JUNE 2024 · ESCAPE
Balat - Istanbul
Balat, Istanbul
Balat is where you go for the colours. The Fatih district's steep streets descending toward the Golden Horn are painted in the blues, oranges, and turquoises of Ottoman domestic architecture, and the photographs of them circulate constantly. The colours are real.
Look at what's holding the paint.
An ornate iron balcony on weathered terracotta brickwork: the brickwork is crumbling at the joints, the plaster fallen away in sections, the balcony holding by its anchors. A deteriorating building with an arched doorway and weathered plaster: the plaster has come away across most of the facade, exposing the brick courses beneath. The peeling green paint of a dark wooden door beside weather-worn stonework is the same colour as the moss growing in the arch above it.
A geometric shadow falls from a lattice window onto a coloured doorway. The door is painted. The shadow is sharp. One is maintained, the other is free.
The buildings are occupied. That's the fact that makes the colours worth reading.
Balat — June 2024
A tabby cat rests on a blue-painted ledge in front of a weathered brick archway. The ledge is probably a windowsill. The cat doesn't move when you get close.
Tourists are here too, gathered in the street in front of the more photogenic facades, phones raised. I moved around and past them. The storefront with its graffiti art and potted plants is less visited than the adjacent painted buildings. The crumbling terracotta brick walls with exposed interior and dense vegetation growth are around the corner from the most-photographed street.
Laundry hangs from the upper facades above a narrow street. The buildings are occupied. That's the fact that makes the colours worth reading — they're maintained, faded, repainted, fading again, across walls that have ongoing daily use. The decay and the colour are the same surface.
A pink Volkswagen Beetle, vintage, parked on the street. Turkish flags on the shopfronts above it.
Colorful Ottoman buildings with blue and orange doors lining a narrow Balat street
Tourists gathered in street with colourful painted building and decorative signage
Pink storefront café with green shutters and hanging decorations in Balat
Ottoman building facade with ornate iron balconies and weathered terracotta brickwork
Worn MAIDE storefront with graffiti art and potted plants on narrow street
Deteriorating Ottoman building with ornamental arched doorway and weathered plaster
Geometric shadow cast by lattice window onto coloured doorway and street
Orange and blue painted buildings with climbing vines and wrought iron details
Dark wooden door with peeling green paint beside weather-worn Ottoman stonework
Person walking alone down inclined cobblestone Balat street with coloured facades
Tabby cat resting on blue-painted ledge in front of weathered brick archway
Crumbling Ottoman building viewed between narrow alley walls with peeling paint
Stairs leading down a narrow street framed by coloured building facades
Pink-toned Ottoman tower building in densely packed Balat street scene
Pastel-coloured buildings with barrel turret visible down winding street toward water
Crumbling terracotta brick walls with exposed interior and dense vegetation growth
Laundry hanging from building facades above narrow Balat street with pedestrians
Stairway entrance with potted plants and hanging vines on vibrant orange building
Dense street view of overlapping Ottoman buildings descending toward Golden Horn
Shadowed street with people sitting and standing among terracotta buildings
Dilapidated corner building with barred windows and electric scooters parked outside
Turquoise painted door with peeling paint and green moss on white-washed wall
Orange-painted building with vivid blue-framed windows and ivy on weathered facade
Colourful narrow street descending steeply with mixed Ottoman architecture visible
Weathered street corner with exposed brick, trailing vegetation, and potted plants
Person walking toward terraced buildings in muted tones on stepped Balat street
Crumbling whitewashed building with horizontal blue bands and barred basement windows
Ivy-covered coloured buildings stacked vertically with minimal street frontage
Deteriorating building corner with rusted metal railings and moss-covered surfaces
Tight alley framed by close building walls with distant street visible ahead
Cat perched in weathered arched doorway with barred lower gate section
Laundry and textiles draped across weathered building frontage in tight alley
Ruined corner building with exposed brick interior framed by blue-painted gate
Black and white photograph of crowded street with people and colonial-era buildings
Vivid red and turquoise painted building corners with overgrown weathered entrance
Purple-washed walls flanking dark doorway with single exposed window
Narrow street with children walking past crumbling brick and whitewashed walls
Exposed brick and plaster walls with trailing vines and industrial metal fixtures
Black and white photograph of old street with crowds in front of Ottoman buildings
Pastel street scene with pedestrians, potted plants, and shop shutters
Street vendor display with hanging Turkish handicrafts and reflective metal mirror
Blurred figures in doorway with hanging textiles and weathered entrance frame
Vintage pink Volkswagen Beetle parked on street with Turkish flags and shop signs
Graffitied wall beside weathered building facades on empty Balat street
Decorated street with Turkish flags and hanging lanterns above crowded market
Market stall displaying golden pastries with flags and signage overhead