}

Wall, Arch, Dome

Byzantine Istanbul in the Eyes of Ottoman Photographers

April 13 - July 1, 2007

One of the most outstanding characteristics of İstanbul's Byzantine monuments, as captured by Ottoman photographers, is their role as priceless documents in the city's history. The period between the second half of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th century is marked by profound changes in İstanbul with respect to urban structure, historical texture and monuments. A careful eye readily notices the considerable transformations spread over a hundred / hundred and fifty years in İstanbul city walls, Galata Tower, Hagia Sophia and the Hippodrome area. These photographs are full of valuable clues for today's researchers, restorers, architectures and urban planners.

Nonetheless, there is something beyond the obvious in these images: İstanbul's remaining city walls, arches, and domes of a faraway past continue to survive in another form of existence in these old photographs, which reflect an age closer to us in time, yet just as rapidly vanished. The discolored surfaces permeating an indescribable sense of the old add another layer, another epoch to the historical richness of the city.

Comprised of a selection from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation İstanbul Photographs Collection, Wall, Arch, Dome exhibition (much like From Konstantiniyye to İstanbul exhibition in late 2006) took us on a journey in a different time dimension. Yet, on this occasion, we find ourselves in a İstanbul more ancient, more distant than the Republican or Ottoman days; it is a Byzantine İstanbul of monuments, ruins and almost imperceptible traces from thousands of years past...

Exhibition Catalogue

Wall, Arch, Dome

Wall, Arch, Dome

One of the most outstanding characteristics of Istanbul's Byzantine monuments, as captured by Ottoman photographers, is their role as priceless documents in the city's history. The period between...

Postcard Nudes

Postcard Nudes

The various states of viewing nudity entered the Ottoman world on postcards before paintings. These postcards appeared in the 1890s, and became widespread in the 1910s, following the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Monarchy, traveling from hand to hand, city to city. 

Today's Stories: Cihangir <br>Özge Baykan Calafato

Today's Stories: Cihangir
Özge Baykan Calafato

Inspired by the exhibition Istanbuls TodayToday's Stories series continues with Özge Baykan Calafato's story "Cihangir"! This series gathers short stories written by authors encouraged by the photographs in the exhibition.

Mersad Berber

Mersad Berber

Mersad Berber was born in Bosanski Petrovac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, on January 1st. He was the first son of Muhammed Berber and Sadika Berber, a well-known weaver and embroiderer. A year later, the family moved to Banja Luka after the city had suffered damage from the World War II.