Who ? Where? Why ?
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| [ picture courtesy of sultan-kayiklari-ile-bogaz-turu.com ] |
Where ?
The place ---
Istanbul Naval Museum
[picture courtesy of Wikipedia]
Why - ?
- to see the elegant gondola-like caiques used by the Ottoman sultans. These lavishly ornamented boats were the favoured means of transport for travelling into the main city.
A few imperial caiques
[picure By CeeGee - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,]
When the Court went on a visit from one palace to another, the spectacle of a flotilla of these caiques gliding along in procession was breath-taking, according to a 17th Century French Ambassador.
Who ?
He was impressive in his uniform, and his sash made me smile.
- the Sultan's chief Boat Master
For more pictures see Istanbul_Naval_Museum
Your photographs made me think I must have missed out on something while I was there all these years :D
ReplyDeleteThe Naval Museum moved into this new building recently, so maybe it wasn't there during your time in Istanbul. It's now much bigger, covering a lot of history. Very well worth a visit.
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