Armenian Wedding

In Ottoman Istanbul, Armenians, Greeks and Jews each married under the rules of their own religious community, and Calkoen's pictures include both an Armenian and a Greek wedding. Here the Armenian party is walking to church.

Musicians lead the way. Behind them comes the bridegroom with a young man at his side carrying a sabre, then the groom's father, the priest and the women of the party, among them the bride, dressed in red. Candle bearers walk ahead of the couple, and the bride and groom kept those candles after the wedding.