Caiques of Bosphorus waterway : their role in Istanbul maritime landscape in the 19th Century

Séminaire "Mers ottomanes : de la Méditerranée à l'Océan Indien"

Cycle Archéologie nautique et cartographie
Gencer Emiroğlu Chercheur indépendant
Caiques of Bosphorus waterway : their role in Istanbul maritime landscape in the 19th Century
Lundi 18 février 2013 à 18h à l'IFEA 
Intervention en anglais 

Reading Istanbul through caiques

Would you like to be able to “read” boats? The lecture is an educational introduction to looking at and appreciating Istanbul's oar and sail powered private and merchant boats in the turn of the 20th century. There are historical and naval design clues that are embedded in every boat. How can we identify them and put them in their historical context?

Istanbul being a city built on water, her landscape extends on the water. The urban and cosmopolitan landscape of the Ottoman capital determined the local boat-building and  some of the small boats used in this capital city were unique to the city and were different from those build everywhere else.  

We will use detailed pictures to explore key characteristics of design dating from Byzantine period to present day.

After starting with a short description of  boat designs that sailed Istanbul waterways, we  will focus on the late 19th early 20th century and also on each type  of boat and their elements (hull, rudder, oars, masts, sails, etc...). The emphasis is on their evolution and struggle to survive through transition times. We will look at the boatbuilding yards, the oarsmen, on boatbuilders, on the role of the landscape built by and for boats in one the worlds busiest port of its time.    
The aim is to inform Istanbul enthousiats  to better assess boats they see in pictures, in museums  they visit. By demistifying the boats, it is also aimed to attract academics', researchers', artists' attention to the subject.

About the presenter:

Mr Gencer Emiroğlu, MA, is small water craft historian. He is a sailor, licensed pleasure craft captain and woodenboat refitter.

He has presented papers in international conferences on small traditional, classical and historical boats of Istanbul. He writes articles for sailing magazines, guides educational and interest tours on maritime history.