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13-SEP-2004 Helen Betts

Ottoman Grandeur
by Helen Betts

Istanbul, Turkey

"No monarch had palaces as modern and luxurious as the Ottoman Sultan. Abdulmecid supervised the architecture and decoration of Dolmabahçe during daily visits to the construction site. It is the apotheosis of Ottoman grandeur. In keeping with Ottoman tradition, the gates, carved with a frenzy of urns, rosettes and garlands, are like triumphal arches." From "Constantinople -- City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924" by Phillip Mansel.

This is the gate to Dolmabahçe Palace, the "newer" (starting in 1856) residence of the Ottoman sultans. The entire gate was almost impossible to photograph (due to both size and distance to it and the lighting), but for a poor attempt go to http://www.pbase.com/image/33831268


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Deb Kees18-Sep-2004 15:06
Wow, Helen! What an image! I think that between Michael and Hassan, it's all been said.---Deb
Guest 17-Sep-2004 17:36
Helen, I'm not sure what happened to my earlier comment. Perhaps I just thought it and forgot to write it :-) I like the sense of scale and grandeur that you've captured. You chose a great time of day for the shot with lovely light inside the arch and the bright sky piercing the gate like fine lace. The Mansel text is very informative as is the lively discussion with Hassan. -Michael
Helen Betts16-Sep-2004 19:49
Hassan,

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. You surely seem to know a lot about this type of script! Very interesting! In answer to your question, each sultan has a distinct tugra; some look very different from the others, but some of them have only a minor (and hard to discern) difference, sort of like Japanese kanji. They are quite beautiful, however, and are found frequently on artwork here in Turkey.

Helen
Guest 16-Sep-2004 00:05
Dear Helen,

An excellent set of Images, a few comments/thoughts:

1)Image helenpb/image/29886345/original, would look great in BW. I like the way you have used sun light to capture detail using shadows.
2)It seems the Tugra is a general signature of all the Ottoman sultans or does each have his own?
3)The gravestone looks like Arabic, the scripting style I think is Nasa'liq (predominant as a Persian caligraphy style).
4) helenpb/image/29856468 seems to be in medieval Islamic style usually hand written. The style I think is called Thulut (1/3 of each letter slopes). I have seen Photo's of the Taj Mahal and I think its mainly composed of this style.
5) Finally helenpb/image/29886390, seems to have three (maybe four) different calligraphy styles. Reading around the Tugra may be the Diwani style of calligraphy, which was invented during the Ottoman period.

It may be worth asking a tour guide or locals who undestand arabic to give you a better view. My Arabic is very week (being an Indian).

Thanks for the Photos, very interesting

Hassan
Helen Betts15-Sep-2004 20:12
Hi Hassan,

I have a photo of an old Ottoman building in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district (where Topkapi Palace is located) with a sultan's tugra, or signature, on it:http://www.pbase.com/helenpb/image/29886345/original and this detail from Dolmabahçe gatehttp://www.pbase.com/helenpb/image/33793219 with another tugra on it. There are also some gravestones inscribed in what I presume is Osmanlici (old Turkish) but could be Arabic:http://www.pbase.com/helenpb/image/29886385 andhttp://www.pbase.com/helenpb/image/29856468 and a really spectacular display of caligraphy on the gate to Topkapi Palacehttp://www.pbase.com/helenpb/image/29886390. Pretty elegant way of writing, isn't it? Helen
Guest 15-Sep-2004 18:16
Dear Helen,

A very strong image, just out of interest have you got any photo's of poems or inscriptions on Ottoman structures that would capture their ornate calligraphy.

Hassan