topkapi palace harem

Another thing I've never understood the appeal of is the kind of painted texture found on this column. The tiles surrounding the column are amazing. But the column is just tacky - to really appreciate this, you may have to enlarge the photo.


All the other decorative stuff in the harem was great. I apologize for the awful photo of this dome, but the motif is great: trees growing from a garden around the base to the top. Done with conifers, it might even looks natural.


I think it's time for this kind of naive floral fresco to come back.


Also, fountains under window sills.


And incredibly intricately painted domes with skylights in the middle...