The Balyan family were a dynasty of architects, builders and property owners who acted as the official architects to the Ottoman Sultans throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally Armenian, the family is responsible for some of the most famous Ottoman buildings in existence, many of which are regarded as masterpieces of their period - including the Dolmabahce Palace (built between 1843 and 1856), parts of the Topkap? Palace, the C?ra?an Palace and the Ortakoey Mosque. Forging a unique style based around European contemporary architecture but with distinctive Ottoman flourishes, the family is an integral part of Ottoman history. As Alyson Wharton's beautifully illustrated book reveals, the Balyan's own history, of falling in and out of favour with increasingly autocratic Sultans, serves as a record of courtly power in the Ottoman era and is uniquely intertwined with the history of Istanbul itself.
- ISBN10 0857738135
- ISBN13 9780857738134
- Publish Date 26 February 2015 (first published 30 January 2015)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint I.B. Tauris
- Edition Digital original
- Format eBook
- Pages 288
- Language English
- URL http://bloomsbury.com/