La Pointe du Sérai
J. Pascal and Joaillier Sébah
Description
Subject Matter:
In this photograph, the viewer looks across a strand of the Golden Horn toward the so-called Pointe du Sérail (in Turkish: Sarayburnu; in English: Seraglio Point), a hilly peninsula in central Istanbul on which stands the Topkapı Palace complex—one of the official residences of the Ottoman sultan. Numerous ships and smaller boats signal nineteenth-century Istanbul's position as a prominent and busy seaport. Sébah and Joaillier, in fact, juxtapose aspects that show Istanbul's modern role as an important economic center with various elements of the city's historic past; for instance, the distinctive forms of the Topkapı Palace, the Hagia Sofia, and the Blue Mosque are all visible from this vantage.
Physical Description:
View down onto a busy seaport populated by numerous steamships and smaller watercraft. A sliver of land with various towers and domed structures stretches across the horizon line in the distance.
Usage Rights:
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