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At the Ottoman Bank Museum
The "Bosphorus Civilization" and its Architecture
At the Voyvoda Street Istanbul Lectures this month, Dr. Deniz Esemenli, museum specialist in Topkapı Palace Museum, retraces the development of a new Ottoman architecture along the Bosphorus shores, identifying its origins and influences. The lecture will be held at the Museum on Wednesday, May 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and will be free of charge.
Dr. Esemenli describes the changes which took place in Ottoman architecture between the 17th and the 19th centuries: "From the 18th century on, the Ottoman Empire, last heir to the Mediterranean world and the creator of a magnificent civilization, left its traditional area of settlement within the city walls of Istanbul to develop a distinctive residential architecture along the shores of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. This new Ottoman architecture constitutes one of the richest and most durable adaptations of the waterfront architecture seen especially in European cities built along canals and rivers, as well as in Byzantine residences and palaces. Numerous waterfront palaces and gardens, belonging to members of the Ottoman dynasty, made up a superior civilian architecture which, paving the way to a modern city fabric, developed parallel to the Enlightment in the western world. This baroque and fragile aristocratic lifestyle, perfectly harmonious with its environment, was to become one of the most original and aesthetic additions of the Ottoman civilization - whose impressive domination in every field left its mark on western monarchies - to the history of civilization."
After graduating from the Department of Art History in the Faculty of Literature at Istanbul University, Dr. Deniz Esemenli wrote his Ph.D. thesis on the Turkish architecture of Sinop and taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Marmara University.
Known in particular for his research on Ottoman architecture, palace architecture and the chronological evolution of the harem, Deniz Esemenli is the author of, "The Ottoman Palace and Dolmabahçe" (Osmanlı Sarayı ve Dolmabahçe), a work on late Ottoman palatial-residential architecture. Esemenli is currently the museum specialist at Topkapı Palace Museum, conducts seminars and organizes tours.
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VOYVODA STREET LECTURES
Istanbul lectures
The "Bosphorus Civilization" and its Architecture
Dr. Deniz Esemenli
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Free admission
The Ottoman Bank Museum
35/37 Banks (Voyvoda) Street
(0212) 334 22 70
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