editorial

<p class="da-article-byline">Words by Lisa Morrow<br />September 25, 2024</p>
<p><em>For all its ever-changing modernity, the past is ever present in Istanbul, a city awash in soaring domes and centuries-old artisanal traditions. Here are six creative Turkish enterprises that keep the city’s Ottoman heritage alive in designs that are both contemporary and classic.</em></p>
<figure id="attachment_139585" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139585" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-139585 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-New.jpg" alt="Left to right: A handblown cocktail shaker at Fy-Shan Glass Studio; Topkapı mules at AnatolianCraft." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-New.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-New-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-New-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-New-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139585" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Left to right:</em> A handblown cocktail shaker at Fy-Shan Glass Studio; Topkapı mules at AnatolianCraft. (Photos: Kerem Sanliman; Ekin Ozbicer)</figcaption></figure>
<h2><a href="https://fyshanglass.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Fy-Shan Glass Studio</strong></a></h2>
<p>Glass artist Felekşan Onar’s studio in the Beyoğlu district glows with the colors of balmy summer nights inspired by her childhood on the Turkish Aegean coast. Barware and vases seem to ripple with lapping waves, while finely rendered decorative objects, tables, and light fittings refract Turkish glassmaking traditions. Fit for an Ottoman palace, Onar’s limited-edition pieces — as functional as they are beautiful — are sure to add a delicious touch of opulence to any home.</p>
<h3><a href="https://anatolian-craft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>AnatolianCraft</strong></a></h3>
<p>This showroom on the city’s Asian side is a bejeweled forest of handmade shoes stitched with delicate silk bouquets or velvety poppies fluttering across <em>kutnu</em>, a traditional fabric from the southeastern Anatolian city of Gaziantep. Open by appointment, it’s run by mother-and-daughter duo Bilge Can and Begüm Öcal. Can trained as an engineer, but a love of design nurtured by her grandmother, an expert in <em>iğne oyası</em> (needle lacework), led her in another direction. Featuring decorative techniques from all over Turkey, these exquisite shoes mold to the shape of your feet, so they’re practical too, even the ones featuring <em>tel sarma</em> — bands of gold thread that look like they could have adorned the feet of a favorite concubine at the Topkapı Palace harem.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.nickscalligraphy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Nick’s Calligraphy </strong></a></h4>
<p>Nick Merdenyan is best known for painting on the leaves of the dieffenbachia plant. The Turkish-Armenian artist places these large elliptical leaves between the pages of books to dry, and when they are silky smooth, he works the naturally occurring patterns and whorls into his designs using gold leaf and paint. His cozy stone-walled studio in the Grand Bazaar is crammed with what he calls “Leaves of Tolerance and Peace,” featuring Turkish calligraphy, miniatures, and iconography. Merdenyan counts Hillary Clinton and Queen Letizia of Spain among his customers.</p>
<figure id="attachment_139589" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139589" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-139589 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-2-1.jpg" alt="Left to right: A painted leaf inscribed with the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic by Nick Merdenyan; Gönül Paksoy designed this necklace from antique brocade." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-2-1.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-2-1-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-2-1-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-2-1-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139589" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Left to right:</em> A painted leaf inscribed with the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic by Nick Merdenyan; Gönül Paksoy designed this necklace from antique brocade. (Photos: Nick Merdenyan; Çetin Korkmaz)</figcaption></figure>
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<h5><a href="https://gonulpaksoy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Gönül Paksoy </strong></a></h5>
<p>Handwoven antique fabrics delicately embellished with embroidery, beading, and over-sewing to mystical effect grace Gönül Paksoy’s eponymous boutique in the upscale Nişantaşı neighborhood. The chemical engineer turned textile designer won’t say where she sources the material, but every piece is unique. Tunics based on the austere structure of Sufi dervish robes hang beside silk dresses and blouses that caress the skin, each one a perfect match for Paksoy’s collection of beaded, wooden, and woven jewelry. Each garment looks deceptively simple yet contains meticulous attention to the most minute of details, resulting in extraordinary wearable garments steeped in Ottoman history.</p>
<h6><a href="https://suciyan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Suciyan </strong></a></h6>
<p>De Beers Jewellery Design Award recipient Arman Suciyan is a classically trained goldsmith who began his adventures with precious metals at the age of 15. After apprenticing under a fourth-generation master jeweler at the Grand Bazaar, he studied and worked in Milan and London. Suciyan returned to Istanbul to open his own appointment-only atelier on a quiet backstreet in Şişli, where he uses his specialist skills in wax carving and modeling to create dazzling statement pieces like a rock-chic ring surmounted by a diamond-encrusted swan, or silver tulips unfurling on a pair of cufflinks.</p>
<figure id="attachment_139587" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-139587" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-139587 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-4.jpg" alt="A handmade cooking and serving pan from Soy Türkiye." width="1200" height="800" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-4.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-4-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Turkiye-Ottoman-Echoes-4-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-139587" class="wp-caption-text">A handmade cooking and serving pan from Soy Türkiye. (Courtesy of Soy Türkiye)</figcaption></figure>
<h6><a href="https://soy.com.tr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Soy Türkiye </strong></a></h6>
<p>Elegant yet practical cookware made from copper, silver, and bronze garnish the Soy Türkiye display room near the Grand Bazaar. Created by founder Emir Ali Enç, each piece embodies an artisanal history dating back more than 4,500 years. Enç was set to become a diplomat just like his father, but one day while making himself something to eat, he noticed the heat distribution in the pan he was using was uneven. Discovering no one produced high-quality cookware anymore, he embarked on a new career path. Enç apprenticed with an <em>usta</em> (copper master) before traveling to Syria to refine his skills. He then poured what he learned into founding the only Turkish company making handmade cookware today.</p>
<p><em>This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://subscription.destinasian.com/">August/September 2024</a> print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“</em><em>Ottoman Echoes”).</em></p>


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