I was lucky enough to stay over at a friend's house in the beautiful neighborhood of
Arnavutköy earlier this month. As I wandered out in the morning, I embarked on this short photo-odyssey through the district's breathtaking Greek neighborhood. Yes, that's the Bosphorus in the background.
Arnavutkoy, like each and every beautiful place in Turkey, used to be a predominantly Greek area. Although some Istanbulite Greek families still live here, many have fled after the brutal pogroms of 1955, and their houses stand deserted like so many ghost mansions. Here is one.
Despite the withering effects of time, the building's door still retains its elegance.
This fancy door handle still bears the traces of an era when people didn't need to lock their doors most of the time.
I poked my flash through the boarded-up windows to snap these pictures.
These pictures really broke my heart. An elegant house, full of cultured, civilized lives, has been reduced to a sleeping ground for dogs and beggars through the pressures of nationalism and xenophobia.
Of course, not every story from Arnavutköy is that depressing. Take a look at this mansion, beautifully preserved and restored. Unusually among all buildings in the neighborhood, it was covered in sculpted sheets of tin.
Occasional abominations like this mosaic-covered house aside, Arnavutköy is still a beautiful place to stroll through.
I was lucky enough to stay over at a friend's house in the beautiful neighborhood of Arnavutköy earlier this month. As I wandered out in the morning, I embarked on this short photo-odyssey through the district's breathtaking Greek neighborhood. Yes, that's the Bosphorus in the background.
Arnavutkoy, like each and every beautiful place in Turkey, used to be a predominantly Greek area. Although some Istanbulite Greek families still live here, many have fled after the brutal pogroms of 1955, and their houses stand deserted like so many ghost mansions. Here is one.
Despite the withering effects of time, the building's door still retains its elegance.
This fancy door handle still bears the traces of an era when people didn't need to lock their doors most of the time.
I poked my flash through the boarded-up windows to snap these pictures.
These pictures really broke my heart. An elegant house, full of cultured, civilized lives, has been reduced to a sleeping ground for dogs and beggars through the pressures of nationalism and xenophobia.
Of course, not every story from Arnavutköy is that depressing. Take a look at this mansion, beautifully preserved and restored. Unusually among all buildings in the neighborhood, it was covered in sculpted sheets of tin.
Occasional abominations like this mosaic-covered house aside, Arnavutköy is still a beautiful place to stroll through.
