and 1,427 windows. One of the staircases has crystal spindles holding up the bannister. The most impressive part is the Grand Ceremony Hall. The domed ceiling is forty metres--more than 120 feet high. Hanging in the middle is a 4.5-ton chandelier with 664 lights. A 124 square metre carpet in the middle was dwarfed by this room. It has four balconies--one for an orchestra,
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