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UPDATED RELEASE: Contact: Rev. David G. Bissias
Monday, May 5, 2014, Special Assistant to the Metropolitan

TEL.: (219) 932-7347
Email: frdgb@sbcglobal.net

An Encore Showing Of Greek Architects Of Istanbul

In The Era Of Westernization

CHICAGO: The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, the Turkish American Society of Chicago, and the Niagara Foundation are pleased to announce an encore presentation of the exhibition, “Greek Architects of Istanbul in the Era of Westernization,” which focuses on the contributions of Greek architects to the modernization of Istanbul (ancient Constantinople), Turkey.

A special opening reception will take place on Monday, May 12, 2014, from 6:30 PM—8:30 PM, at the Turquoise Cultural Center, 501 Midway Drive, Mt. Prospect, IL (free parking available). The exhibit will remain open to the public through Monday, May 26, 2014.

The exhibition was organized by Zographion Lyceum Association of Istanbul and co-funded by Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture and the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation. Opening in Istanbul in 2010, it has traveled to six cities in Greece including Athens and Thessaloniki. The exhibit was shown at Loyola University of Chicago, October 27-November 10, receiving many accolades.

The exhibition traces the great contribution of the Greek architects of Istanbul during the modernization process of the City and is a guide of the city’s remarkable past. The history of the city unfolds through building facades, designs, plans and projects as well as the biography of those who envisioned, designed and carried them out.
The purpose of this collective effort, begun in 2008 was to highlight this otherwise unknown imprint of the Greek Orthodox community on the cultural life of modern Istanbul, Turkey. The exhibit is a captivating way to get to know the diversity of buildings, their innovative – for that time – uses, the life of families and eminent personalities who lived there, and also the life of everyday people who brought life to them for so many decades by living together in peace and practicing the multicultural sense of coexistence.

The Greeks constituted the majority among the architects who had greatly contributed to Istanbul’s architecture. Today the buildings in certain districts of Istanbul are still standing and with all their magnificence form the splendor of that architectural character. They vary from big state buildings to commercial buildings and apartments and show great differences from other works as they reflect a prominent Greek individuality.

The exhibition displays the contribution of these architects for whom we have very little or sometimes no information, however, their works have played a great role in the Westernization process of Istanbul. Parallel to the exhibition, a book-catalogue will be available in English. The book contains twelve articles of Turkish and Greek academia on the subject.

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