Kütahya: Mural Wall

Thursday, 11 October (Part II)

In the previous post, I shared pictures of transformer boxes on Sevgi Yolu (Path of Love) that had been used as canvases for mini murals.  Those weren’t the only street paintings we saw while we were exploring the city.  On a street leading to Dönenler Meydanı (Whirlers Square), we stumbled upon a rather long wall mural consisting of multiple segments.

Painted by fine arts students from Kütahya, the segment of the mural pictured above
represents production of the çİnİ (tile) works for which the city is famous.

It turns out that the mural was an art project undertaken during the 2010 Kütahya Culture and Art Festival.  Each segment of the 6.5 x 100-foot (2 x 30m) wall was painted by students from one of the nine fine arts schools participating from various provinces — Kütahya, Eskişehir, Kocaeli, Denizli, Muğla, Aydın, İzmir, Bolu and Uşak.

The only way I could have photographed the entire wall would have been to stand in the middle of the road.  No way the traffic was going to let me do that, so I did the next best thing — I took photographs of some of the distinct segments.

Painted by the Bolu fine arts students, this segment honors the Turkish War of Independence.

Painted by the Kocaelİ fine arts students, this segment looks to be a scene from
Germİyan Street, known for its renovated mansions from the Ottoman period.

Painted by the Eskİṣehİr fine arts students, this segment represents the tomb of Hayme Ana;
she was the mother of Osman Gazİ, founder of the Ottoman Empire.

This section represents Aizanoi, a Greek City of Antiquity; located about an hour from Kütahya.

I was unable to find information on this segment; I’m going to take a leap
and say that it represents Evlİya Çelebİ, a world renowned 17th century
traveler who journeyed across Ottoman lands for 40 years.

This section represents Kütahya Kalesİ (fortress), which overlooks the city.

Painted by the Aydın fine arts students, this segment is in tribute to the
Dumlupınar University Campus; I'm not sure what the two figures on the right symbolize.

Another segment painted by fine arts students from Kütahya; replicates the city’s iconic fountain.
(Photograph I took of the fountain is in this post.)

There’s plenty more to come from our first day of exploring Kütahya …