Orhan Pamuk opens photo exhibition

ISTANBUL

Famed Turkish author Orhan Pamuk opened a photo exhibition on Feb. 5 narrating the beauty of Istanbul in photographs he took from his flat’s balcony. 

“Balkon: Photos by Orhan Pamuk” consists of photos of the city taken by the 66-year-old Nobel laureate from his balcony in late 2012 and early 2013. 

Curated by Gerhard Steidl, the German publisher of his photo book “Balkon,” the exhibit runs through April 27 at the Yapi Kredi Culture and Arts building on Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue. 

It features more than 600 photos selected from over 8,500 taken by Pamuk. 

The show, shaped by Pamuk’s desire to “record” the sights in front of him, offers a panoramic view of the city, the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, the Sea of Marmara, the Princes’ Islands, crisscrossing boats and gliding birds. 

“I have been taking pictures since I was a kid. After digital photos came out, I embarked on shooting again with a new excitement,” Pamuk said at the exhibition. 

“I was taking pictures, but I did not know why I was taking them, and one day, I had no idea that I would publish a photo book,” he said. 

“When you look at the sequence of photos, you will see a story or a novel. It’s like a comic book when you consider it visually,” Steidl said.