New Publication: Bursa in photographs of the period of Sultan Abdulhamid II, IRCICA, Istanbul, 2011 (in English, Arabic and Turkish)
The city of Bursa, situated in the north-west of Turkey, has been for millennia a settlement area at the intersection of travel and trade routes. From 1335 to 1363 it was the capital of the Ottoman State. Today a major industrial zone, it still maintains its importance as a center of tourism, history, arts and archaeology.
IRCICA has published a deluxe album of photographs of Bursa dating from the period of Sultan Abdulhamid II, i.e. from the end of the 19th-beginning of the 20th century. The photographs were selected from the various collections contained in the archives of IRCICA namely the Yıldız Palace Archives – which as a whole dates from that period, the collections of Fahreddin Pasha, Sabiha Darga, Salih Keramet Nigar, İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal, Hidayet Yavuz Nuhoğlu,Tevfik Bıyıklıoğlu, Talip Mert, Hikmet Öğüt, and IRCICA’s Miscellaneous.
After the introduction of the photography technique to the Ottoman State mid-19th century, photograph studios were established in the capital Istanbul and later in other cities. Interest in photography grew fast, encouraged by the State’s effort to benefit from this technique to the maximum extent in order to follow situations and developments in different parts of the country through photographic records and for documentary and artistic purposes. Bursa became one of the most attractive venues for photographers outside Istanbul. Photographs of Bursa were taken at the demand of the state and by private photograph studios. Those ordered by the state during the second half of 19th and early 20th century were taken by delegations sent from the capital Istanbul or by photographers who were commissioned by the local administration, i.e. the governorate or the municipality. As to photograph studios, they used to prepare sets of Bursa photographs for commercial purposes. This publication contains photographs taken by 12 photographers and studios.
The contents of this publication show that great importance was attached to Bursa during the reign of Abdulhamid II, that this city which used to be the capital of the Ottoman State in its foundation stages was rehabilitated later not only with a nostalgic approach but with public works and investments on schools, factories, fountains and roads. The photographs in the album are grouped in ten sections: General Views; Neighborhoods and Districts; Gates; Mosques; Tombs; Fountains; Roads; Avenues and Bridges; Ceremonies; Personalities. The section on “Photographers and Photograph Studios” gives brief information on each of them.
It is significant that this album appears in the 2011 Evliya Çelebi Year declared by UNESCO, since for Evliya Çelebi (1611-1684) Bursa was of special importance. It was the first city that he visited outside Istanbul and one of the very few he traveled to specifically to learn about it. The chapters relating to Bursa are in the second volume of his ten-volume travelogue, after the first volume which is devoted to Istanbul.
Earlier, IRCICA had published the albums on Jerusalem/Al-Quds in separate English, Turkish and Arabic editions, an album on Egypt in the 19th century with annotations in English and in Arabic, albums of Istanbul and Erzurum with annotations in English and in Turkish, and the albums titled “A Century Old Turkish-Japanese Friendship in Historical Photographs” containing texts in Japanese, English and Turkish, “The Friendship Between Turkey and Yemen Throughout History” in Arabic, English and Turkish, and “Turkish-Afghan Friendship in Historical Photographs” with texts in Dari, English and Turkish.
Print 
Tell a Friend
Increase font size
Default font size