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Issue 12, 1997

Black Sea Issue

£30.00 / $46.85 / 88.19 TL
(Based on day rates)

Hidden magnificence: we travel to the astounding valley of the Çoruh, visit the glorious 11th-century cathedral of Işhan, and explore the haunting mansions of Çamlıhemşın. Indulging in pared-down rustic chic; celebrating Guidalotto’s wicked panorama of Istanbul; enjoying wild crocuses; and discovering our man in wartime Trabzon. Plus delicious recipes for eggs on a plate from Berrin Torolsan

Highlights

Over the hills and far away

Beyond the towering Black Sea Mountains lies a hidden landscape rich with forgotten medieval churches. For centuries they were ignored, their ancient glories allowed to crumble to dust. Before new roads reached the Coruh Valley, Brian Sewell had to enlist the help of shepherds on his quest to find these forerunners of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
The Country Houses that Ride ‘the Storm’

In the rain forests of Turkey’s Black Sea Mountains, where jackals howl and the River Firtina (the Storm) crashes towards the Black Sea, live the Hemşinli people, who were here when Jason came in search of the Golden Fleece. In more recent years they prospered as bakers and restaurateurs in Tsarist Russia, returning to their beautiful, haunting country houses hidden in the hills east of Trabzon. Patrica Daunt visits one family and shares their memories of a Chekovian rural life.
Also see Cornucopia 34, Land of a Thousand Mansions
Eggs on a Plate

For centuries the masters of great dishes have owed their success to the egg. It both combines and flatters.
More cookery features

Inside the issue

Black Sea Issue

Over the Hills and Far Away
the Çoruh Valley, by Brian Sewell
The Country Houses that Ride ‘The Storm’
Çamlıhemşin, by Patricia Daunt
Stopping Train to Georgia
Sapanca, by David Barchard
Farmhouse Style
A modern farmhouse in ancient Bithynia
Our Man in Trabson
Sir Denis Wright looks back with affection

Art & Design

The New Babylon?
A 17th-century panorama of Istanbul
in the Vatican, by Christine Thomson
Art Puts its House in Order
The new Ercümend Kalmık Museum
Take Silk
A profile of Bilge Mestçi's Artisan

Countryside

If You Go Down to the Woods Today
Kemer Golf & Country Club
After the Snows
A field guide to Anatolia's crocuses,
by Andrew Byfield

Cookery

Eggs on a Plate
Classic recipes made easy, by Berrin Torolsan

Counterpoint

Academic Overtures
Norman Stone in Ankara
Confusing Business
Andrew Finkel in Washington
Best of Baku
Peter Wimsey in Azerbaijan
Diary
Dress sense, common sense and nonsense,
by Andrew Finkel
One Good Woman and True
John Brunton talks to Istanbul Film Festival director Hülya Uçansu

Regulars

Connoisseur
Orientalist, Byzantine and Ottoman Art:
a viewer's guide, by Philippa Scott
Eating Out in Istanbul
A Man for Four Seasons, by Andrew Finkel

Book Reviews

The Stamp of Authority
Ottoman Silver Marks, by Garo Kürkman
Reviewed by John Carswell
The Seven Colours
Colour and Symbolism in Islamic Architecture, photographs by Roland and Sabrina Michaud.
Reviewed by Philippa Scott
Arid is as Arid Does
Aurel Stein: pioneer of the Silk Road,
by Annabel Walker.
Reviewed by Antony Wynn
Spot the Barbarians
The Making of Orthodox Byzantium, by Mark Whittow. Byzantine Art and Architecture, by Lyn Rodley. The Early Byzantine Chruches of Cilicia and Isauria, by Stephen Hill.
Reviewed by David Barchard

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Issue 12, 1997
£30.00 / $46.85 / 88.19 TL

Cornucopia Special Offer

THE BLACK SEA
Four collectable issues featuring the history, the peoples and the glorious architecture of the Black Sea region
Issues 12, 28, 34 plus Issue 49
Four issues for £85 post-free
Save £37 on the list price of £122