A walk through Istanbul 130 years ago

Until a few days ago, I had no idea that there was a female photographer who walked around the streets of Istanbul with a huge camera and recorded daily life 50 years ago, just like Ara Güler , whom Samih Rıfat described as “the only person on earth who fits the description of Istanbul’s photographer”! Let it be my shame, and I would like to tell you about Elisa Zanaro , who captured Istanbul frame by frame from the rooms of Dolmabahçe Palace to the picnic areas in Göksu between the late 1890s and early 1910s.

I met her at the “Elisa Zanaro's Istanbul” exhibition at Zeytinburnu Municipality Kazlıçeşme Art Center .

Elisa Zanaro

Elisa, the wife of Italian painter Fausto Zonaro , who served as the 'Painter of the City' in the Ottoman Palace during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II. She was the first to come to Istanbul in 1891. While giving Italian and painting lessons on the one hand, she also wrote letters to Fausto telling him about Istanbul. A few months after Elisa, Fausto also came to the capital of the Ottoman Empire . The two got married in 1892 at the Saint Esprit Church in Şişli. While Fausto was becoming increasingly well-known in Istanbul with his paintings, Elisa fell in love with photography, which was not even considered an 'art' yet. She went to Paris to follow her dream. Elisa, who learned photography for about a year, returned to Istanbul with her camera in hand and went out on the streets...

HE WORKED LIKE A PHOTO JOURNALIST AND TOOK HISTORICAL PHOTOS

Fausto Zanaro made a name for himself with his paintings of Istanbul using photographs taken by his wife. He also used Elisa's photographs for his painting of the Ertuğrul Cavalry Regiment on the Galata Bridge . This painting brought him to the palace. He was now the court painter of Abdulhamid II. The couple moved into the house in Akaretler , which the Sultan had assigned to them, and formed an artistic partnership.

While Fausto details his paintings using photographs taken by his wife, Elisa works like a 'public relations' specialist. She takes photographs of her husband's paintings and sends them to magazines in Europe, ensuring that they are reported. Elisa, who has the chance to attend many ceremonies in the palace due to her husband being the palace painter, works like a photojournalist and takes 'historical' shots.

Taking portraits of Prince Abdülmecid and his son Prince Ömer , and Enver Pasha with his father and brother , Elisa's photograph of Abdulhamid II in a carriage during the Friday greetings is one of the most striking photographs in the exhibition...

YOU WILL GO ON A TRIP TO ISTANBUL HAND IN HAND WITH BIHTER AND BEHLUL

In the exhibition, I was more interested in the photographs showing the streets, shops and vendors of Istanbul from 120-130 years ago than the historical figures.

When I look at Ara Güler's photographs, I feel like I'm wandering through the lines of Sait Faik , Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar , Orhan Veli . My eyes search for Mümtaz, Nuran, Süleyman Efendi, Sait Faik's fishermen among Güler's frames...

Elisa Zanaro’s photographs took me through the lines of Halit Ziya , Hüseyin Rahmin , Mehmet Rauf . I went to the sacrificial animal market in Beşiktaş Square with Ahmet Cemil from Mai ve Siyah . I walked on the Galata Bridge with Bihter and Behlül from Aşk-ı Memnu . I went on a picnic in Göksu with Sürreya from Eylül . I looked for comets on the ridges of the Bosphorus with İrfan Galip from Eşruklu Yıldız Altında Marriage . I followed Mark Twain , who came to Istanbul in the second half of the 1800s, looked at the view from the point where his ship anchored and said, “It is the most beautiful city we have ever seen,” and got off the ship and went into the streets. I went on an unforgettable journey from Beyoğlu to Kağıthane, from Beşiktaş to Üsküdar, from Beylerbeyi to Anadolu Hisarı, with firefighters, holiday festivities, boatmen, wooden houses, women, men, children playing games in the streets, and musicians, on a day from a hundred years ago.

I would like you to join this magnificent tour. Don't miss the 'Elisa Zanaro's Istanbul' exhibition, which continues at Kazlıçeşme Sanat until May 31st, with the support of Zeytinburnu Mayor Ömer Arısoy , the contributions of Elisa-Fausto Zanaro's grandchildren, and curated by Ömer Faruk Şerifoğlu...