The rich collection of the photographer Selahattin Giz, who captured so many events from the early Republic, offers a visual panorama of a period extending from the 1930s to the 1970s.

There are a number of sources in which one can read a detailed account of the enthusiasm felt on the tenth anniversary of the Turkish Republic. Or of the fire that broke out in 1954 in the Covered Bazaar, that hub of Istanbul shopping. One can read about the colorful Beyoglu scene in the 1930s, and about the relaxed manner of Atatürk, founder of the Republic, in his relations with the people. In other words, all the ordinary and extraordinary details of an era.

But sometimes a photograph can tell much more, as a glance serves to engrave some event from the period in our minds. A good example are the frames captured by the lens of Selahattin Giz, a photographer who can be said to have recorded Turkey's Republican period.