Description

An end-of-the-year thesis (Jahresarbeit – a German term for a research, submitted at the end of the year, by students, usually in the last years of Gymnasium) was written in German language by a Turkish female student Jale Taylan in 1936-1937.

The thesis describes the fountains of Istanbul, their history and purpose. It also transcribes and translates inscriptions on them and explains their dates with the help of the numeral values of the Arabic letters. The text is accompanied by 31 attractive original black and white photographs of the fountains, made by the author, mounted whiteprints of transcriptions of the Ottoman inscriptions and hand-drawn plans of the fountains. A large double-page map at the end showcases Istanbul, with marked locations of the fountains and other important structures, such as the old city walls and railway tracks.

The work was written by a female student Jale Taylan, who in 1936-1937 had to be in her late teens. Not much is known about Taylan. In 1940, she wrote an article on the sport education of girls, and about two years later she married one Reşit Egeli, with whom she had two children.

The example, which belonged to the writer, was given in 1996 by the author Jale Taylan (here signed as Jale Egeli), 60 years after it was written, to Herry Schaefer, an esteemed collector of the Ottoman and Middle Eastern books, stamps and objects.