Istanbul is a unique city where centuries of history, culture, and memory converge in one place. With its geography bridging continents, its past as the capital of empires, and its extraordinary heritage that lives on in everyday life, it is a city not only to be seen but also to be read and interpreted. With its streets, buildings, districts, and narratives, Istanbul – like a text spread across time – awaits rediscovery with every glance.

In this exhibition, presented with a selection of books about Istanbul from the collection of Boğaziçi University Library, we invite you to discover together the traces that extend from the shelves to the city.

Spanning from novels to history books, from memoirs to poems, from comics to postcards, this selection presents Istanbul not merely as a city, but as a place that is read, felt, and remembered.

As you move through the exhibition space:

• At one table, you will wander district by district through novels about Istanbul,
• At another, you will journey across centuries with history books,
• At yet another, you will touch the past through photographs and postcards…

"The Read City: Istanbul" exhibition invites its visitors to rediscover this unique city through books. Because Istanbul is not only a city to be seen; it is a city to be read.

Prepared by:
Yusuf Temizcan, Ali Yaşar Özçağlar, Gülderen Ulucan, Damla Sak Sevim