The New Sultan


Since moving in Turkey, Emanuele Satolli has been working on a photographic essay entitled The New Sultan, photographing the historic changes taking place there under the leadership of PresidentErdogan. He uses a collection of black-and-white photographs to examine the current political, social, and economic turmoil in the Republic of Turkey. With these images, he shows how the Turkish President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have changed the nation, inciting a wave of radical nationalism and promoting demonstrations of ultra-conservative Islamic religious beliefs in order to increase their political power. Some of the photos illustrate the views of the country’s Secularists, who oppose Erdogan and are devoted to the proposition that the Turkish government should remain separate from all religious influences. The New Sultan includes a wide variety of images that describe the conflicting and political, social, and economic climates of modern-day Turkey under the leadership of President Erdogan.

Since moving in Turkey, in 2015, I have been documenting the historic changes taking place in the country under the leadership of President Erdogan.

The photographic essay “The New Sultan” was born from this collection, examining the current political, social, and economic turmoil in the modern-day Turkey. I aim to show how Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have changed the nation, inciting a wave of radical nationalism and promoting demonstrations of ultra-conservative Islamic religious representatives in order to increase their political power. On the other hand, illustrating the views of the country’s Secularists, who oppose Erdogan and are devoted to the principle under which the Turkish government should remain separate from all religious influences.