SULEYMANIYE MOSQUEThe cascading domes and four slender minarets of the Imperial Suleymaniye Mosque dominate the skyline on the Golden Horns west bank. Considered the most beautiful of all imperial mosques in Istanbul, it was built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the renowned architect of the Ottoman Empires golden age. Erected on the crest of a hill, the building is conspicuous for its great size, emphasized by the four minarets that rise from each comer of the courtyard. Inside are the mihrab (prayer niche showing the direction to Mecca) and the mimber (pulpit) made of finely carved white marble and exquisite stained-glass windows coloring the incoming streams of light. It was in the gardens of this complex that Suleyman and his wife, Hurrem Sultan (Roxelane), had their mausolea built, and near here also Sinan built his own tomb. The mosque complex also includes four medreses, or theological schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a kitchen and hospice for the poor.
TOPKAPI PALACE As a massive compound of clustered annexes which stood as the imperial residence of Ottoman Sultans for more than four centuries until the reign of Sultan Abdülmecit I (1839-1860) , Topkapy Palace was originally started to be constructed by the decree of Mehmet II after the conquest of Costantinapolis in 1453.. The following decades witnessed the enlargement of the palace through new annexes and additions. The overall complex possees the intrinsic qualities of Ottoman architecture.The palace, after being converted into museum divided into sections mainly in terms of the artifacts displayed. Namely these sections are; the kitchens, the hall of Divan, The Tower of Justice, The armoury, The gate of Felicity, The Throne room, The Costume pavillion, The treasury section The miniature painting collection section, The clocks section, The Pavillion of the Blessed Mantle, Mecidiye Pavillion, Iftariye (Breakfast ) and Baghdat Pavillion, The Harem section. Yet, the treasury section where priceless collection of glimmering imperial jewellery is displayed will definately imprint your notion orientalistic resplendence and pageantry.