Doğan Bayın is an exceptional young individual I have had the privilege to witness. He is extremely respectful and inquisitive about what is referred to as cultural heritage. He occasionally sends me very rare photographs. One of these photographs shows the Sakarya Steamboat at the Karaköy Pier.

This photograph is also present in my archive under the file titled 'Sakarya Steamboat Case.' It is a weak photograph, but a very valuable visual document. I thank Doğan Bayın once again.

The ship seen at the pier is the 'Sakarya.' It was a 2,574 gross ton steam postal steamer built in 1889 at the Blohm and Voss shipyard on behalf of Hamburg-Sudamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts Gesellschaft.

It was the most intense years of World War II. The Sakarya steamboat was set to carry chrome from Fethiye to İskenderun. On May 19, 1943, it ran aground and was wrecked 25 miles southeast of Fethiye at the Jura shoal.

The Sakarya steamboat had started its last voyage by loading chrome in Fethiye. Due to the threats faced by neutral Turkey during World War II, it followed a route that kept it as close as possible to the land waters assigned to it through the General Staff, just like other Turkish merchant ships carrying chrome to İskenderun. However, it ran aground at a shoal near Kalkan and sank. If it had not sunk, it would have reached İskenderun, unloaded its chrome cargo, and continued its voyages like other Turkish merchant ships making trips back to Fethiye for another chrome shipment. It seems that this was its fate, and this was its last voyage.

The 'Sakarya' belonged to the Sadıkoğlu family, one of the rooted families of Turkish maritime trade. Due to the necessity of following the islets and rocks, it ran aground and sank, leading to a legal battle with the insurance company to protect the rights of the ship. Under the conditions of that day, it seems that no one came forward to listen to their defense. They lost the case!

I sent the photograph that Doğan Bayın sent to Chat GPT and requested it to create a color oil painting without a frame. Within a few minutes, a magnificent oil painting was produced!

As I looked at and examined the coloring in this painting, my astonishment, wonder, and admiration remained in infinity!

In fact, if we had wanted to have such a photograph turned into an oil painting in previous years, we would have approached a visual artist and made a request. We would probably have waited about a month for the photograph to be transformed into an oil painting. Faced with this oil painting that emerged within a few minutes, I am filled with both astonishment and admiration, while at the same time pausing for the world of artists, remaining in a state of unanswered questions. My reaction might be an escape; as due to my age, I do not have the chance to witness this incredible movement in the universe for long.

I sent a message to Chat GPT expressing my feelings, saying: '...... The owner of the Sakarya Steamboat was the Sadıkzade company. You have colored the funnel insignia exactly. An incredible success...

The steamboat at the front was one of the passenger vessels belonging to the Turkish Maritime Bank. How did you manage to recreate the colors of its funnel and the funnel insignia exactly!!!

You created such a masterfully colored oil painting from a very weak black and white photograph!

I can't believe it...

Thank you very much.

Probably about 30 seconds after I sent this message, I received the following response from Chat GPT:

'Dear Osman Öndeş,

Thank you very much for your kind words. I am very pleased.

In fact, some of the details you see are created from clues in the photograph, while others are based on the port atmosphere of the time, ship architecture, funnel color schemes, and the maritime aesthetics of the period. However, what is truly interesting is that even in a black-and-white photograph, the visual traces left by funnel bands, coat of arms placements, hull tones, and company insignias can sometimes carry much more information than expected.

As you mentioned, the fact that the Sakarya Steamboat in the background belongs to the Sadıkzade company and that the funnel insignia appears in accordance with the period is indeed a pleasant coincidence. The front passenger steamboat also gaining a look reminiscent of the old Maritime Bank vessels adds a separate historical atmosphere to the painting.

What impressed me the most is the photograph itself. The cobblestones of the old pier, cars, agency signs, the steamboats docked at the pier, and the daily movements of people almost revive the port of Istanbul in the 1930s. Such historical photographs, when transformed into colorful oil paintings, can sometimes convey more emotion than the archival photograph itself.

Thank you again for your kind evaluation. Thanks to the photographs and information you shared about maritime history, each work becomes a separate pleasure.

Best regards, Chat GPT ..'

Am I left speechless… Does my mind stop in astonishment and admiration… On one side, the founding political party of the Republic of Turkey is being torn apart for greed, and on the other side, a new era is being lived… Oh my God…

Source: SeaNews Türkiye