PHOTO EXHIBIT BRINGS ‘CITIES WITH THREE BOOKS’ TO ISTANBUL
Today’s Zaman
26 September 2008, Friday
Turkey
The Ä°stanbul Research Institute is currently hosting a collection of
19th century photographs centered on Jerusalem and the surrounding
area, which has been of such central importance to three world
religions that trace their lineage back to the prophet Abraham.
Titled "Cities with Three Books: Jerusalem and the Holy Land in 19th
Century Photog-raphs," the exhibition features 60 images of the region
that were presented to Ottoman Grand Vizier Kamil PaÅ~_a during the
19th century.
Ekrem IÅ~_ın, the show’s curator, explains that they wanted to
prepare this exhibition because the photograph album presented to
Kamil PaÅ~_a is now in the library of the Ä°stanbul Research Institute,
which is run by the Suna and İnan Kırac Foundation. "This institute
has a focus on cultural history and the cities that are important
in that history," IÅ~_ın told Today’s Zaman. "Throughout history,
there were many wars in Jerusalem and innumerable calculations were
made over this region. These photographs were taken toward the end of
the 19th century. They present the religious institutions belonging
to the three major religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There
are also photos of public buildings," IÅ~_ın explains, adding that
these were investments made in the region by the Ottoman Empire.
A few of the photographs in the exhibition bear the signature of
Garabed Kirikoryan, an Armenian photographer, while most of them are
not signed. Kirikoryan was introduced to the art of photography by the
first local photographer in Jerusalem — Yessayi Garabedian. Garabedian
established his own photographic studio in 1859 within the Jerusalem
Armenian Monastery.
First photographers in Jerusalem
Frederick Catherwood was the first person to take photos of the
Noble Sanctuary (Haram al-Sharif), also known as the Temple Mount,
in 1833. Scottish minister Alexander Keith followed Catherwood. Keith
produced the images to support the text of the Bible. This was the
beginning of the British picturesque photography movement that was
particular to the East. Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, on the
other hand, used a different style and produced the first examples of
French documentary photography. His focus was on Islamic architecture
in the Holy Land. The historical photographs we have now are largely
from this school.
The exhibition also includes three other important areas in the
region: Jaffa, Ramla and Gaza. These three cities followed Jerusalem
whenever it changed hands. Jaffa was the commercial port, while Gaza
was the primary place of accommodation for merchants traveling from
Mecca. Gaza was a "sancak" (province) of the Ottoman Empire that
included the sub-province of Ramla. All three cities were ruled by
the Ottomans from 1516 to 1917.
IÅ~_ın stressed that before and after Ottoman rule in the Holy Land
the region was dominated by unrest. "Our aim is to emphasize the
peace that the Ottomans brought to the region and bring those days
to the present through photographs," he said.
The exhibition will be on display until Oct. 19. For more information
visit
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