We followed in his footsteps from the town of Riva on the western Black Sea coast as far as Trabzon, wondering how much would be left of the imposing walls, street fountains, and houses which he had recorded in such meticulous detail.
Laurens was born into a family of artists, and after completing his own training arrived in Paris in 1842 at the age of 17. In 1845 he was disappointed when the historical landscapes he had entered in a competition failed to win any prizes, but his meeting with geographer and scholar Xavier Hommaire de Hell was to change his life. The French government had appointed De Hell to carry out a geographical and historical survey of the countries bordering the Black and Caspian seas. After one year spent in preparation, De Hell and the 21 year-old artist Jules Laurens set out from Toulon on 18 May 1846 on their way to Turkey and Persia.After arriving in Istanbul, Laurens roamed through the city sketching its walls, mosques, fountains, and tombs. He described the city as 'utterly enchanting, and like a vision out of the Arabian Nights'.

When we arrived at Trabzon, our last stop, we saw that the city had changed almost beyond recognition, making it was extremely difficult to identify the places in the drawings. New roads, drawn as if with a giant ruler, had been built along the coast.

In his views of the cities, towns and villages through which he passed, Laurens always included glimpses into the life of the time. If he drew a bridge, there was sure to be a horseman crossing it; if a river, and particularly if that river was the Euphrates, he recorded how people crossed it. We see people deep in conversation as they pass through city gates, and travellers beneath the walls of Diyarbakir halting to eat and rest with their camels. The bustle of life in the 1840s is always in evidence.

Of the shops which Laurens depicted in Gerze, with their intricate wood carving and embellishments, Hazinedaroglu House in Ünye, and Kelalioglu Palace in Tirebolu we found nothing remaining. So we took consolation in the drawings showing them in all their beauty which Jules Laurens executed during his journey.

* Nezahat Turkan
is a freelance writer.
The drawings are all taken from The Travels Through Turkey of Jules Laurens published by Yapi Kredi Press