Cornucopia Magazine : Istanbul Unwrapped: The European City and the Sultan’s New City

Issue 51, Summer 2014

Istanbul Unwrapped: The European City and the Sultan’s New City

£50.00 / $62.53 / €60.17
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In part two of our Istanbul quartet, a special 192-page issue, we celebrate the European city – the old diplomatic and banking districts – and the new Western imperial city built by the sultans in the 19th century on the shores of the Lower Bosphorus and up in the hills.

Articles by David Barchard, Norman Stone, Andrew Finkel and Jason Goodwin, Emre Aracı and Thomas Roueché, along with invaluable contributions from Tim Cornwell, Malika Browne, Victoria Khroundina and the historian Burak Çetintaş, reveal the story and magic of Beyoğlu, the old docklands of Galata, Dolmabahçe, the smart old quarters of Nişantaşı, the earthy world of Beşiktaş and the waterside world of Ortaköy.

Cornucopia 51 brings together a feast of photography by Jürgen Frank, Fritz von der Schulenburg, Brian McKee, Magnus Bischofberger, Berrin Torolsan and the great Beyoğlu 20th-century photographer Selahattın Giz, whose self-portrait (with friends) graces the cover.

Highlights

Setting the Scene: Spirits of Beyoğlu

Maureen Freely recalls the artists and writers who enlivened her childhood with their flamboyant bravado and unspoken sadness
The Sultan’s New City: A Fragrant Contradiction

In the very thick of the city, with its fret and fuss, belching traffic and urban sprawl, lies a glade scented with linden blossoms. Here the young Sultan Abdülmecid built a jewel of a palace, grand but tiny, which is still a green oasis and place of escape. By Berrin Torolsan

Setting the Scene: Strangers in a Strange Land

Until the 20th century, visitors would sail serenely into Istanbul to disembark opposite the Topkapi. After this spectacular start, reality would set in. By David Barchard

Modern Nomads

With its hundreds of different shapes, pasta is today one of the most widely consumed and enjoyed of all the staples

Blooming Marvels

For more than two centuries the Ottomans were obsessed by the elegance of the tulip and grew over 3,000 varieties, each characterised by almond-shaped petals drawn out into an exaggerated taper.
The European City

Across the Golden Horn from the Topkapı and the bazaars is the European City, where fortunes have for centuries been made and lost.

The Sultan’s New City

As the old European quarters flourished in their seclusion, Sultan Abdülmecid had a dream – and expanded to the east
Centre of excellencies

Patricia Daunt extols the palatial embassiess that adorn the heights of old Pera. Photographs by Brian McKee

Steppe Brothers

The Sakip Sabanci Museum has just celebrated 600 years of diplomatic relations between Poland and Turkey. Jason Goodwin finds deep-rooted affinities between the two countries

...and the prize goes to…

John Carswell introduces the mesmerising entries in this year’s Ancient and Modern Prize for original research

Nights at the Opera

With 19th-century Istanbul in thrall to the music of Italy, an extraordinary theatre was born, the creation of one rather ‘odd character’. Emre Aracı tells a tale of comedy and tragedy
Beyoğlu in the Jazz Age: Dancing Until Daybreak

Black musicians, White Russian princesses, Turkish flappers… During the Jazz Age, Beyoğlu was a ferment of modernity and decadence. By Thomas Roueché

Setting the Scene: The Tower and the Glory

For 700 years, the European quarter was home to Genoese, Jews, Greeks and many others. Norman Stone charts the district’s changing fortunes