The Architects of Visual Memory: The Legacy of Abdullah Frères In the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire, a period defined by profound cultural shifts and the collision of tradition with modernity, three brothers emerged as the definitive chroniclers of an era. Vichen, Hovsep, and Kevork Abdullahyan—known to history as the Abdullah Frères—did not merely operate a photography studio; they curated the visual identity of a vanishing world. Established in 1858 in the vibrant district of Beyoğlu, Istanbul, their studio became a sanctuary of light and shadow, where the grandeur of the imperial c…