Büyükada. The Moris Danon Collection.

Istanbul: Yapi Kredi, 2023. New. Paperback. 24x34 cm. In English. 400 p., b/w and colour ills. Heroes or military geniuses do not explain the history of Büyükada. Conversely, the people who shaped its history are the exiles, the dissidents and the losers. Its location next to Istanbul has brought the Island to the international scene many times throughout history. Thus, by shedding its identity as a quiet fishing settlement, it evolved into an ideal place of exile, a forced or voluntary residence of those excluded from active politics, and therefore into an area of opposition, and it maintained this quality for hundreds of years. The shared elements among many items, especialy form the second quarter of the 19th century to the middle of 20th century, that are brought together in the Moris Danon Colection including photographs, manuscripts, and dedicated first editions.

Images of daily life centering on the Island's charm reflect the collective memory of a privileged world that is relatively independent from state control and official protocol thanks to its physical separation.

BÜYÜKADA: Moris Danon Collection, which is largely an attempt to compensate for the city history written without islands, was penned to understand and explain the Island spirit, which has the power to surprisingly redefine the relations between centuries, empires, nations and most importantly, people.