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Dolmabahce Palace vs Chora Museum
Both Dolmabahce Palace and Kariye Museum are praised by those who travel for a living. On balance, Dolmabahce Palace ranks significantly higher than Kariye Museum. Dolmabahce Palace comes in at #7 in Istanbul with accolades from 7 reviewers like Afar Magazine, Concierge and Frommer's.
Dolmabahce Palace
Fodor's
Concierge
Lonely Planet
Let's Go
Michelin Guide
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Dolmabahce Besiktas Istanbul, Istanbul 34357, Turkey
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Fodor's
"The name Dolmabahçe means "filled-in garden," from the fact that Sultan Ahmet I (ruled 1603–17) had an imperial garden planted here on land reclaimed from the sea."
Full review
Concierge
"Often overlooked by visitors, this is one of Istanbul's most lavish and extravagant attractions."
Lonely Planet
Top Choice
"These days it’s fashionable for architects and critics influenced by the less-is-more aesthetic of the Bauhaus masters to sneer at buildings such as Dolmabahçe."
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Let's Go
"It has 285 rooms, 68 toilets, 44 halls, and six hamams."
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Michelin Guide
2 Stars
"Generously deployed pomp and riches... provide a certain cohesion, in which it's possible to conjure up the decadent life of a sultan."
Full review
Chora Museum
Fodor's
Concierge
Lonely Planet
Travel + Leisure
Let's Go
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Kariye Camii Sokak,No:26 Edirnekapi, Istanbul 34087, Turkey
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Fodor's
"The dazzling mosaics and frescoes in the former Church of the Holy Savior in Chora are considered to be among the finest Byzantine artworks in the world."
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Concierge
"Tucked away in a far corner of the Old City, just by the Edirnekapı gate, is the tiny Kariye Museum, also known as the Chora Church."
Lonely Planet
Top Choice
"İstanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as the Chora Church."
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Travel + Leisure
"This pumpkin-domed church-turned-museum is one of the great surviving jewels of Byzantine art and architecture."
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Let's Go
"Chora Church requires some serious ceiling-gazing, cramp-in-the-neck-calming skills—you’ll find some of the most beautiful surviving Byzantine art on the domes above your head."
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