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Constantinople was the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1922. Subsequently, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, it would be renamed Istanbul about 30 years later. The below pictures were produced using the Photochrom process; which applies artificial colour to black and white pictures. These colour pictures depict the Ottoman Empire towards the end of the 19th century.
Let us take a look at Constantinople during the 1890s- in rare colour pictures.
1) Yeni Cami mosque, also known as the New Mosque depicted behind the Eminönü bazaar.
2) Imperial gate, Topkapi Palace, the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans.
3) Dolmabahçe Palace, which served as the main administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire.
4) A colour picture of Sultan Bajazid’s mosque in Constantinople. Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I built it between 1391–1395.
5) A colour picture depicting the harbour of Constantinople.
6) A picture of the Scutari district, a residential area in Constantinople.
7) A picture depicting the Koca Sinan Pasha complex. It was built by Koca Sinan Pasha, who was also known as the ‘conqueror of Yemen’.
8) Bakers and cooks selling their wares on the Rue de Stamboul.
9) A picture depicting the Galata Bridge, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn.
10) A picture depicting the neighbourhood of Fenerbahçe, which is located on the Asian side at the shore of the Marmara.
11) A colour picture depicting Constantinople in its waning days, before the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
12) A picture depicting the Golden Horn waterway, a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus.
13) A picture depicting the Seraskierat(War Ministry). It was located in an old district on the European side of the city.
14) A colour picture depicting a mosque and the street market in Constantinople.
15) A picture depicting the Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III. It was built by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III in 1728 in Ottoman rococo architecture.
16) A colour picture depicting the Galata Bridge and a view of Pera, an old district of Constantinople.
17) A picture depicting the New Mosque at night.
18) A picture of the Eyüp Sultan Cemetery: one of the largest and oldest cemeteries. Additionally, it hosts the graves of various Ottoman sultans and their subjects.
19) A picture depicting street barbers at work near the Seraskierat.
20) A picture depicting the Bosphorus, Rumeli and Anadoluhisarı.
