Photographer in Colorado

On our third full day, we headed from Ayvalik to the ancient site of Pergamon, near the city of Bergama. The Pergamon ruins are located on a the top of a high hill to the north of the city. Access to the ruins is either by walking or by means of cable car. As with many of the sites in Turkey, the ruins were caused by earthquakes and wars. There are several structures that have been reconstructed at Pergamon. This image shows part of the re-construction of the Temple of Trajan.

Temple Of Trajan, Pergamon

During ancient times, the library at Pergamon was reputed to be second in size after the Library in Alexandria. The library was estimated to contain 200,000 volumes. One of the other structures is the Hellenistic Theater. As with many Greek theaters, this one is built into the hillside. This theater is also one of the steepest in the ancient world.

Hellenistic Theater, Pergamon

Above the theater is a gallery that is in relatively good condition. After walking through the gallery, we arrived at the staircase that leads down to the theater.

Gallery Below Trajan Temple, Pergamon

This is the view across the theater. This steep theater has a spectacular view of the city of Bergama and the surrounding countryside. This theater has a seating capacity of 10,000. This gives an indication of the size of the city in ancient times, that was estimated at 100,000 people.

Hellenistic Theater

One of the structures that existed at Pergamon was the Pergamon Altar. During the late 1800’s, German archeologists dismantled the altar and shipped it to Berlin, where is was reassembled in the Pergamon Museum. The following image shows the site where this altar stood — just a pile of stones and three pine trees.

Site Of Pergamon Altar

Close by is a model of the altar. The temple has a relief around the base that shows the battles of the Olympian gods.

Model Of Pergamon Altar

After making our way down from the ruins, we headed for the small town of Sirince, that is located close the city of Selçuk. Here we visited the market, where we visited several vendors. I made this image of hats at one of the market stores.

Hats In Market, Sirince

Here I captured the bags hanging above the hats, with the hat vendor peering out from below the bags.

Hat And Bag Vendor, Sirince

We visited one of the coffee shops where we were served with Turkish coffee. The coffee is brewed on a bed of hot sand. Here our server added the ground coffee to the brewing pot.

Making Turkish Coffee, No 1

A bed of sand is used to buffer the heat to the coffee so that the boiling does not occur.

Making Turkish Coffee, No 2

When brewed, coffee is served in these small cups in elaborate silverware.

Making Turkish Coffee, No 3

We visited a winery, where we tasted some of the local Turkish wines, and then headed back to the bus. Here I passed this colorful scene, where the yellow chairs contrast against the blue table.

Table And Chairs, Sirince

Arriving in Selçuk, we settled into the hotel and had some free time before dinner. The hotel is located close to a Roman aqueduct that used to run through the city. This is an image looking down on the ruins of the aqueduct and the city.

Aqueduct In Selcuk

Our hotel, Akay Hotel, is located close the the Isa Bey Mosque, that is currently being renovated.

Isa Bey Mosque, Selcuk

After making this image, I headed for a dip in çthe swimming pool and then dinner!

On our second full day, at Çanakkale, I headed for the waterfront at sunrise to make this image at the harbor.

Sunrise, Canakkale Harbor

There are a lot of cats in Turkey. On this morning, two cats were prowling around the harbor walls. I made this image just as the lead cat came into the sunlight.

Cats, Canakkale Harbor

Back at the hotel, sun was streaming down the fire escape. The spiral staircase made some interesting patterns.

Hotel Fire Escape, Canakkale

After breakfast, we headed out to the ancient city of Troy. This is the city that was described in Homer’s “The Illiad”, the classic Greek epic poem. This tells the story of the Trojan Wars and culminated when the Greeks built the Trojan Horse to gain access to the city and win the war. This occurred about 1250BCE. The city was re-discovered in 1865 during archaeological excavations. The following image shows the city walls near the acropolis.

Troy, Fortress Walls

Inside the city walls are some more archaeological excavations.

Troy, Archaeological Excavations

Here is one of the entrance ramps to the ancient city.

Troy, Entrance Ramp

Excavations revealed the cistern, shown in the following image.

Troy, Cistern

The city was originally established in 3000BCE. After the Trojan War, the city continued to be occupied for several hundred years. During Roman times, the city became known as Illium.

Following our visit to Troy, we continued towards Ayvalik, a town on the Aegean Sea. Here we visited the old town. This town has several Greek and Ottoman style houses along twisting alleys.

Ayvalik, Old Town

In the market, I found this vendor, behind his display of melons.

Melon Vendor, Ayvalik

After meandering through the streets, we stopped for some tea at one of the cafes. Tea is a very popular beverage in Turkey, where is it served in small tulip shaped glasses. Here are some of the ladies that were part of the tour group.

Tour Group, Vicky, Angela, Catherine, Ingrid

Across the alley, this guy was busy looking at something down the side alley.

Window Watcher And Bike, Ayvalik

Heading back for our next destination, we passed through an umbrella covered alley. This appear to be very popular in Turkey, where colorful umbrellas are suspended above the street.

Umbrella Alley, Ayvalik

Towards the end of the day, we headed up to hill that offered a view over the Aegean at sunset. On the way there we encountered several wedding couples, having their photographs made. I made this image of one of the couples while their photographer was making their photographs.

Wedding Couple, Ayvalik

Finally, from the top of the hill, I made this image that shows some of the houses and a bay on the Aegean coast.

Aegean Sea, Ayvalik

We headed back to the hotel after the sun set.

This year we celebrated our fortieth anniversary by making a tour of Turkey. We made our reservation for the “Highlights of Turkey” tour with Exodus Travels. More details can be found here. We started the tour on a Sunday morning, with the first destination being the Gallipoli Peninsula. Refer to this map for details of the entire itinerary.

Beach, Gallipoli

This is a picture of our tour guide, Tolga Kinas. He was an excellent guide and had extensive knowledge of the history of Turkey from ancient times up to the present. Thank you, Tolga.

Our Guide, Tolga

The Gallipoli peninsula forms one of the entrances to the Dardanelles, the entrance to the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Turkey was dragged in to World War I by two German battleships that sailed with Turkish flags and then proceeded to bombard Sevastapol and Odessa. Later, Churchill sent a British naval force into the Dardanelles. The straights were mined by the Turks and caused significant damage to the naval force. For more information, take a look on Wikipedia. Later, Churchill sent troops from Australia, New Zealand and Britain, as part of a land invasion. The was a disaster for Allied and Turkish troops. The Gallipoli invasion special significance to Australians and New Zealanders (the Anzacs), who lost many troops during the campaign. The troops landed on the narrow beaches, including the one shown earlier. Turkish troops had the high ground and held a significant advantage.

This image is one of the memorials to those who lost their lives during the campaign. This memorial includes words by Ataturk, who led the Turkish troops and later founded the Republic of Turkish.

Anzac Memorial, Gallipoli

We visited a couple of Allied cemeteries, including this Anzac cemetery.

Anzac Cemetery, Gallipoli

And this Turkey cemetery…

Turkish Cemetery, Gallipoli

After leaving Gallipoli, we headed for the ferry that would take us across the straights to the port city of Çanakkale. After checking in to the hotel, we headed to the waterfront (and later to dinner). The Trojan Horse that was used in making of the film “Tory” (2004), is located on the waterfront.

Trojan Movie Horse, Canakkale

Fishermen had arrived back in port, where they were busy cleaning their catch of the day. We encountered this cat that was avidly watching events… with the hope of getting some fish?

Cat, Waiting For The Fish, Canakkale

Within a few minutes, the sun was dropping down behind the Gallipoli Peninsula. I made this image of the setting behind one of the ferry boats.

Sunset Behind The Ferry, Canakkale

After dinner, I decided to make some night images around Çanakkale. This is one image of the clock tower in the main street.

Clock Tower At Night, Canakkale

We had a great first day of the tour.

After meeting our tour group on Saturday afternoon, we all had dinner and started getting to know one another. Sunday we headed out on the tour. Getting up early in the morning, I headed to the waterfront at Eminonü, where I managed to make some images of the sunrise in Istanbul.

Istanbul Sunrise

Looking up the Bosphorus, the sun was rising on the left bank. The right side of the Bosphorus is Europe, the left side is Asia.

Sunrise Over The Boshphorus, Istanbul

Returning back to the hotel, I stopped by the train station. This station served as the final destination of the Orient Express from Paris.

Railway Station, Istanbul

Along an alley, I found these clay pots that were discarded on the side. We would discover what they are used for later during our tour. These pots are used to make casserole dishes. Ingredients are added to clay pots and cooked in an oven. The pots have a score in the outer surface of the clay. When ready to serve, the clay pot is brought to the table and the pot tapped along the score line. The pot breaks and the casserole contents are then served on a bed of rice.

Clay Casserole Pots

That is the last image before we started the tour.

Saturday, last week, was the annual Zombie Crawl in Denver. For this event, I joined our meetup group, which now meets through a Facebook group. I chose some of the more interesting images before Halloween arrives tomorrow! This is a fun event to photograph. Most of the zombies want to be photographed, so they hold their pose.

Zombie No-1, Zombie Crawl, Denver

I always like to find some interesting people in the crowds. This dapper guy was one of the onlookers, who also held his pose for me.

Interesting Onlooker

Here is a second image of him.

I Like That Hat

With the elections next week, our Presidential candidates were also found here!

Trump And Clinton Zombies, Zombie Crawl, Denver

“American Gothic” is a well-known picture made be Grant Wood. This couple were dressed in the same theme as the picture.

American Gothic, Farmer And White, Zombie Crawl, Denver

Finally, I found a group of girls, dressed in white.

Three Zombies, Zombie Crawl, Denver

This girl had a really intense gaze that I captured in this monochrome black and white image.

Zombie Girl, Zombie Crawl, Denver

Happy Halloween.

On our third day in Istanbul, we moved from the apartment to the Golden Horn Hotel, where we would join our tour group later in the day. We took the opportunity to visit the Spice Market that is located in Eminonü, close to the waterfront and hotel. Although smaller, we found this to be much more interesting than the Grand Bazaar. There are several aisles in the market, where vendors sell all kinds of foods and other merchandise.

Crowds In the Spice Market, Istanbul

Here we found one vendor selling dried fruits, nuts and candies.

Dried Fruit And Nut Vendor, Spice Market, Istanbul

Here is a close up of the colorful crystallized candies from the front of the displayed goods.

Colorful Dried Fruit Candy, Spice Market, Istanbul

At another booth, we found some Turkish Delight (containing pistachio nuts) and other candies. Here is an attractive display with a pyramid of candy.

Turkish Delights And Candy, Spice Market, Istanbul

At another vendor, we found some dried nuts and fruits.

Dried Nuts And Fruits, Spice Market, Istanbul

We found another vendor that was selling colorful bowls and other pottery pieces.

Bowls And Pottery, Spice Market, Istanbul

This is a spice market, so of course we found heaps of spices at one of the spice vendors.

Spices, Spice Market, Istanbul

Finally, after leaving the Spice Market, we headed towards the waterfront. Here I found this flag salesman selling Turkish flags.

Turkish Flag Salesman, Spice Market, Istanbul

I just keep on finding more interesting images — Enjoy.

After arriving in Istanbul, we stayed at a small apartment that we reserved with AirBnB. The apartment was located in the Beyoglu area of Istanbul. Beyoglu is situated on one of the seven hills that comprise Istanbul. This image was made looking down the street on the morning after we arrived.

Kumberaci Yokusu Street, Beyoglu, Istanbul

After visiting the Grand Bazaar, we headed down the street, towards the sea. This is an image looking backu up the busy street.

Street Scene Near Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

Here is another from the same street. I included the person on the right side of the image, that improves the image.

Street Scene Near Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, No 2

There are several colorful building in Istanbul. I could not resist the pastel pink hues in this image of the window boxes in the pink wall.

Window Box And Pink Wall, Istanbul

Walking back to the area near the Blue Mosque, we met Yunus and friends.

Yunus And Friends, Istanbul

Here is another image of the three of us.

Yunus And Us, Istanbul

Here is Angela in another street scene.

Street Scene In Beyoglu, Istanbul

Here is another scene outside our apartment in Beyoglu.

Street Scene In Beyoglu, Istanbul, No 2

On our third day, we met Paula. I last met Paula after completing university, about 40 years ago. This was a great reunion after all these years. Here is an image of Paula made while chatting to Angela.

Paula D, Istanbul

The following day we started our tour of Turkey. Watch this space!