Osman Hamdi Bey

Osman Hamdi Bey (1842 - 1910) is well known in Turkey as the pioneer of Turkish painting.  He was also a bureaucrat and an archaeologist.  The Pera Museum hosts a special exhibit on him and two University of Pennsylvania archaeologists whose lives intersected in excavations at Assos in Turkey and Nippur in modern day Iraq.

 Osman Hamdi Bey was born in Gebze (not far from Istanbul)  and later sent to Paris to study law.  But his interests were soon focused on painting, which he did during his entire life.  Here is "A View From Gebze" completed in 1881.

As a bureaucrat, he had several jobs, one being the director of the Imperial Museum beginning in 1881.  During his tenure in this position, he oversaw the building of Istanbul's Archaeology Museum, established laws requiring all excavated artifacts to remain in Turkey, gave permission to foreigners to excavate and led excavations.  He is pictured here posing on one of the giant statue heads during his excavation at Nemrut in 1883.

 Two professors of the University of Pennsylvania, Haynes and Hilprecht, were among those granted permission to excavate in the Ottoman lands by Osman Hamdi Bey.  Haynes photographed the excavation at Assos, Turkey and was field director at Nippur, Iraq.  Hilprecht was director of the excavation at Nippur.  The University of Pennsylvania owns two paintings of Osman Hamdi Bey from this time period.  "At the Mosque Door" (1891) depicts men and women in period clothing.  Osman Hamdi Bey often used himself as a model for the figures in his painting.  He is several of the men in this painting.

 The painting is quite large as it hangs next to "The Fountain of Life" (1904).

Closeup detail from "The Fountain of Life".

 The University of Pennsylvania commissioned a painting of the Sumerian site at Nippur, "The Excavation at the Temple Court in Nippur" (1903).  Hilprecht is painted into the picture in the lower right looking at the pottery.

 I and others appreciate the paintings from Pennsylvania loaned for this exhibit.  They speak well of the cooperation between Osman Hamdi Bey and the professors of archaeological work.  And seeing them here in Istanbul saved me a trip down the PA turnpike extension!

Osman Hamdi Bey's most famous painting, known to all modern day Turks, is "The Tortoise Trainer" (1906) and here again, he used himself as the model for the main figure - the human one, that is.   This painting has it's permanent home in the Pera Museum.  

This exhibit continues at the Pera Museum until January 8, 2012.

Cagdas Glass Art Museum

Cagdas Glass Art Museum is the first glass museum in Turkey, established in 2007 and located in Eskisehir, just 200 miles from Istanbul.  The museum is housed in a refurbished Ottoman style home.

When entering, you walk directly into an interior courtyard, which now has an enclosed glass roof, and features a stunning Dale Chihuly (American) blown glass masterpiece.  Chihuly's work is world renowned and it is worth the time to see any of his pieces in person.

Other international glass artists are also featured at the museum, including Yoshiaki Kojiro of Japan, ...

 Nobuyuki Fujiwara of Japan, ...

 an artist from Estonia,  I missed getting the name, ...

and then many glass artists from Turkey.  This blue green vase from Cam Atolyesi studio artists Erkin Saygi and Ruhcan Topaloglu, ...

 A stunning white basket/bird's nest, about a foot in diameter by Hafize Uncuoglu.  Hafize has an impressive studio and art gallery in Uskudar.

The next two pieces are by Aydan Birdevrim, depicting Ottoman tapestry elements, ...

Birds by Meral Deger, ...

 and an Ottoman kaftan by Yasmine Aslan Bakri, whose studio and gallery are located just off the Golden Horn.

Glass has been an important art form in Turkey for centuries.  A glass workshop is depicted in this Ottoman period miniature painting.

The Cagdas Glass Art Museum is a must stop if you are in or near Eskisehir!

Excursion to Eskisehir

During the recent Turkish holiday, we took an excursion to Eskisehir, a city about 200 miles southwest of Istanbul.  It was worth getting up early to see the sun rise over Kadikoy, 

where we took the train from Haydarpasa train station to Eskisehir.

Eskisehir was the construction point for the Berlin - Baghdad Railway beginning in 1894, with the locomotive business continuing to this day.  This plant was also commissioned to make the first cars of 100% Turkish parts and in 1961 made this first car.

In 1515, the Kursunlu complex was established, including a mosque, a school, a caravan saray (hotel).  Visitors traveling the silk road could stay for up to three days with no charge.  The caravan saray's were established one day travel from each other, or about 45 kilometers.

In the area, a soft white stone in dug from the earth and carved into intricate patterns.  Here are some pipes, which were in a shop, ...

 in the old fruit and vegetable market, which has now been restored and houses shops and restaurants.

Tourists visit Eskisehir to see the old restored Ottoman houses in the Odunpazari section of town.  The buildings are restored and painted bright colors along narrow cobble stone streets.

 The homes appear to be used primarily for residential purposes, ...

 although a few had items for sale and one was turned into a tea house.

 On the edge of the restored section, one unrestored building is standing.  Building construction seems to be wooden frame filled with cement and stucco on the outside.

 We stayed overnight in a boutique hotel which was formed from several restored houses.  We stayed in the blue house in the distance and it was charming.  Next door to our hotel is Turkey's only glass museum, but I will save that for another post.

 The Porsuk River runs through the center of Eskisehir and it has been made to look like a canal, with little walking bridges and canal boat rides.  Everything was so clean and well maintained in Eskisehir, I thought I was in a different country!

My Goztepe

Within Istanbul, there are many districts, which are subdivided into towns and villages, which are in turn subdivided into the smallest governing body, each with it own responsibilities.  My local area is called Goztepe, literally eye hill, probably meaning nice view from a hill.  With all the hills in Istanbul, there are many Goztepe's.  The border of mine starts at the Goksu stream, which feeds into the Bosphorus.

Our town hall is not large, but does have the office of our token elected official.  I have met him and am registered in his office as someone who lives in the area.

Behind the town hall, we have a park.  This is where I will meet my husband in the event of an earthquake.  Recently, there was an earthquake in the eastern part of Turkey.  We are in western part of the country, so safe. But Turkey has fault lines throughout, so all should have a meeting place planned.

We also have an archaeology park, that is not open to the public.  The earliest finds of the Istanbul area are from a paleolithic settlement here.

We have a nice shop that sells pottery...

And behind the shop is where they make it.

A fenced in piece of property was recently the home of oversized marketing campaign props, but it is being dismantled for who knows what.  There had been a security booth at the entrance to the property, but that is now gone, and the dummy that was inside has been tossed to the side.  I hope he is able to find another job as good as his last.

Kurban Holiday

Today marks the first of a five day holiday in Turkey - the Kurban Bayram.  The feast of the sacrifice commemorates  Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Issac, when an angel brings a sheep as the replacement offering.  I bought some cards  of 16th century miniatures depicting angels, thinking I might use them for Christmas cards.  Abraham was essentially cropped out of this picture, but the sheep/ram is nicely featured with the angel and Issac.

In my local neighborhood, year round, sheep are available.  People will buy the sheep and donate meat to the poor.

This time of year, there are many extra sheep brought in for the holiday.

A special yellow tent is set up behind the permanent pen to house all the additional sheep.

Fortunately, my mother-in-law takes care of this responsibility for us, so I don't need to look at one of these cute guys in the eye and send it off to the butcher.

.

Baltalimani Japanese Garden

Baltalimani is a Bosphorus village of Istanbul on the European side, between Emirgan and Rumeli Hisari.  It is home to a Japanese garden. 

Shimonoseki, Japan is a sister city of Istanbul, as it also sits on a strait and has a similar look.  In November 2003,  the Japanese garden was established in honor of thirty years of friendship as a sister city.  The plants and decorative items in the garden were gifts from Shimonoseki.  This is the Kamon Strait in Shomonoseki and with a quick look, one might easily confuse it with the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul.

The grounds are laid out with Japanese ornaments, walking paths, ...

 

a pond, large rocks, ...

a little house,

and some Japanese carp flags.

I have visited a few times.  It is a pleasant quiet spot in a noisy city.  The cherry blossoms were the best in the city in May, ...

and the Japanese maples were striking also.

A lovely spot for a city respite.