Photo by Nuran Zorlu
Imperial Capitals of the
Ottoman Empire
A Photographic and Culinary Tour with Nuran Zorlu
Tel: (UK Office) +44 (0)1792 293 464 Tel: (Turkish Office) +90 432 215 20 92
This is an exceptional opportunity to experience the lives of the three Ottoman
Capitals of Bursa, Edirne and Istanbul in the company of Nuran Zorlu.
Nuran Zorlu is an established and
respected Australian commercial and
advertising photographer, with over 20
years of experience. He is also a wellrespected teacher of photography and a
sought after judge for national
photography competitions. His travel
photography has featured in many major
photographic
exhibitions
and
publications. Also, he has lectured on
travel photography and history at the Art
Gallery of NSW, Sydney University in
Australia, and in Cezayir Cultural Centre,
Istanbul, Turkey.
Born in Turkey to Armenian parents
Nuran speaks English, Turkish and
Armenian fluently. He also has a degree
in philosophy and sociology from
Istanbul University and a great love for
the history of Anatolia and the many
cultures that have made it so rich. This
unique perspective and knowledge
means this travel photography workshop
is not just an opportunity to learn
camera, framing and lighting techniques
- but gives you the ability to gain an
intimate understanding of the country
and its people. He is also a native of
Istanbul.
He is the founder and curator of the
photographic exhibition space, Gallery
Xposure and has exhibited in many
prestigious locations including the
Australian Parliament.
“One of the greatest pleasures of traveling is sharing the experiences that you have had with
others. Whilst, it is difficult to share tastes, smells and even conversations, travel photography done well - tells a visual story of these memories” Nuran Zorlu
One of Nuran’s other great pleasures is food; he is a dedicated “foodie” and an accomplished chef. You will not go hungry and
you will try some of the best food that Turkey has to offer.
Tour schedule:
Istanbul:
3 nights
Culinary Workshop. Photography Workshop: City Life
Edirne:
2 nights
Photography Workshop: Architecture
Canakkale:
1 night
Bursa:
2 nights
Photography Workshop: Architecture/ Markets
Istanbul:
2 nights
Photography Workshop: Getting lost with the locals
The emphasis of the tour will be photography and cuisine and these two themes will infuse all aspects of the tour activity.
Celebrated Turkish Australian Chef & Author, Somer Sivrioğlu.
Photo Nuran Zorlu
Culinary Delights
Cuisine: Turkish cuisine is considered to
be one of the great cuisines of the world.
It takes its inspiration from many sources
that reflect Anatolia’s position as a
bridge between continents, with
influences coming from the Middle East,
Asia, Europe and Africa, all blended with
the tastes and influences of many great
cultures through time culminating with
the Seljuks and Ottomans. It is fusion
cooking in its truest sense. In formal
terms we can say that Turkish cuisine
reached its summit in the formal palace
cuisine of the Ottoman court but Turkish
cooking is a vibrant and dynamic art that
has its reflections in the many different
regions and cultures of Turkey today and
yesterday. All of these regions are
represented in the many districts of
Istanbul, old and new. Our Culinary
Workshop will combine the art of
shopping in Istanbul’s finest markets for
ingredients, with the art of preparing a
sumptuous dinner and the added bonus
will be tuition on how to begin
mastering the very specific skill of
photographing food preparation and the
completed feast.
The Valens aquaduct, Istanbul
Photo by Nuran Zorlu
Istanbul
Istanbul was capital to three great world
empires: the Roman Empire, the
Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman
Empire. Known as the “City of the
World’s desire” Istanbul straddles the
Bosphorus, that narrow strip of water
separating Europe from Asia, and has
been for millennia, a cultural confluence
of East and West.
Founded in this location by Greek
colonists and named Byzantium in 657
BC because of its fabulous harbour, the
city was inaugurated by Constantine the
Great as the capital of the Roman
Empire in 330 AD. With the collapse of
the Empire in the west Constantinople
became the sole inheritor of Rome’s
cachet and its cultural riches. Captured
for the Ottomans by Sultan Mehmed II
on the 29th of May 1453 the city
became the Ottoman capital until the
end of empire in 1922, he was 21 at the
time. After the conquest he set about to
re-establish the city, fallen on sad times
since the depredations of the Crusaders
of the 4th Crusade in 1202, as a great
world city once again. It is from the
Ottoman period that Istanbul takes its
familiar appearance but one doesn’t
have to look very hard to see the
heritage of Roman and Byzantine
Constantinople. Istanbul must be one of
the most photogenic cities in the world.
Once one has gone beyond the modern,
bustling city of Istanbul in many respects
the city remains, as it was in ancient
times, an agglomeration of towns and
smaller
villages.
The
many
neighbourhoods of the city, on both
sides of the Bosphorus, still retain their
distinct characteristics. We will begin our
tour on the European side concentrating
on the great familiar sites and sights but
looking at them with the eye of the
locals.
At the end of the tour we will return to
Istanbul but keep to the Asian side using
Kadikoy as our base, a part of Istanbul
most foreign tourists are completely
unfamiliar with. Kadikoy, ancient
Chalcedon, was called the “City of the
Blind” by the inhabitants of Byzantium
across the water. They could not
comprehend why the Chalcedonians,
who arrived in the region first, could
possibly have built their city there while
ignoring the superb natural harbour on
the Golden Horn. The district has a
notable Christian heritage and was the
site of the 4th Ecumenical Council in 451
AD. This council established what
became known as the Chalcedonian
Creed which established the dual nature
of Christ accepted by the Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches as well as
most Protestant Churches but not the
Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac and
Armenian Apostolic Churches. In short
Kadikoy is an unfamiliar place with an
important history.
Edirne
Previously known as Hadrianoplolis
(after the Roman Emperor Hadrian) then
later Adrianopol it was known to the
Ottomans as Edirne. Edirne was the
Ottoman capital from 1365 to 1453 and
it was here the Mehmed II, the
Conqueror, was born. The city was the
launching point for the final assault on
Constantinople in 1453 and was the hub
for the principle military preparations
including the foundries that produced
the giant cannons that were so
important to the Ottoman success. The
city is located on the borders between
Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey and in
military terms has been one of the most
fought over places on earth.
We are here primarily for the architecture
as Edirne is the location of the great the
Selimiye mosque. Commissioned by
Sultan Selim II and built by the great
Ottoman architect Sinan and completed
in 1575 when he was already 80 years
old. Sinan considered this mosque to be
his masterpiece and it is considered to
be one of the greatest achievements of
Islamic architecture. A massive structure,
with a dome larger than Aya Sofia’s in
Istanbul and with four graceful 83 metre
minarets, the mosque is set within an
extensive complex which includes a
hospital, school, library, kitchens and
baths.
From Edirne we proceed to the site of the
World War I battlefield at Gallipoli.
The Selimiye Mosque by Sinan, Edirne
Photo by Nuran Zorlu
Photo by Alkans Tours
Gallipoli & Canakkale
After breakfast at the hotel, we drive
south across the Thracian Plain to the
Battlefield sites of Gallipoli and visit
monuments at Anzac Cove, Nek, Conk
Bair, Lone Pine and 57th regiment
memorial with a final stop at the new
War Museum. Gallipoli- in Turkish
Gelibolu- was the site of allied landings
on the 25th of April, 1915 by French,
British Empire and Commonwealth
troops which intended to force the
Dardanelles and gain naval access to
Constantinople. It is a place that saw the
awakening of a national consciousness
amongst not just Australians and New
Zealanders but also Turks, because it was
here that Mustafa Kemal, later Ataturk,
founder of the Turkish Republic, first
came to national prominence. Gallipoli is
a moving place to ponder the terrible war
that wracked the civilised world between
1914 and 1918 but more than that, it is
today a tranquil place of pilgrimage for
Australians, New Zealanders, British and
Turks and it is a monument to the ideals
of peace and reconciliation. This ideal is
best represented in an unassuming
monument on Anzac Cove that simply
carries the words of Kemal Ataturk from
1934:
“T hose heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…
You are now living in the soil of a friendly country. T herefore rest in peace. T here is no
difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this
country of ours…
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons
are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they have
become our sons as well."
From Gallipoli we cross the Dardanelles by ferry for Canakkale. Overnight near Canakkale. From Canakkale we proceed to the
Great Ottoman capital of Bursa.
Tomb of Osman, founder of the Ottoman Empire
Photo by Alkans Tours
Bursa
As the Ottoman dynasty spread its wings
Bursa became the capital in 1326. The
city was referred to as Hüdavendigar
("God's gift" in Turkish) during the
Ottoman period but a more recent
nickname is Yeşil Bursa ("Green Bursa")
in reference to the parks found across the
city, as well as forests that surround it.
Overlooking the city is the mountain
Uludağ (2543 m). The tombs of the early
Ottoman sultans are all located in Bursa
and the city's main landmarks include
many graceful mausoleums, mosques
and bazaars dating from this early and
dynamic Ottoman period.
The famous Turkish shadow puppets
Karagöz and Hacivat were reputedly
based on historic personalities who lived
and died in Bursa. Bursa is also home to
some of the most famous Turkish dishes
such as Iskender kebab and Locum
(Turkish Delight)
We will spend two nights and one full
day enjoying the sights, sounds, smells
and tastes of Bursa before proceeding to
the port of Yalova on the southern
Marmara shore to catch a ferry to
Istanbul and the Princes’ Islands where
we shall finish our tour of Ottoman
Capitals.
EasternTurkeyTours
Imperial Capitals of the Ottoman Empire
A Photographic and Culinary Tour with Nuran Zorlu
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