We know very little about Wolfgang Zorer, the photographer of the images shown in this chapter. Between 1920 and 1938, Wolfgang Zorer, a veteran of the First World War, stayed continuously or intermittently in Turkey and photographed there. It is documented that Captain and photographer Wolfgang Zorer participated from August 1926 in the survey of the Augustus-Roman Temple in Ankara, published by D. Krencker, M. Schede, and O. Heck (1936). In 1927, Zorer received travel and material grants for photographic recordings of the Byzantine Clemenskirche in Ankara.

The 190 glass and plastic negatives from Ernst Herzfeld's estate that reached the Museum of Islamic Art primarily depict motifs from Ankara (known as Angora until 1930), which was declared Turkey's capital by Kemal Atatürk upon the founding of the Republic in 1923. The city only received its current name in 1930.

Some of the photos presented here are stereo negatives, which can create a 3D effect using a stereo viewer.

This example of a stereo photo likely shows an excursion on a one-horse carriage with coachman to Kayaş, a small town east of Ankara. The image information mentions a Schwarz family and an Orhan Bey. The carriage number 872 and its wooden construction indicate it belongs to a carriage depot.

In an enclosure, a woman presents a goose and a turkey to the photographer, observed by a group of neatly dressed and groomed children behind the wire fence. On the vacant lot in the background stand two isolated houses, possibly part of Ankara's new development.

Of Zorer's minister portraits, we show only Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver (1885–1966) here, a writer, intellectual, and temporary professor of Islamic art. He joined Mustafa Kemal, the later Atatürk, early on, but later turned to other political orientations; he served as a member of parliament and ambassador, and advocated for the Turkish minority in Bulgaria.

Likely as part of a parade, a horse-drawn team with three rifle-armed soldiers pulls a field howitzer. The soldiers' faces are serious. The procession presumably aims to demonstrate the military strength of the young Turkish state – founded in 1923. Shade-providing wooden structures are set up in the background. It may be a parade for Republic Day on October 29.

Left photo: Four girls in knee-length white dresses and headbands run ahead of a festival float—clothing possibly with historical reference. They appear part of a parade, with a wooden canopy erected in the background, similar to the previous photo. The girls form the vanguard of the following float.

Right photo: The float is visible here up close; young people in similar attire and headgear sit on benches atop it. A monumental structure frames it front and back, culminating in an Atatürk bust with a radiant halo.

The elegantly dressed family of a Hakki Bey stands before the enclosure wall of Ankara Citadel (Ankara Kalesi), a structure from Byzantine times. In the background, traditional two-story houses are visible, as they still form the 'old town' on the castle hill today.

Aerial view of Ankara with the castle hill in the foreground: The citadel wall with its regularly spaced towers and the steep slope are recognizable. The photo dates from around 1928 and shows how underdeveloped the city still was. Five years earlier, it had been decided to develop the capital there.

The construction of the German Embassy with its outbuildings took place between 1927 and 1929. Aside from the landscaping, the complex looks much the same today as it did then. However, Atatürk Boulevard right outside has become a major thoroughfare.

The former Turkish Foreign Ministry was built in 1926–1927 by architect Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu. It reflects the so-called First National Style of young Turkey, blending Ottoman and modern elements. When the photo was taken, the building appeared newly completed. Today, Gençlik Park occupies the large vacant lot where the group of young men and boys is resting. The structure now houses the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and lies— like the German Embassy—along Atatürk Boulevard.