The collection of pictures by Sultan Abdul Hamid II features several pictures of the northern Albanian city of Shkodra, including its local bazaar, the 18th century Lead Mosque, the old five-arched Bah覬lek bridge, and two paintings of the fortress of Shkodra and the old city.
TIRANA, July 14 – A late 19th century private photo collection featuring Albania and other Western Balkan countries possessed by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II has made available online by renowned Canadian Albanologist Robert Elsie.
Preserved at the Istanbul University Library for around a century, the selection of photos features several pictures of the northern Albanian city of Shkodra, including its local bazaar, the 18th century Lead Mosque, the old five-arched Bah覬lek bridge, and two paintings of the fortress of Shkodra and the old city. The collection also features the Kosovo towns of Prishtina, Ka袮ik and Ferizaj as well as Montenegro’s Podgorica and Ulcinj.
Most of the photos are undated, but seem to stem from the period between 1876 and 1900.
“The Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II (reg. 1876-1909) ruled over a rapidly declining empire that included much of the western Balkans (Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia). Towards the end of his reign, he was paranoid about threats to his life, did not travel and indeed rarely appeared in public. To keep abreast of what was going on in his empire, he used an extensive network of spies and informers, and commissioned photographers to take pictures for him. When the sultan abdicated in 1909, his private photo collection was left in Yildiz Palace until it was eventually transferred to the library of Istanbul University. There it remained untouched for decades,” writes Robert Elsie.
The publication of this new album comes after Elsie recently unveiled some 700 new pictures of Albania dating from 1873 to 1952, featuring unique glimpses into Albania’s past.
Albanian photography started with Pietro Marubi, an Italian emigrant fleeing political repression from his country. He opened Albania’s first photography studio in 1858. Three generations of Marubis will follow in his footsteps. For about a century, the Marubi family have amassed more than 100,000 negatives. The selection of pictures reveals the political, social, cultural and religious diversity of the country.
