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“frpavelon . By Jonathan van Bilsen urkey, For Christmas, Turkey for Christmas is certainly on most people’s gro- cery list, but have you ever considered visiting the country at Christmas, or any other time? Many people cruise to this ancient Middle East land and explore the coastal ruins of Ephesus or joumey through Turkey's largest metropo- lis, Istanbul, the only city which spans two continents and certainly one of my favourite in the world. The country of more than seventy million inhabitants is rich in religious history. It is the land where Paul preached to the Ephesians and is the burial place of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It was home to the Ottoman Empire and the site of one of the largest massacres of World War | in Gallipoli. One can visit the site (and replica) of the large Trojan horse, brought by the Greeks in an effort to overtake their enemies, but to me Turkey has one of the finest, best kept secrets in the world. It was by chance that | discovered the 150 year old Dolmabahge Palace. It was built by the reigning Sultan of the day at a cost of 35 tons of gold. The ceiling alone is adorned with 14 tons of gold, but the most unique artifact is a chandelier, donated by Queen Victoria. This, the larg- est chandelier in the world, has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tons. Thousands of gifts from rulers all over the world are on display and there is never enough time to explore all the rooms. | compared Dolmabah¢e to my visit of Turkey's well known Topkapi Palace (made famous by the 1964 film of the same name) and found the latter a distant second in elegance and significance. Upon entry to Dolmabahge you are given blue foot coverings (to be worn over your shoes) Dolmabahce Palace of Istanbul. 52 FOCUS - DECEMBER 2011 DECEMBER FOCUS.56.indd 52 to keep the palace as clean as possible. | stood in amaze- ment in the entrance hall and visualized royalty being greeted all around me. As | watched tourists awed by the artifacts, | recalled that originally this part of the palace was open only to men. The women and children lived in another section known as the Harem. The founder of present-day Turkey, Kemal Ataturk stayed here when he visited Istanbul and died in the palace in 1938. The omate palace has 285 rooms, 43 large halls and ae Grapevines and Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia. six Turkish baths. The large, original carpets were woven for Dolmabahge and some of the rooms have parquet floors with three different wood inlays. Staring at artwork by some of Europe’s famous artists | was immediately transported back to the time of the great Sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Located on the Bospherus Sea, the grounds of this royal summer palace are immaculate. The ‘French styled’ gardens are adomed with omate foliage from all over Eu- rope and the Middle East. The walks along the paths by the sea are worth the visit alone. The word Dolmabahge means ‘the filled garden’ because it is founded upon a reclaimed area of land created by ‘filling’ up the sea. I’m not sure why this magnificent palace is never on tour itineraries and when | asked a local guide she explained it was a bit out of the way. | thought to myself, all of Istanbul is a bit out of the way if you live in Port Perry, so to fly all that way and not visit this historic site would be missing a tremendous opportunity. Not visiting Dolmabahge would be like missing the magical ‘Fairy Chimneys’ of Cappadocia, a region located in the centre of the country. The area is mystical and unique, 1121/11 9:39:54 AM