I was familiar with the legends surrounding this brilliant and indefatigable woman when I first visited Josephine in Istanbul. She seemed to be existing on strong Turkish coffee and her hand-rolled cigarettes. She didn't mind being regarded as eccentric. Josephine Powell at home in Istanbul Josephine has a larger place in Istanbul now, high on a hill over the Bosphoros, and enjoys spectacular views from her balcony of both the Asian side of the city and old Stanbul with its Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia. Though her furnishings now include a few exquisite old carved wooden cabinets rescued from a demolished village house, the folding table and camp chairs remain.
Fabulous textiles dominate.
Over the several years that I have known Josephine, she has been extraordinarily generous in sharing her knowledge and experience. She provides a much needed view of nomadic and village lifestyles that are often portrayed unrealistically in rug literature. With insatiable and wide-ranging interests in all aspects of Asian cultures, she encourages and supports other scholars, even when their ideas and conclusions differ from hers. She continues to do so even when her help or the use of her source materials is not acknowledged. She exemplifies scholastic integrity.