Imperial Capitals of theOttoman Empire

Tel: (UK Office) +44 (0)1792 293 464 Tel: (Turkish Office) +90 432 215 20 92

A Photographic and Culinary Tour with Nuran Zorlu

Photo by Nuran Zorlu

This is an exceptional opportunity to experience the lives of the three OttomanCapitals of Bursa, Edirne and Istanbul in the company of Nuran Zorlu.

“One of the greatest pleasures of traveling is sharing the experiences that you have had withothers. 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.

Nuran Zorlu is an established andrespected Australian commercial andadvertising photographer, with over 20years of experience. He is also a well-respected teacher of photography and asought after judge for nationalphotography competitions. His travelphotography has featured in many majorphotographic exhibitions andpublications. Also, he has lectured ontravel photography and history at the ArtGallery of NSW, Sydney University in

Australia, and in Cezayir Cultural Centre,Istanbul, Turkey.

Born in Turkey to Armenian parentsNuran speaks English, Turkish andArmenian fluently. He also has a degreein philosophy and sociology fromIstanbul University and a great love forthe history of Anatolia and the manycultures that have made it so rich. Thisunique perspective and knowledgemeans this travel photography workshop

is not just an opportunity to learncamera, framing and lighting techniques- but gives you the ability to gain anintimate understanding of the countryand its people. He is also a native ofIstanbul.

He is the founder and curator of thephotographic exhibition space, GalleryXposure and has exhibited in manyprestigious locations including theAustralian Parliament.

Culinary Delights

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine is considered tobe one of the great cuisines of the world.It takes its inspiration from many sourcesthat reflect Anatolia’s position as abridge between continents, withinfluences coming from the Middle East,Asia, Europe and Africa, all blended withthe tastes and influences of many greatcultures through time culminating withthe Seljuks and Ottomans. It is fusion

cooking in its truest sense. In formalterms we can say that Turkish cuisinereached its summit in the formal palacecuisine of the Ottoman court but Turkishcooking is a vibrant and dynamic art thathas its reflections in the many differentregions and cultures of Turkey today andyesterday. All of these regions arerepresented in the many districts ofIstanbul, old and new. Our Culinary

Workshop will combine the art ofshopping in Istanbul’s finest markets foringredients, with the art of preparing asumptuous dinner and the added bonuswill be tuition on how to beginmastering the very specific skill ofphotographing food preparation and thecompleted feast.

Celebrated Turkish Australian Chef & Author, Somer Sivrioğlu.Photo Nuran Zorlu

Istanbul was capital to three great worldempires: the Roman Empire, theByzantine Empire and the OttomanEmpire. Known as the “City of theWorld’s desire” Istanbul straddles theBosphorus, that narrow strip of waterseparating Europe from Asia, and hasbeen for millennia, a cultural confluenceof East and West.

Founded in this location by Greekcolonists and named Byzantium in 657BC because of its fabulous harbour, thecity was inaugurated by Constantine theGreat as the capital of the RomanEmpire in 330 AD. With the collapse ofthe Empire in the west Constantinoplebecame the sole inheritor of Rome’scachet and its cultural riches. Capturedfor the Ottomans by Sultan Mehmed IIon the 29th of May 1453 the citybecame the Ottoman capital until theend of empire in 1922, he was 21 at thetime. After the conquest he set about tore-establish the city, fallen on sad times

since the depredations of the Crusadersof the 4th Crusade in 1202, as a greatworld city once again. It is from theOttoman period that Istanbul takes itsfamiliar appearance but one doesn’thave to look very hard to see theheritage of Roman and ByzantineConstantinople. Istanbul must be one ofthe most photogenic cities in the world. Once one has gone beyond the modern,bustling city of Istanbul in many respectsthe city remains, as it was in ancienttimes, an agglomeration of towns andsmaller villages. The manyneighbourhoods of the city, on bothsides of the Bosphorus, still retain theirdistinct characteristics. We will begin ourtour on the European side concentratingon the great familiar sites and sights butlooking at them with the eye of thelocals.

At the end of the tour we will return toIstanbul but keep to the Asian side usingKadikoy as our base, a part of Istanbul

most foreign tourists are completelyunfamiliar with. Kadikoy, ancientChalcedon, was called the “City of theBlind” by the inhabitants of Byzantiumacross the water. They could notcomprehend why the Chalcedonians,who arrived in the region first, couldpossibly have built their city there whileignoring the superb natural harbour onthe Golden Horn. The district has anotable Christian heritage and was thesite of the 4th Ecumenical Council in 451AD. This council established whatbecame known as the ChalcedonianCreed which established the dual natureof Christ accepted by the Catholic andEastern Orthodox churches as well asmost Protestant Churches but not theCoptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac andArmenian Apostolic Churches. In shortKadikoy is an unfamiliar place with animportant history.

Istanbul

The Valens aquaduct, IstanbulPhoto by Nuran Zorlu

Edirne

Previously known as Hadrianoplolis(after the Roman Emperor Hadrian) thenlater Adrianopol it was known to theOttomans as Edirne. Edirne was theOttoman capital from 1365 to 1453 andit was here the Mehmed II, theConqueror, was born. The city was thelaunching point for the final assault onConstantinople in 1453 and was the hubfor the principle military preparationsincluding the foundries that producedthe giant cannons that were soimportant to the Ottoman success. Thecity is located on the borders betweenGreece, Bulgaria and Turkey and inmilitary terms has been one of the mostfought over places on earth.

We are here primarily for the architectureas Edirne is the location of the great theSelimiye mosque. Commissioned bySultan Selim II and built by the greatOttoman architect Sinan and completedin 1575 when he was already 80 yearsold. Sinan considered this mosque to behis masterpiece and it is considered tobe one of the greatest achievements ofIslamic architecture. A massive structure,with a dome larger than Aya Sofia’s inIstanbul and with four graceful 83 metreminarets, the mosque is set within anextensive complex which includes ahospital, school, library, kitchens andbaths.

From Edirne we proceed to the site of theWorld War I battlefield at Gallipoli.

The Selimiye Mosque by Sinan, EdirnePhoto by Nuran Zorlu

Gallipoli & Canakkale

After breakfast at the hotel, we drivesouth across the Thracian Plain to theBattlefield sites of Gallipoli and visitmonuments at Anzac Cove, Nek, ConkBair, Lone Pine and 57th regimentmemorial with a final stop at the newWar Museum. Gallipoli- in TurkishGelibolu- was the site of allied landingson the 25th of April, 1915 by French,British Empire and Commonwealth

troops which intended to force theDardanelles and gain naval access toConstantinople. It is a place that saw theawakening of a national consciousnessamongst not just Australians and NewZealanders but also Turks, because it washere that Mustafa Kemal, later Ataturk,founder of the Turkish Republic, firstcame to national prominence. Gallipoli isa moving place to ponder the terrible war

that wracked the civilised world between1914 and 1918 but more than that, it istoday a tranquil place of pilgrimage forAustralians, New Zealanders, British andTurks and it is a monument to the idealsof peace and reconciliation. This ideal isbest represented in an unassumingmonument on Anzac Cove that simplycarries the words of Kemal Ataturk from1934:

“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…You are now living in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is nodifference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in thiscountry of ours…

You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sonsare now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they havebecome our sons as well."

From Gallipoli we cross the Dardanelles by ferry for Canakkale. Overnight near Canakkale. From Canakkale we proceed to theGreat Ottoman capital of Bursa.

Photo by Alkans Tours

Bursa

As the Ottoman dynasty spread its wingsBursa became the capital in 1326. Thecity was referred to as Hüdavendigar("God's gift" in Turkish) during theOttoman period but a more recentnickname is Yeşil Bursa ("Green Bursa")in reference to the parks found across thecity, as well as forests that surround it.Overlooking the city is the mountainUludağ (2543 m). The tombs of the early

Ottoman sultans are all located in Bursaand the city's main landmarks includemany graceful mausoleums, mosquesand bazaars dating from this early anddynamic Ottoman period.The famous Turkish shadow puppetsKaragöz and Hacivat were reputedlybased on historic personalities who livedand died in Bursa. Bursa is also home tosome of the most famous Turkish dishes

such as Iskender kebab and Locum(Turkish Delight)We will spend two nights and one fullday enjoying the sights, sounds, smellsand tastes of Bursa before proceeding tothe port of Yalova on the southernMarmara shore to catch a ferry toIstanbul and the Princes’ Islands wherewe shall finish our tour of OttomanCapitals.

Imperial Capitals of the Ottoman EmpireA Photographic and Culinary Tour with Nuran Zorlu

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Tomb of Osman, founder of the Ottoman EmpirePhoto by Alkans Tours