Istanbul: Places
Photos & Words: Salina Christmas

One of the mid-16th Century manuscripts on display at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art.

Publishing was once a lucrative business for poets, artists, calligraphers, book binders and gilders. Fine literature was exclusive to the ruling class and the literate. Books such as this were normally commissioned by Sultans and wealthy patrons.

It wasn't long before the Ottoman iconoclasts, like Plato, started to question the opulence and excesses associated with this type of literature. Gilded manuscripts and Quranic pages were frowned upon by some quarters.

Orhan Pamuk's novel, My Name is Red, a mystery novel set in the time of the Ottoman Empire, explores this issue in detail.

Audio: Orhan Pamuk on My Name is Red