A new exhibition “All Phanar is Here: Household, Neighborhood, Court and the City,” focusing on the history of the Phanariots and their intercultural ways of life, opened on March 10 at the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED).
A press tour was held ahead of the opening with the participation of the exhibition’s curators, presenting the political, cultural and spatial networks established in the 18th century between the Fener neighborhood on the shores of the Golden Horn and the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia.
Curators Firuzan Melike Sümertaş, Namık Günay Erkal and Haris Theodorelis-Rigas introduced the background and details of the project alongside rare albums, archival documents, maps and paintings featured in the exhibition.
Sümertaş described the project as the result of meticulous work, noting that it was developed through collaboration among a strong research team. The initiative began under the leadership of Erkal, her former university professor, and later expanded with the involvement of additional researchers, including Theodorelis-Rigas.
She said the project attempts to examine the fragmented legacy of the Phanariots from a broader perspective and aims to challenge approaches that separate this heritage. According to Sümertaş, the work lays a foundation for future studies while contributing both to historiography and to Istanbul’s cultural life. The research program also included a symposium, and a book related to the project is currently in preparation.
Erkal said the research initially began with a focus on the Fener district and spatial history but later expanded to provide a wider perspective with the support of ANAMED. Around 20 to 30 additional researchers contributed to the project.
He noted that the exhibition offers an original representation of 18th-century Istanbul through urban sections and street depictions based on archaeological research rather than generic imagery. The exhibition compares the scales of cities and different spaces while placing objects of material culture among them, highlighting both connections and ruptures.
Theodorelis-Rigas emphasized that the exhibition offers a new perspective on the Fener district, describing the subject as complex and multifaceted. He said the curatorial team sought to highlight the roles of previously overlooked actors and reinterpret objects from museum collections, including figures such as Phanariot men and women who had often been misunderstood or sidelined.
He also noted that the archaeological section establishes a connection with the ongoing transformation of present-day Fener. The district, an important part of the city’s history, has sometimes been politicized and alienated, he said, adding that questions surrounding how urban transformation may affect and preserve this heritage remain significant.
About the exhibition
Prepared within ANAMED’s four-year research program “The Material World of the Phanariots,” the exhibition explores the living environments of Phanariot elites — from their households in Istanbul to the Ottoman court, from voivode mansions to the Bosphorus shores — within the context of interactions among Ottoman, Greek and Romanian cultures.
Supported by Koç Holding and the Vehbi Koç Foundation, the exhibition presents a social and spatial journey spanning nearly a century through rare albums and books, archival documents, maps, paintings, architectural drawings and three-dimensional models.
The exhibition is organized into sections titled “Phanar, the Phanariots and Networks,” “At the Ottoman Court: Donning the Kaftan,” “At the Patriarchate: Receiving a Blessing,” “Life Under the Dome: A Household in Phanar,” “Busy Routes to the Principalities,” “The Principalities and Their Capitals: The Example of Bucharest,” “At the Wallachian Court: Governing on Behalf of the Ottomans,” “Return to Istanbul: The Bosphorus and Halki,” “Different Endings, New Beginnings” and “The Archaeology of the Phanariots.”
“All Phanar is Here: Household, Neighborhood, Court and the City” will remain on view at ANAMED in Istanbul until Jan. 24, 2027.
