Cairo to Constantinople

Trip into Edinburgh to see the "Cairo to Constantinople" photographic exhibition at the Queens Gallery In Holyrood Palace. Wonderfully well thought audio visual exhibition of the Prince of Wales' (later King Edward VII) four-month educational tour of the Middle East in 1862, in which he was accompanied by the famous British photographer Francis Bedford.

The pictures work as a historical record however, as this is in the early days of photography one has to try and put oneself in the eyes of the British public who would only have previously seen romanticized oil painting and tapestries of a world captured in their imagination. The audio commentary is done by the curator and the wonderful John McCarthy who draws on his first hand knowledge of the Middle East - some of the discussions of a Christian massacre in the 1860's in Syria are reminders of the sad history of the region over the years. This exhibition will be in Edinburgh until July and will be in Buckingham Place in the autumn/winter.

After the photographic exhibition A and I took a walk around the Palace itself - always an enjoyable experience. This is a shot of the ruined Abbey at the end of the tour.