This photo and video documentary work, was formed after 2 years time. This documentry is about the Silver masters who are not known much anymore and are in 3 old blocks (Han) in Tahtakale, İstanbul.

They try to keep their silver ateliers in small shops in the halls around the historic Grand Bazaar (Great New Han, Baconian Han, Kalcilar Han) which are very loud for some people, but most being unaware of them.

It was on my mind for the past four or five years to make a project on silver workshops. This daily product, is no longer as popular as its predecessor in recent times. I'm a curious person. I had heard about the silver workshops in the Grand Bazaar area before. Everything started with a preliminary research I made about the silver ateliers.

I went to the photography stage later. I walked around the Han for four hours the first day to photograph the Great New Han. There was a shadow in front of me while I was having tea. At least I thought so. Everything I saw was black including the skin. It was Yucel, the polishing master who seemed to have come out of a coal mine. We had eye contact and I started photographing him.

To be honest, these masters are not hard to work with, but you need to communicate with them in the correct way. There is a mutual trust process and is not something that develops in a short time. I was in those Hans for two years, but I continued my studies more in the Great New Han as the ateliers there had more of a production atmosphere than others. For instance, the ateliers in Kalcılar and Bacırmacı Han are more like shops. If you want to work with these masters, you have to convince them that you have good intentions. The rest comes naturally.