Author Topic: Turkey  (Read 3427 times)

elsa hoffmann

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Turkey
« on: June 22, 2015, 15:01:23 »
Turkey is well worth visiting. I did a 12 day trip on my own, was perfectly safe - although I received several propositions. The Turkish men clearly dont see enough woman.

I visited Istanbul - SO much to see and everything can be within walking distance - the rest by Tram or bus - cheap cheap.

One can not explain the history this place has.

I also flew to the Cappadoccia district to see the fairy chimneys (caves)  and hot air balloons. I lived in a chimney - kindly introduced to by Tommiejeep.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of fairy chimneys - each dug out and that is where people live - even today. Unbelievable to see. Photos do it no justice.

1. You can visit several mosques - working and non working ones. HUGE
140309 Istanbul 139a by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

2. Tokapi Palace - the emperor or whoever lived there for real. Every single tile was made by hand - and the WHOLE palace is tiled out.

   This is the Harem lounge

Topkapi Palace by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

3. Bascillica Cistern - my favourite place - underground water reservoir in the middle of Istanbul.

Basilica Cistern by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

4. the Grand Bazaar - with more than 5000 shops under cover. I was worried I would get lost.

140312 Istanbul 157 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

5. in the street behind the Bazaar - open stalls and shops - and millions of people. All Turks dress in Black and grey - extremely depressing and they have absolutely no fashion sense or interest in it.

140312 Istanbul 199 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

6. Fairy chimneys - many still have families living in them - probably 2 thousand year old dwellings. The stone is soft and easily shaped. I visited an underground city - which housed something like 15 thousand people over time - something like 20 stories deep - and even down on 4th level the air was clean - the architects clearly knew what they were doing.
140315 Cappadocia 221 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

I will recommend a visit to Turkey without thinking twice. But I would never send my blond daughter there on her own. The men are just too much of a nuisance for a young girl.
 

"You don’t take a photograph – you make it” – Ansel Adams. Thats why I use photoshop.
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Frank Fremerey

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2015, 15:05:07 »
FairyChimneys? Can you tell more about these?
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armando_m

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2015, 15:15:33 »
I remember some of this images , thanks for sharing them

maybe as a woman you need to dress like them to pass under the radar of most of the men ?
Armando Morales
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elsa hoffmann

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2015, 15:24:49 »
regarding dress code - I dress down when I travel - and there was absolutely nothing attractive about me on this trip. I am there to shoot - so I packed few clothes and lots of gear. Jeans T shirts and rain jacket. Trust me - I think the men will nail a door if they thought it was female.

I did the trip on $2000, flights included - but I didnt eat much. SOUP and flat bread mostly.

The chimneys usually had pigeon houses in the top section. (old style wifi I think  ;D )

Volcanic eruptions created this surreal moonscape: the lava flows formed tuff rock, which wind and rain sculpted into sinuous valleys with curvy cliff faces and pointy fairy chimneys. Cappadocians chiselled homes in the soft rock, paving the way for cave-dwelling hippies and today’s boutique fairy-chimney hotels

They are shaped like pointy hats (and some shaped like a phallus) Some are mountains - and same principles apply. The local Christians were persecuted, first by the Romans and then raiding Muslims, and they often had to hide from hostile forces. When they heard hoof beats, they would abandon the cave churches and go underground - quite literally. Beneath Cappadocia’s rock formations is a network of subterranean cities, which housed up to 10,000 people each. The largest discovered are almost ten levels deep, with narrow passages connecting the floors like hamster tunnels.

Touring the cities, you pass stables with handles used to tether the animals, churches with altars and baptism pools, walls with air circulation holes, granaries with grindstones and blackened kitchens with ovens. The ventilation shafts were disguised as wells, and chunky rolling-stone doors served as last lines of defence.  Not many artefacts remain - the inhabitants took their possessions when they returned to the surface - but the cities give a sense of life continuing in tough conditions.

Actually - looking back - I think my images suck and really didnt do the place justice

140316 Cappadocia 143 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

140316 Cappadocia 084 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

"You don’t take a photograph – you make it” – Ansel Adams. Thats why I use photoshop.
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Gary

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2015, 16:24:35 »
Wow ... all quite interesting. Did you stay at a boutique fairy-chimney hotel? I love the Basilica Cistern photo.
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Frank Fremerey

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2015, 16:47:41 »
Fascinating forms of nature. Did  you find a withered Graffittio "Gaudí was here"?

I like your pics. I feel I get the idea. Bad lighting. Did you apply a POL flitre?
You are out there. You and your camera. You can shoot or not shoot as you please. Discover the world, Your world. Show it to us. Or we might never see it.

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elsa hoffmann

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2015, 14:36:26 »
Quote
Fascinating forms of nature. Did  you find a withered Graffittio "Gaudí was here

haha no sorry :)

I didnt use a PF - i havent got a clue how to use the thing (that I have owned for at least 9 years

I plan on learning though !

The light was bad almost every single day  - totally overcast and rainy. At least it wasnt hot  as I walked a lot
"You don’t take a photograph – you make it” – Ansel Adams. Thats why I use photoshop.
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Jørgen Ramskov

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2015, 14:57:41 »
Thanks for the travel story and fascinating pictures.
Jørgen Ramskov

elsa hoffmann

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2015, 15:00:15 »
Thanks for looking Jørgen.

Its a destination I would recomment ANY time of the day. Money well spent.
"You don’t take a photograph – you make it” – Ansel Adams. Thats why I use photoshop.
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elsa hoffmann

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #9 on: June 27, 2015, 16:23:17 »
I just picked up on this -A 5,000-year-old underground city discovered in central Turkey in December 2014 is thought to be the largest in the world

http://themindunleashed.org/2015/03/huge-5000-year-old-underground-city-discovered-in-turkey.html

see the "map"
"You don’t take a photograph – you make it” – Ansel Adams. Thats why I use photoshop.
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faris

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2015, 14:38:16 »

Wonderful journal of your travels in Turkey, Elsa.

Someday we shall compare notes.

Safe travels.

Jacques Pochoy

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2015, 22:45:49 »
Great pictures, nice story :-) One month ago I was in Istanbul (a usual destination) but for the first time discovered Cappadocia and it's marvels ! Though I couldn't go below the third level in the underground city as I'm too big in every directions to squiggle in some of those passages :-)
“A photograph is a moral decision taken in one eighth of a second. ” ― Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

elsa hoffmann

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Re: Turkey
« Reply #12 on: July 07, 2015, 07:51:23 »
Thanks Jacques.
You arte right about the underground tunnels.
I had serious trouble with bending to "crawl" through them - especially since they were all going down/up, permanently worrying I would slip with a camera bag on my bag. Makes you wonder how short the people were back then
"You don’t take a photograph – you make it” – Ansel Adams. Thats why I use photoshop.
www.phototourscapetown.com
www.elsa.co.za. www.intimateimages.co.za