TURKEY

The Maiden's Tower
July 2015 - Istanbul

This is the Maiden's Tower as seen from a rooftop in Uskudar - a district of Istanbul that warrants commanding views of the Old City across the Bosphorus Strait. The humor behind this photograph is that I traveled on a water-taxi from Europe to Asia to capture it. That's a fact, Istanbul is the only major city in the world to be shared by continents. Among the Old City's skyline sits the famous Blue Mosque on the far left, the Hagia Sophia immediately left of the Maiden's Tower, and Topkapi Palace on the right.

Suleymaniye Above Istanbul
July 2015 - Istanbul

The Suleymaniye Mosque and its towering minarets dominate the Istanbul horizon directly above the confluence of the Golden Horn waterway and the Bosphorus Strait. Istanbul truly has a multitude of distinct skylines because of these dissecting bodies of water that ultimately spill into the Sea of Marmara. And it's a good thing that water-taxis are frequent, affordable, and reliable, otherwise making way through Istanbul would be logistically frustrating.

Pantocrator
July 2015 - Istanbul

Lightwork
July 2015 - Istanbul

A distinguished icon depicting Christ Pantocrator rests nearly hidden in plain view in an upper level of the Hagia Sophia - an eminent architectural treasure that was originally a basilica, then a mosque, and now a museum. If you were viewing this mosaic artwork of Jesus, you would need to pivot your body approximately 135 degrees clockwise [remember, your six is 180 degrees] to view an Islamic-inspired window that would have been created no earlier than the mid-15th century Ottoman conquest of former Constantinople. Both are priceless artifacts to be admired and pondered.

A Maiden's Distress
July 2015 - Istanbul

This is my maiden glaring across the Bosphorus into an Anatolian sunset. I figured photographing my wife, Indra, in front of the Maiden's Tower would be powerfully fitting since legend prevails that an emperor's daughter was once garrisoned there to prevent her death, but ironically perished in the tower instead. Historical facts tell us that the Maiden's Tower was used for maritime defensive purposes beginning nearly a millennium ago.

Turkey Istanbul Maiden Tower Hagia Sophia Sunset

From Üsküdar With Love
July 2015 - Istanbul

The Maiden's Tower, the Hagia Sophia, and a few shorebirds offer a fine portrait of Istanbul's Old City. While the Maiden's Tower today has become a restaurant and a romantic place to visit, I still prefer to imagine those tower windows hiding a royal captive.

Fright
July 2015 - Istanbul

A curious and hungry kitten vies for my attention while shooting Istanbul from a high point in Üsküdar. I will never deny my affection for cats, but despite how much their cuteness pulls on my heart strings, I am always wary of making physical contact with stray animals worldwide. It is a good practice to employ as to avoid unnecessary risk of infection or disease. I do have a friend who displaces stray animals from Turkey to the USA so they can have a chance at life off the streets. While I know the USA has its own problem of homeless domesticated animals, I applaud my friend and her family's efforts in actually rescuing and giving good lives to dozens and dozens of orphaned Turkish cats and dogs.

The Girls Are Back In Town
July 2015 - Sultanhisar

In a tiny olive tree-covered mountain locale named Sultanhisar, women of the village express their playful jubilance in hours ere festivities and celebrations of a marriage to-be for one of their own commence.

Kalena's Mountain Flower
July 2015 - Sultanhisar

A flower whose named I have not yet found through research grows in a highly unfavorable chaparral environment in the mountains of Sultanhisar. Scorpions, flora with serious evolutionary defense mechanisms like true thorns, a deathless heat, and a pervasive dryness are all primary characters in the mountainsides of Sultanhisar. One night while the women flocked together for the hamam, I ventured into the xeric and rugged land of olive trees imagining what my lovely Indra was experiencing in a traditional Turkish bath with double digits worth of other nude women. I'm pretty sure this image is the flower of those thoughts. And placing wit aside, I was amazed to see such color and supple, herbal stature in a landscape you would think was the last place this gorgeous organism could grow.

Infectious Joy
July 2015 - Sultanhisar

When distance separates us from the people we've known through heart and time we find ourselves unraveling with elation in their presence. It happens every time, and it is these joyous expressions that highlight one of life's greatest tenets - cherish the time you have to spend with those you love! The faces of these reunited gals from Sultanhisar remind us of this.