The Summer Embassies of the Bosphorus by Patricia Daunt with photographs by Fritz von der Schulenburg
When the summer heat made cool-headed diplomacy impossible, the European ambassadors to the Sublime Porte and the viceroys of Egypt retired to remarkable residences lining the Bosphorus. Today these noble monuments languish, weathered and overgrown. Patricia Daunt probes their rich diplomatic history, while Fritz von der Schulenburg captures on camera the faded glory of the buildings and their grounds.
The opulent art nouveau palace at Bebek built for the Egyptian Khediva Mother in 1902
Browse other full-length feature articles on the yalis and houses of the Bosphorus by Patricia Daunt
Also see: Embassies: Part I The Palaces of Diplomacy by Patricia Daunt in Cornucopia 5
Bosphorus Guide book: From the Bosphorus by Richard Hinkle & Rhonda Vander Sluis
How to see the palaces None of the palaces in this article, with the exception of the Austrian Consultate (see below), are open to the public. They can all be seen from the water and are on the European shore of the Bosphorus. Write to the embassies in question to obtain permission
The Italian Residence stands between the French grounds and the old site of the Summer Palace Hotel at Tarabya. The wooden waterside house was created in 1906 by the architect Raimondo D'Aronco.
Sheets of marble by Ali Suat Urguplu with photographs by Simon Upton
The ancient art of ebru, or paper marbling, creates sinuous, swirling patterns of subtle colour which owe their appearance to processes as mysterious as the technique's very beginnings. Ebru apprentice Ali Suat Urguplu shares his master Fuad Basar's secrets.
Bound in perfect glory Ottoman book bindings Excerpts from a new book edited by Tim Stanley
A new study of the art of book binding in fifteenth-century Turkey reveals the literary tastes and passions of three powerful Ottoman sultans. Cornucopia is dazzled by the contents of the Renaissance libraries of Istanbul and Bursa.
Striped and checked silk tabby cloths cover some 40 books ordered for Mehmed II, the bibliophile conqueror of Istanbul. In the 1461 compendium of philosophical works by al-Suhrawardi, perpendicular bluish-white bands create a plaid effect.
Interiors
Travelling light Istanbul Interiors by Amicia de Moubray with photographs by Simon Upton
Amicia de Moubray admires the pared down elegance of the apartment of a modern cosmopolitan couple in the Maçka district of Istanbul
At Home in Turkey by Solvi dos Santos & Berrin Torolsan Inspirational and quintessentially Turkish interiors.
Travel & Botany
The land of the flowering penguins Turkish flora by Andrew Byfield
They are smelly and poisonous, and trick insects into doing their dirty work; but arums and aristolochias are among the most striking wild flowers in Turkey. The botanist Andrew Byfield tracks them down on the glaring limestone peninsulas of Marmaris and in the scruffier habitats of the high Taurus Mountains.
Fruits of victory Cherry recipes by Berrin Torolsan
Shining crimson globes bursting with tongue-tingling juices... Cherries, the trophy brought back to the West by Lucullus, are truly fit for a feast. Berrin Torolsan's recipes capture the sweet taste of summer.
For a complete list of Berrin Torolsan's cookery stories in Cornucopia, see our cookery index. Selected recipes are also available online: menus.
Cherry jam is slightly runny. Rather than adding pectin, it is better to accept that this ruby-coloured jam drips from the toast when you eat it.
Also in this issue: A toast to good caviar by Rory Knight Bruce
Fashion
Rifat Ozbek by Nilgin Yusuf
Rifat Ozbek's Autumn and Winter collection (1994) was a runaway success. His first major collection to be presented in Paris firmly esyablished the Sultan of Chic as an international fashion force. On a catwalk scattered with oriental carpets, with a background painted to resemble a crumbling facade, Ozbek paraded a virtuoso collection that proudly displayed his Turkish heritage.
