HAVE ART, WILL TRAVEL

I have read that Istanbul was once the axis on which the globe spun. This line fascinates me.

- Zena Khan

#ISTANBULEDITION

How could one single city hold its position as a seat of power, from ancient times until present day, when we are seeing the emergence of a new Silk Route? On a recent trip to Istanbul, I uncovered some hints, through an abundance of stunning heritage sites, contemporary cultural spaces, and the ever-present gleaming Bosporus.

Istanbul feels synonymous with the Bosporus, along which one of the world’s largest coastline projects can be found: Galataport. Spanning 400,000 square metres in the Karaköy district, Galataport houses icons of urban memory including Paket Post Office, Rihtim Han, Karaköy Passenger Hall, Nusretiye Mosque, Tophane Clock Tower, and Kiliç Ali Pasha Mosque. These merge with modern living through a proliferation of shops, restaurants, and hotels, as well as a port for gargantuan cruise ships. Sitting close to the water’s edge is Istanbul, The City of Names, a public sculpture by Ahmet Günestekin which perfectly captures the area’s desire to bridge past and future through a presentation of all the names the city has ever been known by, listed in flowing rainbow-coloured concentric circles.