Today, we took the Dolmabahçe Palace tour. This palace was built in the mid-1800s to modernize the Sultan's living quarters, as compared to the old fashioned Topkapi Palace. It was described as being designed using Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles, blended with traditional Ottoman architecture. Honestly, we didn't see much traditional Ottoman architecture... except there was a harem in the back.
We weren't allowed to take photos on the inside, but I think you could tell that it was done on a budget since only the rooms seen by foreign ambassadors and others that they were trying to impress were covered in crystal and gold, and the other rooms were painted (albeit beautifully painted with depth and perspective). Michael called it mullet architecture - ornate on the front and cheap on the back.
But the gardens were gorgeous!
And can't beat sitting on a bench overlooking the Bosphorus!
Complete with peacocks roaming the grounds!
After a nice morning at Dolmabahçe, we head over to see the last two mosques of our trip. We finally figure out how to find the Rüstem Pasha Mosque!
It's a small mosque compared to the others we've seen on this trip, but it's unique because of its octagonal shape and its liberal use of gorgeous Isnik tiles.
Then we headed on over to check on the filming of the James Bond movie and the New Mosque.
What a beautiful interior!
I loved the colors in this mosque... I could just look up at the ceiling all day.
Now it was time for us to leave our little hotel near Taksim, and move on up to our fancy 5-star hotel in Ortaköy to meet up with Sania. We sort of had a Bosphorus view from our room but we definitely had a bridge view.
And we even got fireworks during dinner!
About 10 minutes after the fireworks, the guy at the table next to us proposed to his girlfriend and it was so sweet. We had no idea what in the world they were saying, but I guess love is the universal language.
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