Hünkar İskelesi on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, where the treaty of Hünkar İskelesi between the Russian and Ottoman Empires was signed in 1833.

Description

Featured in the 1836 collaborative work of Thomas Allom and Robert Walsh, this steel engraving depicts Hünkar İskelesi on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, which hosted the historical treaty signed between the Russian and Ottoman Empires in 1833. In the foreground is a magnificent Imperial Caique (Saltanat Kayığı), the pinnacle of Ottoman naval architecture and state protocol, being rowed by oarsmen with the Sultan seated inside. In the background, a sailing galleon anchored in the Bosphorus, tents belonging to the Russian military camp set up on the slopes, coastal settlements, and an aqueduct in the distance can be seen. The artwork masterfully documents the sea-integrated statecraft of the Ottoman capital and the aesthetic yet tense atmosphere of global diplomacy on the Bosphorus.