Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Introduction

The paintings shown in this page are by Warwick Goble (1862-1943), a British painter who is chiefly known as illustrator of children's book. They were published in 1906 to illustrate Constantinople by Prof. Alexander van Millingen, one of the Black's Beautiful Books, a series of illustrated books published at the beginning of the XXth century by A. and C. Black, Soho Square, London W. The price of the books ranged from 5s. to 20s. The books were embellished with full-page illustrations, which at the time were reserved only to very expensive books. The books were dedicated to London and the British countryside, foreign countries, birds and a few contemporary painters.
Prof Alexander van Millingen (1840-1915) was a scholar in the field of Byzantine architecture, and a professor of history at Robert College, Istanbul between 1879 and 1915. The text of the book is an academic treatise on the history of Byzantine Constantinople and its churches; unlike what occurs in other BBBs, e.g. Sicily, there is very little correspondence between the text and the illustrations. Prof. Millingen dedicated only a chapter to Ottoman Istanbul and that was mainly to highlight the pitfalls of the Sultan's government. Goble was not into depicting monuments, but rather people and street scenes. A number of illustrations of Constantinople and its environs are placed in the page where a monument/site is discussed, those related to people and street scenes are shown in this page with their original captions (you may notice the absence of an illustration of a hammam - see that by William Bartlett).

Illustrations in other pages:
The Walls; the Tower of Isaac Angelus
Suleimaniyeh at Sunrise
Seraglio Point from "The Stones"
Galata and Stamboul from Eyoub
A Wet Day on the Galata Bridge
A Fountain by the Bosporus
A Cemetery by the Bosporus
Roumeli Hissar
Tomb in Scutari
Prinkipo (Princes Islands)

People

(left) Gypsy Basket-Maker. With the knife he is holding he cuts long shavings off the faggots suitable for plaiting into baskets.(right) Stamboul Beggar. One of a privileged class who was caught sleeping on duty.

(left) Simit-Seller. When moving about he carries on his head his tray, balanced on the red pad resting on his turban; (right) a "Kafedji". Turkish coffee is to be obtained everywhere; a "kafedji" has here set up his little stall at the corner of a street.

Turkish delight factory. The contents of the large copper pans are kept stirring for two hours or more over a wood fire and various flavourings are added during this process according to the result desired; those mostly in use are essence of almonds, vanilla, rose leaves, almonds and pistachio.

(left) Carpet-Menders. These boys are engaged in patching up the holes in old carpets; they are very skilful in matching the faded colours that are so highly prized in the genuine antique; (right) Turkish well, Stanboul. The water supply is obtained by means of the primitive pump at the side of the stone tank; the rod attached to the crossbeam is pulled downwards to work the pump.

Fortune-teller in Stamboul. On the way to the Sublime Porte, an old negress may often be seen telling fortunes by means of coloured beads and shells.

Shoemaker, Stamboul. His business plant consists of an awning propped up against the wall of a fountain and a few broken-down old stools.

Street scenes

(left) A typical step street in the old Turkish quarter; the houses are built almost entirely of wood, brilliantly painted, and hardly two in the street are on the same level; the lattice work at the windows indicates the women's quarters. (right) a step street at Galata

(left) Street Scene (Clay Works); (right) Shop at Kavak (Anadolu Kavagi)

A Flower Market at Uskudar

Fruit Market, Stamboul. The street dogs always select the busiest and most inconvenient places for resting.

Market in the Court of the Mosque of Sultan Ahmed I. The courts of the mosques are often used for market-places.

(left) Carpet warehouse. The interior of an old Khan now used as a show-room for antique rugs and carpets; (right) Open-air café, Stamboul. Smoking the narghileh and drinking coffee occupy a large part of the Turk's time.

Plan of this section:
Introduction
Roman Monuments
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Irene and Little Hagia Sophia
Roman/Byzantine exhibits at the Archaeological Museum
Great Palace Mosaic Museum
St. Saviour in Chora
Byzantine Heritage - Other Churches (before 1204)
Byzantine Heritage (between 1204 and 1453)
First Ottoman Buildings
The Golden Century: I - from Sultan Selim to Sinan's Early Works
The Golden Century: II - The Age of Suleyman
The Golden Century: III - Suleymaniye Kulliye
The Golden Century: IV - Sinan's Last Works
The Heirs of Sinan
Towards the Tulip Era
Baroque Istanbul
The End of the Ottoman Empire
Topkapi Sarayi
Museums near Topkapi Sarayi
The Princes' Islands
Map of Istanbul and key dates of its history