PE-MC-EAE

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Unit - Travelling to...

Assessment Key
II. Listening
Text audio
The Topkapi palace from Istanbul is one of the most famous landmarks of the
city, situated in the Golden Horn - the historic part of the city, the centre of the
Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires and the place where all political power was
concentrated for more than 1000 years. It is the palace where the sultans lived
and ruled the Ottoman Empire, where they stayed with their harem, women,
children and servants. It is the place where the sultans met the great leaders of
the empire and took important decisions about ruling or starting a new war. It
was ordered by a sultan in 1459 and finished in only 6

years, being the

residence of the Ottoman sultans for about 400 years. The palace has an
impressive entrance and the gardens are open to the Bosphorous strait, being
easy to observe from here not only the rest of the city on both continents, but
also the ships in the strait. The actual palace was formed of 4 main courtyards,
one within the other, first there was the part where the sultan met the political
leaders of the empire, the viziers, the chief military officials, the religious
leaders; then the private courtyards where the harem was, where the sultan
lived and where the whole household was situated with kitchens, servants and
rest; here nobody from the official courtyard could enter. There were also
mosques, a hospital, bakeries, a mint and also a Byzantine cistern in the
second courtyard. The residents rarely had to venture outside the palace since
it functioned autonomously as a city within a city. The buildings host today some
exhibitions of the objects which belonged once to the sultans: clothes, swords,
guns, jewelry, gifts etc. There is also a mosque inside where the prayers are
heard all the time. The architecture of the palace is interesting, but the most
impressive is the decoration of the walls and ceilings, the detailed decorations
in coloured stones, paintings and carved wood.
Answer key: 1-T, 2-F, 3-T, 4-F, 5-T, 6-T, 7-T, 8-F, 9-T, 10-F.

Created by Yolanda Cabr under

Materials created by Sorina Monica Andrei under
This worksheet can be freely used and modified mentioning its source.

PE-MC-EAE
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III. Reading
Answer key: 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-a, 5-a, 6-c, 7-b, 8-c.

Tags: grammar, travelling, free time activities, shopping, weather, likes/dislikes,

simple phrasal verbs

Created by Yolanda Cabr under

Materials created by Sorina Monica Andrei under
This worksheet can be freely used and modified mentioning its source.