2014 — New English Paperback. Pbo. 4to. (31 x 24 cm). In English and Turkish. Color and b/w ills. 304 p. Personal logs and memoirs of Osman Hamdi's daughter, Nazli between 1907-1911. An ego-documentary study enlightened Turkish archaeology, painting, history of arts, and social life at the beginning of 20th Century in late Ottoman period. "This book focuses on the guestbook of Nazli Hamdi, which consists of dedications by her father Osman Hamdi Bey's circle of relatives, close friends, colleagues, or just acquaintances. The exhibition aims to shed light on the cultural environment of the era following the signatures in the notebook that belong to the leading intellectuals of the period; including the famous archaeologist- spy Gertrude Bell, founder of the illustrated magazine Servet-i Fünun, Ahmed Ihsan, the crown prince of Bavaria Rupprecht and one of the greatest poetess of late Ottoman literature, Nigar Hanim among many others Nazli Hamdi was the youngest child of Osman Hamdi Bey and his wife Marie/Naile Hanim. Born in 1893, Nazli kept a guestbook between 1907 and 1911, for visitors to sign alongside a few kind words, much like her peers. It is this guestbook, bearing traces of over thirty individuals, that constitutes the backbone of the exhibition. The display attempts to present, identify, and relate to Nazli and Osman Hamdi, or even to one another, this mix of visitors; locals and foreigners, men and women, archaeologists, authors, artists, diplomats At the same time, it examines the story of a woman, grew up in a Westernized elite family, whose life extends from the late Ottoman period up through the early years of the Republic of Turkey.".
