If you happen to pay a visit to the charming  Emirgan neighborhood in the middle part of the Bosphorus, you will see a fountain surrounded by a hundred-year old colossal maple trees. Commissioned by the Sultan Abdulhamid I and dedicated to one of his wives, HümaÅŸah, it stands a late example of Ottoman period monumental square fountain with few motifs, much smaller in size compared to its earlier counterparts. Apart from the Ottoman style wooden houses, and the local mosque, Emirgan was quite popular among the literary circles in the late 19th and early 20th century; the artists and the intellectuals used to get together under the shady maple trees to discuss arts and literature. That’s why it is still called Çınaraltı, which is translated as under the maple trees.  Impressions of Emirgan Çınaraltı by the Turkish artist, Ayhan Türker.

 

 

Tags:  çınaraltı Bosphorus Emirgan fountains literature Ottoman period Ottoman sultans