Old Istanbul presents itself on postcards and in photographs
The Post Museum, The Turkish Embassy in Finland and Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation will jointly arrange an exhibition displaying old postcards and photographs from Istanbul. The cards date back to the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The postcards are from the Turkish Ambassador Reha Keskintepe's collections. The old, rare photographs are on loan from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Collection in Istanbul. The oldest photographs of the exhibition date back to that time, the 1850s. The exhibition will be on display at the Post Museum from 27 February to 30 March 2008.
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| The baroque-style Mosque, dating from 1854, is the jewel of the Ortaköy Square. | Pascal Sébah, Kız Kulesi, Galata and Fındıklı Residential Areas, 1870 |
The exhibition presents imperial Istanbul from many perspectives. Istanbul was formerly the Byzantine and, later, the Ottoman Empire’s capital. Although it is no longer the administrative capital of Turkey, it still lives on in the minds of most Turks as their cultural, economic and spiritual capital.
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| Sébah and Joailier, Galata Bridge | Dolmabahçe Palace and Kandilli |
In “the Mystery of the Bosphorus” exhibition Ambassador Mr. Reha Keskintepe has arranged his card collection by theme. The cards depict human life, how beautiful Turkish women dressed and spent their time, or how street vendors sold their merchandise. They tell colourful stories about life in the Bosphorus with many details on various buildings, castles and palaces from Istanbul’s European and Anatolian shores. Monuments such as the Hagia Sophia are also included. This enormous building, constructed by the Emperor Justinian, functioned as a church for nearly a thousand years, as a mosque for several centuries, and is now a museum.
In the “Istanbul: the Imperial City” exhibition with the old photographs of the Suna and İnan Kıraç Collection, palaces, narrow minarets rising towards the sky, gilded domes, mosques and beautiful gardens are portrayed. Several, such as the crystal Dolmabahçe Palace, attest to the colourful history of Istanbul. The construction of this magnificent palace was finished in 1856. Impressive buildings such as Hagia Sophia, Süleymaniye Mosque or the Maiden’s Tower, fountains with delicate marble decorations, ordinary people and city life in 19th century İstanbul can also be seen in photographs.
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| Woman in the Ottoman era | Street Vendors |
Housed in the Helsinki General Post Office, Asema-aukio 5 H, the Post Museum is open Mon.–Fri. from 9 am until 6 pm and Sat. and Sun. from 11 am until 4 pm. The admission fee is 4 and 3 euro, and entry is free for visitors under 18 years of age. The museum has a satisfaction guarantee: if the visitor is not pleased with what he or she sees, the museum will refund the admission fee.
