The descendants of a grand Ottoman family have restored the lustre to one of the pearls of the Bosphorus. In the new Cornucopia, Patricia Daunt charts the fluctuating fortunes of the Ethem Pertev Yali. The photographs of the magnificent interior are by Fritz von der Schulenburg.
The ornate balcony overhangs the Bosphorus on Istanbul's Anatolian shore, with the Fatih Bridge and the fortress of Rumeli Hisari beyond.
Explore the glorious yalis of the Bosphorus with Patricia Daunt.
With the Bosphorus running fast and deep from north to south, the whole effect was perfectly balanced, cosmopolitan art nouveau at its best.
All the paints replicate the pale colours used on the Bosphorus as the ninteenth gave way to the twentieth century.
Divine Restoration
Ten years ago the Zeyrek Camii was in a state of alarming decrepitude. Now that this Byzantine masterpiece has been rescued, what lessons have been learnt? For Robert Ousterhout, who was closely involved in the restoration, the old ways are always the best. Photographs by Juergen Frank.
Juergen Frank was the photographer of Cornucopia 32, The Connoisseur's Guide to Istanbul and of By Horse Across Cappadocia, Cornucopia 35
Professor Zeynep Ahunbay, the architect who oversaw the meticulous restoration with her husband, Metin, recorded every brick and stone and worked closely with the craftsmen. Authentic bricks weighing a mammoth 10 kilos each were specially made in Merzifon in Northern Anatolia. Laboratory analysis was needed to arrive at the recipe for lime mortar.
Related articles Cornucopia 27: Robert Ousterhout on the Kariye Camii
For three years, the main Islamic Middle East gallery at London's Victoria and Albert Museum has been closed. Now it has reopened - and the effect is spectacular. Here we present some key aspects of a stunning permanent collection that can now be seen, literally, in an entirely new light. Commentary by its curator, Tim Stanley. Gallery photographs by Fritz von der Schulenburg.
Kashgar, a desert oasis at the foot of the Pamirs, was pivotal in the struggle between Russia and Britain known as the ‘Great Game’. When the British consul there needed a holiday, the man sent to relieve him was Sir Percy Sykes, explorer, soldier, scholar and spy. Here for the first time are the amazing photographs Sykes took during his tour of duty in 1915, when he travelled with his sister to the Pamir Mountains and the Taklamakan Desert.
Ella Maillart: Turkestan Solo (Reviewed this issue by Christian Tyler)
Life in the Pamirs among the hospitable Khirgiz nomads: women dressed in wedding finery in front of their yurt, Pamir hunting dogs, Marco Polo sheep, 'olak tartush' the Khirgiz version of Afghan 'buzkashi'.
Issue 38 The Turkic Speaking Peoples Issue 39 Nomads in Anatolia
Cookery
Heaven on a plate:
Served at sixteenth-century Ottoman feasts, the biscuit known as 'seker gurabiye' is probably the forerunner of today's classic Turkish shortbread, 'un kurabiyesi'. It is also the mother of a whole array of delicious descendents, its sheer simplicity the key to its versatility. Text and photographs by Berrin Torolsan.
Cookery features and recipes in every issue of Cornucopia.
