Photography & Publications

Published

"An Endless Journey"

It all began in the late 1960s, when a photographer friend of the family told my mother, "Send him over to work with me during the holidays; he'll learn a thing or two about the profession." I remembered the day my boss would send me to the local teashop to pick up warm water for development. We would prepare the chemical baths for films and postcards ourselves, by eyeball estimate, develop the films, then print them on postcard. I began my adventure in this business on the factory floor... When, in my senior year in high school, I showed my art teacher the photographs I took and he asked, "Why don't you display your photographs in an exhibition?" a new door opened before me.... A few frames I shot when I fell under fire during the May 1st celebrations at Taksim Square on May 1, 1977 survived to date as an important testimony to that period.... From the "Romani" weddings in Tekirdag to Assyrian weddings in Sirnak, from the Holy Easter Week services at the Orthodox Church in Antakya to yuruk shepherd Hamza Efendi of Karaburun, I have made thousands of friends. However, Teacher Mehmet Kabaca, who carried me from one village to the next on the back of his Jawa motorcycle in the 1970s, holds a very special place in my journey as a photographer. It is impossible to count them all. In truth, this book tells their stories.

Karaburun of Minor Asian Erythraia

"Creating a history book is a big challenge for the researcher. Much more, when it comes to a torment, which concerns the roots of the writer. Exploring the Karabournes, the land of my ancestors, is for me a constant ardent desire. With its fulfillment it seemed as if I had won a big bet, given that in the past there was no comprehensive study of the villages of the Ionian Peninsula of the Black End. In the process of writing the album, there were people and organizations, without whose valuable help, the final result would have been impossible. Also, in terms of photographic material, the contribution of the well-known Turkish photographer Aydin Cetinbostanoglu was crucial, who provided me with his photographic archive for Karabournas, while we also assisted in the photography of the first Achirli and the village Monastiri." Andreas Baltas

NOTOS Literature Magazine

“Aydin, you have brought together forty years of work in a beautiful photography book. In a few sentences, what does this book mean to you? You are a documentary photographer, and people have always been at the heart of your work...” “In the forty-six years since I began taking photographs, I have always placed people at the center of my work and followed their stories. Their stories contain traditions, colors and history. Most importantly, in order to document these stories, I had to enter people's lives and be accepted by them. Over the years, I was fortunate enough to gain this trust, which allowed me to continue working on long-term documentary projects. Eventually, I began to feel that passing these experiences on to future generations was becoming increasingly important. I wanted people today—and those who come after us—to understand the cultures I encountered, the lives I witnessed and the circumstances in which these photographs were made. That is why I wrote their stories as well. A documentary photograph can lose much of its meaning when separated from the story behind it. Photography and narrative complete one another. I prepared the book in both Turkish and English so that these stories could reach a wider audience.”

Ianyan Magazine

"Born in 1954 in Izmir Turkey, photographer Aydin Cetinbostanoglu has been documenting Turkey's Gypsy, Alevi, Jewish, Christian Arab and Armenian communities for years, forming relationships, building trust and as a result gaining exclusive access to cultural intricacies that have for the most part remained allusive to outsiders. Hoping to break down cultural barriers, Cetinbostanoglu concentrated on documenting these various cultures for the last four decades, using photography as his tool to educate and expose Turkey to its cultural treasures. I shared both their happiness and sadness," he writes on his website. They looked at me laughing, smiling, worried and crying...I made many friends. How lucky Iam, am I not?" After exhibitions all over Turkey and in Italy, Germany and Yugoslavia as well as awards, Cetinbostanoglu spoke to ianyanmag about the art of photography, how he's formed relationships with his subjects, how he'd like to travel to Armenia and what it felt like to photograph the last Christian Armenian village in Turkey." Liana Aghajanian