Complex sentence: Melling Pasha's eighteen years as Imperial Architect gave him a privileged opportunity to observe the Ottoman Court-being more familiar with the Ottoman palace than any Western artist since Gentile Bellini.
Split into simpler sentences: Melling Pasha's eighteen years as Imperial Architect gave him a privileged opportunity to observe the Ottoman Court. He became more familiar with the Ottoman palace than any Western artist since Gentile Bellini.