[FIRST TURKISH BOOK ON BYZANTINE ISTANBUL] Heyet-i sâbika-yi Kostantiniyye. [i.e. Ancient and modern Constantinople]. Translated from Greek by Yorgaki Petropulos Alekooglu

KOSDANDIYOS (Constantius I), (1770-1859).; MAHMUD CELÂLEDDIN (Ottoman governor of Crete)., Tercüman-ı Ahvâl Matbaasi., Istanbul, [AH 1277] = 1860.

[FIRST TURKISH BOOK ON BYZANTINE ISTANBUL] Heyet-i sâbika-yi Kostantiniyye. [i.e. Ancient and modern Constantinople]. Translated from Greek by Yorgaki Petropulos Alekooglu. + Girid Vilâyeti vali vekili devletlü Mahmud Celâleddin Pasa hazretlerinin asâr-i manzûmesidir  

Contemporary quarter leather bdg. Five raised bands to the spine. Roy. 8vo. (23 x 16 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). Three different volumes bound together. 39 p.; 131, [2] p.; 72 p. Bound with "Girid Vilâyeti vali vekili devletlü Mahmud Celâleddin Pasa hazretlerinin asâr-i manzûmesidir" [i.e. Poetry Book of Mahmud Celaleddin Pasha, the Governor of Crete Island, 1893], and other law book.

First Ottoman edition of this rare book on the Byzantine architectural works in Istanbul in a book form published soon after it was serialized in "Tercüman-i Ahvâl" newspaper in the same year, written by Constantius I of Constantinople who was Ecumenical Patriarch during the period 1830-1834.

"This is the first comprehensive printed Turkish book that systematically mentions the ancient works of the Byzantine period in Istanbul." (Eyice).

"This is the first publication of the history of pre-Ottoman Istanbul" (Tanyeli).

The book consists of two general chapters titled "Old Istanbul" and "Modern Istanbul". "Old Istanbul" has fifteen parts: 1. Byzantium, 2. The walls of Istanbul, 3. The walls of Blakernea, 4. Seaside walls, 5. The gates, 6. The walls on the Marmara seaside, 7. The neighborhoods of Istanbul, 8. Aqueducts and waterways, 9. Hammams (Baths), 10. Palaces, 11. Cisterns, 12. Obelisks, 13. At Meydani (Hippodrome), 14. Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), 15. Church converted mosques. "Modern Istanbul" has six parts: 1. Courts of the sultans, 2. Mosques of the sultans, 3. Eyüp (Kosmidion), 4. Water sources and holy springs (healing waters), 5. The Asian Gate, 6. The Princes' Islands.

Constantius I was born in 1770 in Constantinople. He studied in the Patriarchal School, in Iasi, and in Kiev. In 1805 he was elected Archbishop of Sinai, a position he held until he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch in 1830. He resigned in 1834 and devoted his life to studying and writing in Antigoni (Burgaz Island). This book was written during this time. He died on 5 January 1859.

TRANSLATOR OF THE BOOK: Yorgaki Petropulos was the son of Logofeti Aleko and one of the dragomans [i.e. official translators] of the Imperial Ottoman.

This book was published in several languages like Greek (in 1824), English (in 1868), Karamanlidika (Turkish with Greek letters) (in 1863), French (in 1846), and modern Turkish.

Özege 7393 / 1 (Second edition in 1872).; Not in OCLC.