Istanbul’s cats, dogs and birds have an album
10-02-2010 ÇAĞLAYAN ÇEVİK, Hürriyet Daily News, Turkey
Street animals have a special place in the city life of Istanbul. Cats, dogs and birds are the owners of the city as well as the locals. Considering this, photographer Arif Aşçı prepared a three-volume book featuring the birds, street cats and dogs of Istanbul. The books include photos that he has taken during the last 20 years
The series, which is made up of three photography albums named “The Street Dogs of Istanbul,” “The Street Cats of Istanbul” and “The Birds of Istanbul,” features a collection spanning 20 years.
Cats, dogs and birds own the city as well as its locals. Talking about the books, Aşçı said none of the photos were taken to become a part of a book. “I have strolled around the streets of Istanbul with my camera for nearly 20 years. When composing for a photo frame, I was photographing sometimes a cat, sometimes a dog and sometimes a bird. My only goal was to take good photos. First, a general portfolio was prepared with the ones I chose among my photos in 2003.”
Aşçı said he continued taking photos on the city streets as he also found opportunities among other things like traveling the Silk Road. “Last winter, I opened all the archives and separated the photos of cats, dogs and birds. While I was talking with the İş Bankası publications director, Ahmet Salcan, he asked me if I had Istanbul photos with cats, dogs and birds. Later on, we prepared the mockups of the books and wrote the text,” he said.
Aşçı wrote a detailed and impressive introduction for each book. He also has pets. “I had two dogs years ago, a terrier and an Italian hound dog. Their names were Asprin and Ester. Now I have a cat named Sarı (yellow). It is a street animal, and I sometimes take it home. When she is away from home, I miss her. I told her story in my book.”
Animals are like the city’s orphaned children
Following the Silk Road, Aşçı closely saw most parts of the Eastern world. When compared to those in other countries, Istanbul’s cats, dogs and birds are luckier, according to Aşçı. He said there was no city in the world that sheltered as many street animals as the ones in Istanbul. “They are like the orphaned children of the city,” he said, adding: “I did not make a special work on children, but I have a magnificent photo collection named ‘Istanbul’s Children.’ I want to publish it if I can find a publisher.”
Aşçı said the street animals were very important to Istanbul as the city has been referred to as “the city with dogs” in Western tourists’ travel books. “Also, the world’s third rabies vaccine institute opened in Istanbul three years after the vaccine was found.”
Aşçı thinks that the three types of animals can symbolize different neighborhoods. “Seagulls can symbolize the coasts; cats, neighborhoods like Cihangir and Fatih; and cats and dogs together symbolize Moda. The three of them can symbolize Galata. Cormorants are for Kadıköy dock. For example, migrating cockatoos rule Gülhane Park and the courtyard of Topkapı Palace.”
History of streets in photos
It is possible to see the history of the streets in the background of Aşçı’s photos. For example, the cobblestones of İstiklal Avenue have changed four times since he started taking the photos. It is possible to see this looking at the streets where cats and dogs are walking. One can see the quarter-century history of the city in the background of the photos.
“When looking carefully,” Aşçı said: “One can see that these animals have adventures and a hierarchy among themselves. I also mentioned it in the introductions of the books. They have their own republic in Istanbul. They have an unbelievable joy of living. The aestheticism that they add to the city cannot be explained but photographed. This is what I did. I cannot think of an Istanbul without cats, dogs and birds. Also, the people of the city greet them with love. I told stories about it in each of the books. For example, birdhouses in mosques and palaces are wonderful architectural details. There are homes and foundations for birds that cannot migrate, and there are even animal lovers who leave their inheritances to their butchers to feed the dogs. There is nothing like this in the other parts of the world.”
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About Arif Aşçı
Arif Aşçı was born in 1958 in the Mediterranean city of Adana. After having graduated from Istanbul Fine Arts Academy’s department of art, he went to Italy to study Renaissance art. In 1986, he started traveling around Asian countries. He also started photography during his journeys and prepared a 12-episode TV documentary film titled “Turquoise” as a result. In 1996, he prepared and directed an expedition on the Silk Road, crossing the ancient path with a four-person team in 18 months by camel caravan from China to Turkey. The book of the Silk Road journey was published with the title “The Last Caravan on the Silk Road” in English and Turkish. A portfolio of black and white photos, titled “Bahtabakan” (Chameleon) was published in 2003.
(Bron: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/)
(Bron foto: Hurriyet News)
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