View of Üsküdar and the Maiden’s Tower on the Bosphorus

Description

Featured in the 1836 collaborative work of Thomas Allom and Robert Walsh, this steel engraving depicts the traditional civil architecture established on the coastal slopes of Üsküdar and the Maiden's Tower, the symbol of the Bosphorus. While the historical silhouette of the Maiden's Tower rises in the left background, wooden waterfront mansions (yalıs) and mosques spreading across the slopes are situated in the mid and right foreground. In the foreground, boats being rowed in the Bosphorus waters and activity on the water are illustrated. This visual objectively documents the aesthetic and organic bond established between the urban fabric and the sea in the Ottoman capital.