Want an artisic souvenir of your visit to Istanbul? Trici Venola‘s Drawing on Istanbul/İstanbul İzleri is a good one.
Her 80-page book of pen-and-ink drawings was Ms Venola’s way of coming to terms with the visual richness of Istanbul.
“I’m uncomfortable around something fascinating until I’ve drawn it. Then I have it forever and I’m at peace,” the artist writes.
She began to make these lively drawings “in a fever to share this experience [Istanbul] with friends back home [in Los Angeles] too busy, ill or timid to ever see these things for themselves.”
This is not a dry catalog of Istanbul’s most famous buildings, although many of these (especially Ayasofya/Hagia Sophia) do appear—and come to life—in its pages. Rather, it is the story of experiencing Istanbulas a foreigner and a visitor, and of falling in love with the city.
Ayasofya, Mevlevi (Whirling) Dervishes, the forest of marble columns in the eerie Cistern Basilica, men enjoying Turkish coffee, the Grand Bazaar, Magnaura Palace, scenes in the snow, street markets, Galata Bridgeand the Golden Horn at night, Galata Tower, Neve Shalom synagogue, Dolmabahçe Palace—they are all part of Ms Venola’s vision of the city.
Drawing on Istanbul/Istanbul Izleri makes a goodsouvenir, but get your copy before leaving the city. You’ll want to compare it to your own experiences, and to fix both in your mind. Look for it in these Istanbul bookshops.
Drawing on Istanbul/Istanbul Izleri, by Trici Venola
Mira Yayincilik Kitap Pazarlama ve Egt. Hzm. Ltd. Sti.
Hayriye Cad. Apelyan Apt. No: 5/8, Firuzaga, Beyoglu, Istanbul
August 2006, ISBN 975-6104-81-3
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