History runs through ancient channels

Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations is home to a new exhibition that delves into some of the greatest monuments in the history of Constantinople, Istanbul’s predecessor. The ‘Waters for a Capital’ exhibition shares findings on one of the longest and most extensive water channels ever constructed in history

A new exhibition shines further light on the history of Istanbul, unraveling one of the biggest achievements in the history of Constantinople, the late Roman and Byzantine city.

The long title of the exhibition is Waters for a Capital: Archaeological and Scientific Research into the Water Supply of Byzantine Constantinople / Istanbul, and it uncovers some of the greatest monuments, sharing the history of the Hagia Sophia, the relics of the Hippodrome, and the walls overlooking the Bosphorus.

The exhibition, which opened Nov. 9 at Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (RCAC), reveals archaeological findings through photos and computer reconstructions of one of the longest and most extensive water channels ever constructed. Hidden in the dense forests of northern Thrace are the monuments to ancient water engineering, channeling and distributing water to Istanbul across hundreds of kilometers.

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Research center opens with a look at Anatolia

Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations makes its official opening with a photography exhibition of the late chronicler of Anatolia, Josephine Powell. The center aims to focus on the Anatolia

Josephine Powell was one of the most prominent documenters of Turkey’s recent history and its transformation after the establishment of the republic in early 20th century. Having visited Turkey for the first time in 1955 to photograph Byzantine mosaics, she became a regular traveler in Turkey, photographically and academically documenting nomadic life. She was both a collector of Anatolian artifacts like flat-woven textiles, kilims and sacks, as well as a photographer of ethnography.

Until her death in 2007, Powell documented Anatolia and its diverse ways of life in a collection of 30,000 photographs. Three months before her death, she left the entire collection to the Vehbi Koç Foundation. The photos have been digitized and cataloged by Koç University’s Suna Kıraç Foundation.

Now, a selection of these photographs, taken over a span of two decades, is ready for art and culture aficionados as part of an opening exhibition.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)