Richard & Stacy's Round the World Trip 2001 |
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The Divan was where the viziers of the imperial council would meet. The Divan is adjacent to the Harem, the sultan could easily come to the Divan through the Hall with Fountain, and listen to the council through a grill. Presumably the existence of this grill put pressure on the council to always behave as if the sultan was listening - they would be unable to see the sultan through the grill. The Divan is only two rooms, although very ornate and beautiful. It is also adjacent to the Inner Treasury (where the Exhibition of Arms and Armour is), which makes a lot of sense: decisions about the empire were made in the council and then the money to pay for those decisions next door.
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