A journey through 2000 years of history

Topkapi is both the name of the Ottoman palace as it is the name of one of the main ancients gates to the city. In modern day there is a busy bus and tram hub at this gate where people change lines to enter or leave the old center. In the early summer of 1996 I walked from Topkapi Gate to Topkapi Palace, documenting this 7 Km walk into the old city. The walk starts at the Topkapi T4 Tramway and leads via the Turgut Özal Millet Caddesi, Ordu Cadessi onto the Yéniçeriler Caddesi to end at the gate to the Topkapi Palace. Along the route many old buildings and landmarks are crossed with Sultanahmet Square, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia amongst them.

As with the Tokio series these pictures were taken long ago in 1996 and have been processed in 2020. They now form a look into the Istanbul of the recent past.