At the end of the 19th century, G. Panchikian was perhaps the only photographer based in the town of Atabazar in the Marmara region, located in the north-west of Turkey. At this stage, only one photograph by Panchikyan has come to light. The image depicts the pupils of the all-male, muslim school next to Atabazar Mosque, who are taking part in the daytime prayer led by the local maulvi. For a photograph from this period in time, it is exceptional as documentation of a Muslim religious and cultural ritual, which was not made for ethnographic or tourist interests, but was commissioned as a modern form of commemoration by the mosque’s administration. Panchikian’s photograph is clear evidence that photography at the end of the 19th century had a domestic and social function across all corners of the Ottoman Empire and amidst Islamic communities as well. Besides the Armenian caption, Panchikian's seal also has a Greek inscription which spells his surname as Pandokian.

Vigen Galstyan, 2018