Born near Graz in Austria, Pferschy lived in Istanbul from 1926 to 1969, with only a brief interlude during the Second World War. When he returned to the city from Berlin aftr the war with his Istanbul-born wife and children, he opened his own studio.
The Berlin brain drain by Norman Stone Cornucopia 22 With illustrations from Haymatloz: Exil in der Türkei 1933-45
Travels in Cappadocia
By horse through the volcanic valleys by Susan Wirth with contributions by David Barchard Photographs by Jürgen Frank.
Cappadocia, ‘Land of the Beautiful Horse’, was once famous for the fine steeds that bore its valiant knights. Few horses are left, but they can still transport you into another world. The photographer Jürgen Frank captures the eerie magic of the Anatolian plateau, Susan Wirth is exhilarated by five days in the saddle and David Barchard guides us through the epic landscape.
The mighty Ihlara canyon with its rushing waters and tangled greenery, would probably have been familiar to the early Christian saints of Cappadocia. Utterly different from the dry rock valleys of Goreme, it has been descibed as an "Anatolian garden of Eden".
Jürgen Frank's photographs made their debut in Cornucopia with his portrait of Josephine Powell, in Cornucopia 30but his most celebrated work was his portrait of Istanbul in Cornucopia 32. followed by his stunning images of Bursa, the first major Ottoman capital in Cornucopia 38
Two breeds of horse make light work of the volcanic ash terrain: the Arabian amd the Akhal Teke, which was bred for the steppes of Central Asia. Both breeds were prized by the Ottomans and there are rival claims as to which breed sired the first English Thoroughbreds in the late 17th century
Related articles Cornucopia 38:Arabians and Thoroughbreds at the Karacabey national stud.
Articles by Andrew Finkel, Nancy Milford and Barnaby Rogerson
You embarked in Paris or Vienna and alighted at Sirkeci station, an Oriental fantasy in the shadow of the Topkapi palace. This was the train that brought Istanbul into the heart of modern Europe: the fabled Orient Express. If you stepped down to the water’s edge, the Haydarpasha station, that massive German baronial pile, was just a short ferry ride away, the gateway to the Baghdad Railway. Together, the buildings were designed to transform empire - the two bolts in a seamless passageway between London and the Middle East. It is hardly surprising that they helped to inspire tales of great adventure, romance and detective fiction.
That was then. This, however, is now. Sirkeci and Haydarpasha are currently the victims of a scheme that will isolate them and consign them to oblivion. And you don't have to be Hercule Poirot to decide who is responsible: it’s the developers. The historic railway will be rerouted away from the stations in order to serve an underwater metro link connecting the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus, leaving the stations empty shells to be turned into shopping centres, themed hotels and the like. Surrounding real estate will be sold off to the greatest short-term advantage.
According to the London-based Architectural Review, seven Manhattan-style skyscrapers, 350m tall, will overshadow Haydarpasha, forever destroying the ancient skyline of one of the world's most beautiful shipping routes.
The whole scheme has largely progressed in secrecy and has been pushed through without a word of public consultation, jettisoning the results of a national competition, outraging architects the world over and jeopardising the city's status as a world heritage site.
On these pages three writers - and many images - celebrate the stations, the Orient Express and everything they stand for. Before it’s too late.
Time Travelling: Jane Taka takes the Pamukkale Express. Cornucopia 27
Stopping train to Georgia by David Barchard. Cornucopia 12
Modern Heroes
The man who changed history
Discoveries made by James Mellaart nearly fifty years ago fundamentally altered our understanding of the past. On his eightieth birthday he talks to Christian Tyler. Portrait by Charles Hopkinson.
The Hatt-i Humayun and the Congress of Paris by David Barchard
In March 1856 the eyes of the world were on a group of men seated around a table at the Quai d’Orsay. The future of Europe hung in the balance. On its 150th anniversary David Barchard reflects on the Congress of Paris
A nineteen-gun salute resounded over the wintery waters of the Sea of Marmara on Tuesday February 19, 1856, proclaiming what was to prove the highest point in the Ottoman Empire’s fortunes in the nineteenth century. The salute marked the departure of A’ali Pasha, the forty-one-year-old grand vizier, for Marseille aboard the French frigate Sané. From there he would go to Paris where, as Turkey’s plenipotentiary, he was to attend the Congress of Paris and negotiate a settlement on Turkey’s behalf in the aftermath of the Crimean War
David Barchard's remarkable nineteenth-century heroes and anti heroes include:
The Man who Made Albania: Ismail Kemal's roller-coaster career
The Doorman's Son who Saved the Empire: a profile of A'ali Pasha
The Wrong Side of History: the extraordinary Strangfords
Some like their asparagus translucently white, others prefer crunchy and green. Whatever your choice, it takes lightness of touch to reveal the delicate flavour.
Mecmûa’dan Saz ve Söz Instrumental and Vocal Works from the Mecmûa-i Sâz ü Söz Bezmârâ/Fikret Karakaya
‘Istanbul to London’: Arditti: Inno Turco. d’Adelburg: Aux bords du Bosphore, Symphonic Fantasy Op 9. Mariani: Hymne National. Prague Philharmonic Choir, Prague Symphony Orchestra/Emre Aracı
