Santa Maria Draperis - A 400-Year-Old Catholic Shrine in Beyoğlu

With Santa Maria Draperis, the reader embarks on a journey into the past and versatility of Beyoğlu, all under the umbrella of a single structure.

Italy, France, Spain, Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia, England, Byzantium, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Vatican, and the Ottoman Empire take the stage in Beyoğlu in many ways, with their histories and languages merging within a single structure, representing a vast geography in this building.

Religions, sects, orders, emperors, architects, painters, and sculptors come together, performing a kind of parade spanning centuries between the pages.

As we turn the pages, we discover uncharted corners of history and meet artists we never knew worked in Turkey, in Istanbul, and we savor their works.

Complementing the works of art, in a single structure, the stones from many countries of the world reveal not only their history and art but also their geology and aesthetics.

On every page, the work is completed and clarified with a kind of feast of visual material, unusual yet of the quality seen in prestige books.

Between the lines of Sezai Balcı and Sedat Bornovalı, both the Ottoman Empire and Beyoğlu are better understood, and a key for understanding the historical pages of Istanbul is chosen.

It is a work that will be the first step for beginners in understanding Beyoğlu, Istanbul, and the Ottoman Empire, while also shedding light on many unknowns even for experts.