BETWEEN THREE SEAS: OTTOMAN AND FRENCH CARTOGRAPHY FROM THE DARDANELLES TO THE BOSPHORUS

06 May 2016 – 31 July 2016

The exhibition, “Between Three Seas: Ottoman and French Cartography from then Dardanelles to the Bosphorus (17th – 19th Centuries)” is a collaboration between Arkas Art Center and French Institute for Anatolian Studies (IFEA). Included in the exhibition are maps of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus that are lent by the French National Library and French National Archives for the first time and important maps borrowed from archives and collections in Turkey.

The exhibition sheds light on the close relationship between the Ottoman and French states over centuries through showing transportation routes by sea, military and armed force settlements, surrounding rural and agricultural areas, geographic and cultural boundaries. The maps of Turkish and French origin offer a comparative perspective on the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles as well as on Ottoman and French cartography. The exhibition also includes pilot charts, military maps, sketches, calculations, drafts and scribbles that reveal the production process of the maps.