A rare photo of Ayasofya Mosque depicting the last prayer of muslims held. A gem from the archive of Othmar Pferschy, who  hopped on the  Orient Express to come to Constantinople and witnessed the drastic  transformation of the new Republic and Istanbul at the beginning of the 20th century. His archive of 40 years is not only a visual feast of the first half of the 20th century Turkey, but also an important documentation in that it portrays the ideology of the new Republic that set out to restructure the society   and  the state in a radically new way.

A selection of his photos, In the light of Republic: the photographs of Othmar Pferschy was published by Istanbul Modern, the Museum of Modern Art.

 

 

Tags:  churches Hagia Sophia Istanbul Modern mosques museum old town Orient Express Othmar Pferschy photographers photography book Republican period Turkey