Photographer in Colorado

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!

Following the visit to the Topkapi Palace, we made our way to the Blue Mosque. It was a Friday that we were there, so we had to wait until the afternoon prayers had completed before visitors were allowed back inside. The Blue Mosque is also known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque. This mosque is unique in that it has six minarets, instead of the four minarets that were originally requested. Apparently the architect had misheard the number.

Minaret, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

When we arrived in the courtyard, several visitors were waiting for the doors to reopen.

Visitors, Courtyard, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Here is another image of the ablution fountain in the courtyard. Note the selfie stick in the background!

Visitors Near Ablution Fountain, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Once we had donned appropriate clothing clothing and footwear (or lack thereof), we entered the mosque. The dome of the mosque has exquisite detail, as can be seen in the following image.

Dome Detail, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

The south eastern wall of the mosque has magnificent stained glass windows, that can be seen in this image with some of the dome and pillars. At the bottom of this image is lighting that is suspended about 10 feet above the floor.

Stained Glass And Lights, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

In the following image, we can see one of the four main pillars that support the main dome.

Pillar In The Blue Mosque, Istanbul

The interior of the mosque is covered with a huge carpet with a tulip design. The tulip is the national flower of Turkey.

Carpet, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Here is another image where the pillar meets the dome, again showing the tile and mosaic detail.

Dome And Pillar Detail, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

After leaving the mosque, I made this image of some of the courtyard and minaret.

Courtyard And Minaret, Blue Mosque, Istanbul

We headed out towards the outer courtyard, located between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofya. Here is the Blue Mosque in the late afternoon with five of the six minarets.

Blue Mosque And Clouds, Istanbul

This image shows the main dome, accompanied by three smaller domes in the foreground.

Main Dome, Blue Mosque

In this final image, I have included the mosque with four minarets.

Blue Mosque And Four Minarets, Istanbul

If one looks carefully, cables can be seen suspended between the minarets. These are part of the sound system that is used to broadcast the call to prayer during the day.

For our second full day in Istanbul, we headed to the Topkapi Palace. This palace was the residence of emperors during the Ottoman period; this empire collapsed about the time of World War 1. After entering the main entrance to the palace grounds, we entered the Second Court. Here is Angela checking out an audio guided tour.

Angela Outside The Topkapi Palace

The palace buildings have been decorated with tiled walls and elaborate highly-detailed ceilings, as can bee seen in the following image.

Wall And Ceiling Detail, Topkapi Palace

Here is another example of the gold-leaf that adorns some of the walls.

Ablution, With Gold Leaf, Topkapi Palace

The palace had several rooms that served as libraries during imperial times. Here is another example of the geometrical design of the tiles on the outer walls of one of the libraries.

Tiled Walls Outside A Library

One of the rooms of the palace is designated a Circumcision Room, that was used for Ottoman Princes. Outside this room is a pool. Here is view from the far side of the pool towards this room.

Pool Outside The Circumcision Room

There were several children visiting the palace during the day. Here are a couple of sisters playing Peekaboo along one of the palace walls.

Peekaboo, Topkapi Palace

The interior of the library rooms are just as decorated as the outside. Here is an example of tiled walls and magnificent stained-glass windows

Couch Inside One Of The Libraries

On the outside, the windows of this library have grates with an interesting hexagon pattern. In this image, I focused on the reflections of the people in the window glass.

Grating Outside Library Window, Topkapi Palace

Here is an example of the mosaic tiled ceilings in one of the palace rooms.

Tiled Ceiling, Topkapi Palace

Istanbul was full of visitors, mainly from Middle Eastern countries, and also local Turks. Of course, with smartphones, people love taking selfies. Istanbul, and the rest of Turkey, had a crazy amount of selfie sticks!

Selfie Sticks Were Everywhere

Here is another view of the palace buildings.

Library, Topkapi Palace

The Topkapi Palace also had over 300 rooms in the Harem! After exiting the Harem, we passed through the Imperial Hall, shown below.

Imperial Hall, Topkapi Palace

I remember the Palace from a movie “Topkapi” that was made in the 1960’s. The plot was about a heist to steal a jewel encrusted dagger from one of the rooms in the palace. Later, after completing our tour through Turkey, we got to watch the movie.