Istanbul
Istanbul (original pre-split)
Istanbul was first founded by Mehmet Tamdeger and Agop Tomurçuk, two former employees of the old Kerope Zildjian manufacture in Istanbul. They produced the series
- Istanbul, fully lathed, with regular finish, resembling old Zildjians
- Vezir, unlathed underside, lathed top
- Empire, unlathed cup and inner bow
- Pasha, unlathed edge
- Sultan, lathed, with regular finish, resembling old Zildjians
- Ottoman, bell and middle bow unlathed
- Turk, completely unlathed, dark and earthy
in sizes from 8-24". There were over 60 models and 7 weights listed in the cymbal chart. All Istanbul cymbals are self-cast B20 instruments. Their Ottoman cymbals were the first to have lathed and unlathed zones on a cymbal surface, a feature that was readily copied by other cymbal makers. Istanbul cymbals have strong variations from one cymbal to the next ('much authentic voice'), a property that makes them hard to select and risky to buy by mail order.
At some point Agop and Mehmet decided to split and work independently. From then on, their cymbals were labeled Istanbul Agop and Istanbul Mehmet, respectively. All cymbals from the first period, before the split, are signed 'Mehmet' and 'Agop', usually on the underside of the bell.
Istanbul Agop
Istanbul Mehmet
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