Mal Goes to Turkey...
All of the photos in this article were taken with a Lumix "point-and-shoot" camera.
We began our first full day in Istanbul with a little cruise on the Bosphorus (small tour boat, not a giant floating shopping mall). I am not including any photos from that cruise because I found it rather uninspiring... both as a photographer and even as a sightseer. One of my common frustrations when I travel is finding my efforts to see the " authentic " world in which I live thwarted by droves of tourists and tour operators trying to make a living on those droves. About half way through this cruise we opted to leave the boat to walk back to our hotel through the neighborhoods of Istanbul. That little walking adventure ( oh, my aching feet ) started at the Chora church and ended at our hotel which was only a few blocks from the Hagia Sofia and other major sites of Istanbul. In spite of my aching feet, I found this much more to my liking as we saw part of Istanbul as its citizens experience it in their everyday lives.
A fresco in the Chora Church
Painted dome ceiling in the Chora Church
The Hagia Sofia Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian between 532 and 537. Originally a Christian church, later converted to a mosque, and now a museum. Well worth a visit in spite of the crowds.
The back side of Hagia Sofia
Inside the Hagia Sofia It is difficult to convey the scale and breathtaking beauty of this place in photographs. The scaffolding on the left is for restoration and/or maintenance.
Art in the Hagia Sofia A photo of a photo.
Art in the Hagia Sofia A photo of a photo.
Art in the Hagia Sofia This is a photo directly of a mosaic.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque Commonly referred to as the Blue Mosque. Directly across a large plaza from the Hagia Sofia. This is also a spectacularly beautiful building, and worth a visit. I suggest you also try to visit some of the less famous mosques in Istanbul as you will be able to see them without all the containment necessary to control the throngs of tourists.
Inside the Blue Mosque Like the Hagia Sofia, it is difficult to convey the scale and breathtaking beauty of this place in photographs.
Inside the Blue Mosque
The Hagia Sofia , seen through a gate to the Blue Mosque.
The Obelisk of Theodosius , with Egyptian hieroglyphic carvings like this, can be found in the Hippodrome, a large plaza (in ancient times, a race track) on the NW side of the the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia.
In the courtyard of the Suleymaniye Mosque
Inside the Suleymaniye Mosque
Inside the Suleymaniye Mosque
A door of the Suleymaniye Mosque
Minarets of the Suleymaniye Mosque
The Subterranean Cistern , near the Hagia Sofia.
The Subterranean Cistern
Carved column in the Subterranean Cistern
A sculpture of the Medusa , scavenged from some other site and used to support one of the cistern columns. The ISO on this image was so high because there was so little light ( never used a flash on this entire trip ) that after lightening the image it was so grainy that I decided to apply the PS fresco filter. I rather like the effect, if I do say so myself.
There isn't a whole lot I can say about these mosaics... except WOW!!!
The Mosaic Museum, near the Blue Mosque is a must see!
Cappadocia is a region in central Turkey that may be best known for its geology and the many dwellings that have literally been carved out of that geology.
The underground city. Whole cities were carved deep into the ground (this one went down 55m) as a place of refuge from hostile invaders. Imagine living in this place... in the land of earthquakes... without electricity.
A church carved out of the tufa hillside.
A scene through the "window" of one of these tufa structures.
A tufa church fresco. This image was digitally stitched together from three individual photos. The fresco was defaced by Islamic zealots who feel it is offensive to depict the human form. More recently it was shamelessly defaced with graffiti.
Click here to see a larger version of this fresco image...
Hot Air Balloons over the town of Goreme.
Konya is the resting place of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (AKA Rumi or Mevlana), a highly revered Sufi poet. I only have one photo from Konya. While there is much to see in Konya, a city I recommend visiting, photography was forbidden for many of the most beautiful and interesting sights. This photo was taken at the Ceramic Museum.
Selcuk, is a town near the western cost of Turkey on the Aegean sea. Many ancient Greek and Roman sites are very nearby. Notably, Ephesus, the Basilica of Saint John, the final home of the Virgin Mary, Priene, Miletus, and the temple of Apollo. Saint John, to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his mother before his crucifixion, is believed to have brought Mary to this area. There is a site in the hills above Ephesus that is said to be the final home of the Virgin Mary. A beautiful site, but no photos are included...
Sunset from the rooftop terrace of our hotel... looking out toward Ephesus and the house of the Virgin Mary in hills.
The Basilica of Saint John (located only two blocks from our hotel in Selcuk). Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the same guy who commissioned the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. Saint John is said to have been buried at this site, after which a church was erected at the site of his grave. Finding the church in a bad state of repair, Justinian ordered the construction of this huge basilica in 535. This is a photo of model showing what the site once looked like.
The Basilica of Saint John
The Basilica of Saint John
The Basilica of Saint John
The courtyard of a small mosque near the Basilica of Saint John.
Dates growing on the streets of Selcuk.
Ephesus This is a truely remarkable place... It must have been like one of the wonders of the world in its time. This is a photo of a photo of a model. The Agora (meeting place / market place), a large open square shown in the model is mostly rubble today. Other things shown in the model are in a better state of restoration. If you have a chance to visit, be sure to give yourself at least one whole day... and be prepared to deal with hordes of tourists.
This photo shows many of the things illustrated in the preceding model. In the model the library can be seen in the upper right corner of the image. In this photo the well preserved library is just left of center near the top of the image.
Hordes of tourists... and this is what it looks like as the tourist season winds down.
Clay pipes , used in a sophisticated fresh water and sewage system.
Engraved Stone... there are thousands.
Homes of the elite. This area of Ephesus is enclosed with ongoing restoration. A system of catwalks leads you through the area, housing many beautiful frescos and mosaics.
Fresco
Fresco
Mosaic
Mosaic
A colonnade , leading from the library (just out of the photo to the left) to the great 25,000 seat amphitheater, the edge of which can be seen through the two columns in the foreground.
The library of Celsus
25,000 seat amphitheater
Four of us took an all-day guided tour of Priene, Miletus, and the Temple of Apollo in the town of Didyma. We had the good fortune to get a retired professor of History and Archeology from the University of Istanbul as our guide. John (sorry, I don't remember his last name) was a wealth of information. These three sites are all within a one hour drive of Selcuk, and this was one of the most interesting and informative days of our trip. These sites have many of the things to be found at Ephesus, but with far fewer tourists.
The amphitheater at Priene
Priene
Priene
Priene
Out guide , John, shows us the amphitheater at Miletus.
Inside the entrance of the amphitheater at Miletus.
The Temple of Apollo The columns in this place are gigantic!!! Notice my friend standing amongst the columns... I think there were 70+ columns, each nine feet in diameter.
This is what an earthquake does... Notice the supports added to keep this collapsed column from moving any more in a future earthquake.
Medusa at the Temple of Apollo ( about 4 feet high )
The Temple of Apollo
The Temple of Apollo
The Temple of Apollo
The Temple of Apollo
Pamukkale , I debated whether I should include Pamukkale in this photo essay... It is after all a "World Heritage Site"... A three hour bus ride from Selcuk... A very... uh, shall we say, "interesting" mixture of amazing travertine terraces, Roman ruins, and Disneyland-like food & bathing concessions. A huge site, with a relatively well preserved/restored amphitheater, a nice museum, and huge travertine terraces that allow people to wade in the natural hot water. Then there is this bizarre area that looks like a cross between a hot spring spa and a water park. This included kids running around in the usual preadolescent swimming pool behavior, men in speedos that looked like they were carrying triplets... and equivalent sized women in teensy tiny bikinis that made me want to cover my eyes.
Pamukkale
In the Pamukkale Museum
In the Pamukkale Museum
The Pamukkale Amphitheater
"Sorry we're not closed." A typical tourist shop, seen all along the back side of the Hagia Sofia.
A typical hardware store.
In the Grand Bazaar
In the Grand Bazaar
In the Grand Bazaar
In the Grand Bazaar
In the Grand Bazaar
The Saturday market in Selcuk
The Saturday market in Selcuk
The Saturday market in Selcuk
The Saturday market in Selcuk
On the street in Istanbul
Tags
Who is online
722 visitors
Wow Mal,
You did an amazing job of capturing Turkey and all the cultures that are and were there. It is an wonderful photo essay! You get a gold star!
Wonderful photos and story Mal...I love your ''friends''.
Geeeez Thanks Perrie!!!
[Mal puts the gold star on his collar...]
OK , I'm officially impressed ... nice work Mal ! BTW did you take a camel home ... I've heard they make nutritious milk .
Fantastic; thanks for the tour Mal!
:~)
Absolutely a magnificent series of photos. You show us the way to do it. Viagra tea? Really?
By the way, did you happen to visit the notorious DPM?
Deputy Prime Minister... Hardly... What's the notoriety???
We did visit PMD though... Priene, Miletus, Didyma...
Well... As Raven Wing says, they are VERY temperamental... They spit, and bite without warning... Getting those shots was pretty tricky. Milking... I'd have to mighty thirsty!
Incredible presentation, Mal. Looks like the trip of a lifetime. Your photos are stunning!
Did you run into Dennis P. McCann ?
Need I clarify? Well, perhaps for others - D.P.McC.
OMG, you said the words, but thankfully the page didn't catch fire. Many would have missed Mal's magnificent photos.
Mal, I've been waiting for these. Thank you!
Your special eye for Art and the beauty in all things created and natural, as well as the 'creatures,' are exposed in each and every image. What I mean more specifically, is that you weren't just taking a picture of what was there - you were focusing on what impacted you and what stood out to you in a particular scene, no matter the size.
I agree, your Medusa "effect" was stunning. The fresco and mosaics were impressive, the painted ceilings and unique lighting fixtures were beautiful. The Cistern and Subterranean had an aura that came right through the photo - felt like I was there (but not sure I wanted to be
- kinda spooky). Oh, and I was hoping to get your impressions of the "Whirling Dervishes" if you saw them...probably not. They seemed interesting in the essays I've read (have learned to like a little Rumi, too:). The city/area with the spiked geology and carved dwellings must have been interesting, but then it 'all' was.
This is completely amazing! Thank you for sharing this and your gift of photography with us!!!!!
Thanks Chloe! We went to Konya, the resting place of Rumi, hoping to see the Dervishes... But this is a very religious city, and so there are no non-religious performances... as I understand it, this is performed only on Saturdays and I believe in the building that houses Rumi's tomb... We weren't there on a Saturday. Apparently, there are Dervish performances in Istanbul, but we only had one night as we departed and it was sold out.
Ah!!! Didn't even think of Dennis... Much less see him...
There's a fantastic depiction of Whirling Dervishes near the end of the movie "Meetings With Remarkable Men", quite an esoteric film directed by Peter Brook with a part played by Terrence Stamp, both of whom are usually connected with unusual films.
Thank you for that info, Mal!
That's unfortunate that you weren't able to see a live performance. Silly as this might sound, but I have thought that a group of performers (be they singers, musicians, orchestra, etc.) often reach a spirituality that can be 'felt' by those in-tune, so to speak, with them, why I was interested in your reaction. Maybe you'll see them 'next time,' if there is one:)
Congratulations Mal,
You have graced NT with another of your photo-essay/photo journalism masterpieces!
Bravo!
What an amazing journey! Incredibly beautiful pictures!! Thanks so much for sharing...nice to know I can come back and have another look, seeing something new every time.
Okay...I did find the Saturday market in Selcuk pic of the stocking footed legs sticking out of the sock bin a little weird but hey it definitely caught my attention!
I was also going to ask if you had a chance to hook up with Dennis and his wife, Fatma.
I used to live in Balikesir (5 hours or so south of Istanbul, 2 hours north of Izmir). I'm thining you probably drove through Balikesir during you travels as it's on the main road between the two cities.
I found some small seaside towns-Oren and Aayvalik, to name a few- where we used to go on holiday weekends. Great times, great memories.
Very beautiful and revealing pics. Turkey looks like a compelling place to visit.
No... Didn't connect with Dennis... And we flew from Istanbul to Izmir...
Thanks AMac! I did the whole thing with my Lumix.
I thought the sock market was kinda fun really...