[RARE SOUVENIR ALBUM / AFGHAN KING AND QUEEN'S VISIT TO TURKEY] Afgânistân hükümdârâninin memleketimizi ziyaretleri hâtiralari. Albüm. [i.e. Memories of the Afghan ruler's visit to our country. An album].

Resimli Ay Matbaasi Türk Limited Sirketi., Istanbul, [c. 1928].

Original illustrated wrappers. Oblong roy. 8vo. (17 x 14 cm). In Ottoman Turkish (Old Turkish with Arabic alphabet). [48] p., fully b/w photos. Slightly fading on pages, a tear on the 40th page, stains on edges and pages. Overall a good copy.

First and only edition of this extremely rare souvenir album, printed to commemorate the Afghan King Amanullah Khan's (1892-1960) and his wife, Afghan Queen Soraya Tarzi's (1899-1968) visit to Turkey in May 1928.

This album includes 60 b/w photos of the Afghan army, the king and queen, major and important Afghan buildings in Kabul and a b/w map of Afghanistan. Cover has the images of Amanullah Khan, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Soraya Tarzi. Chromo-lithographed Turkish and Afghan flags and Amanullah Han's tughra (sign) on the back cover.

After Afghanistan achieved its independence from the British in 1919, Afghanistan and Turkey signed the first Turkish-Afghan alliance treaty in Moscow on the 1st of March 1921. According to the treaty, which was beyond a military agreement, Turkey would aid Afghanistan in the framework of education and modernization of the country. During the period of Atatürk, Turkey has been an active player in the modernization and restructuring of Afghanistan. A group of experts from Turkey went to Afghanistan in order to support the modernization efforts of Afghanistan. In May 1928, Afghan King Amanullah Khan visited Turkey and took Turkey as a model country after his return. The Afghan King tried to follow Turkey's path in his country.

Özege 4654. Only one copy in OCLC, in Princeton University Library: 32707873.