Turkey’s street vendors brought together for exhibition

ANTALYA -Anadolu Agency

AA Photos

An exhibition organized by the Suna & İnan Kıraç Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations featuring statuettes and old photos of street vendors from 19th century Turkey was reported to have increased interest in Turkey in the European countries where it has been displayed. 

Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations and Kaleiçi Museum director Kayhan Dörtlük brought the 19th century street vendors of Turkey, including knife grinders and vendors selling soup, butter, rice, lemonade, ice-cream, candles and wood, who hadn’t been seen much by the younger generation together in an exhibition. 

Dörtlük said the Suna & İnan Kıraç Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations and Kaleiçi Museum, which opened in 1996, studied the city’s tourism potential and culture. 

Stating they were hosting various exhibitions, Dörtlük said they had created an interesting concept with the exhibition titled “Street Sellers in Turkey of the 19th Century: A Selection from the Photograph Archive of Suna & İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum.” 

He said photos taken by the leading photographers of the 19th century were delicately brought together for the exhibition, and added, “This exhibition drew great interest abroad, because they are the first photos taken in the Ottoman era in the beginning of the 1900s. These photos reflect the social life and culture of the era. We have enlarged these photos and created their stories.” 


3-D street vendors 

The director said they created the caricature statuettes with the contributions of ceramic artist Sadrettin Savaş, adding, “We have created a magnificent collection and displayed them both in Turkey and abroad, including Italy and Germany. The interest was great.” 

He said the collection shed light on the Ottoman society’s daily life, from food and drink culture to its production and sacred things. 

“The exhibition increased interest in our country. Some Europeans come here to see the authentic Turkish culture today,” he said, adding 12,000 people have visited the exhibition both in Turkey and abroad. 


Dörtlük said they also opened a special section in the exhibition for the street vendors unique to Antalya, and continued, 

“Some of them are snow sellers. The famous snow seller of the era was Karcı Çavuş Agha. Snow was used in Antalya to cool off water when ice factories did not exist. The yuruks brought snow from the Bey Mountains and gave them to the snow sellers to sell on the streets. Snow was sold in pieces. Hamal Başı Süllü Ağa was also one of the unique street sellers of Antalya.” 

Dörtlük concluded saying they also used the voices of street sellers to make the exhibition more interesting.