Enchanted Forest, Eastern Anatolia

•January 28, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Time for something a little more artistic. This scene was captured in the failing light of late afternoon, along a stream in the valley above Bekiruşağı Village, Malatya in eastern Turkey. Vedat and Seyit were off down the valley to my right, picking apples and pears from Seyit’s orchards and speculating on my strange obsession with taking pictures of the trees.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-400, f/7.1, 1/20 sec.

//

Nene And The Apricots

•January 11, 2010 • 2 Comments

As with many of the villages around Malatya, the most important export in Bekiruşağı is apricots. Both dried and fresh, these apricots make their way to open air markets in towns throughout Turkey.

Here, Ayşe Pektaş shows off some of this year’s harvest, dried in the sun on the back porch of the house where she lives with her son’s family.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-400, f/4.5, 1/6 sec. (Canon IS 18-200 @ 18 mm)

//

Village Wedding 17: Center Of Attention

•January 6, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Emerging from the house as a married couple for the first time, Eren and Ayşegül are immediately engulfed by a crowd of relatives, neighbors and other well-wishers. Those closest to the bride and groom pin cash or small gold pins to their clothes, while those farther away either cover their faces at the presence of cameras, or record the whole proceedings themselves for posterity.

Most of the older male relatives have again been left on the outskirts making small talk and shaking hands, most likely not because of any traditional imperative, but rather because they just aren’t as interested as the women are.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-200, f/10, 1/200 sec.

//

//

Blue Door And Window; Bike With Sidecar

•December 27, 2009 • Leave a Comment

This was taken in the village of Bekiruşağı, in Malatya, Turkey. Since I visited in the fall, the house was deserted, like many of the nearby houses belonging to Turkish families who now live in Europe and only return for summer vacations. The bike was a very recent purchase of my host, who just before this picture was taken had used it to transport four of us on a rather harrowing ride from the village center to his house.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-200, f/9, 1/30 sec.

//

Lunch in Malatya

•November 25, 2009 • Leave a Comment

This proprietor of a small döner restaurant in the Turkish village of Kürecik, near Malatya, insisted I take a picture as he posed with the tools of his trade. Turkey has a cuisine all its own, and throughout all the regional variations the one constant is some really good meat. Wherever you find yourself in Anatolia, you can usually be sure a rotating lamb or chicken döner spit is not too far away.

Canon EOS Rebel Xti, ISO-1600, f/7.1, 1/40 sec.

Village Wedding 16: Man and Wife

•November 19, 2009 • 1 Comment

On Ayşegül’s arrival at Eren’s family’s home, the couple join together to enter the house’s bridal chamber privately for the first time as a couple, while a female relative anoints the mantle of the door frame with butter. After a symbolic two or three minutes in the bridal chamber, the new couple emerge to everybody’s happy applause. Ayşegül is unveiled for the first time since the wedding began, and without a headscarf in public for the only time in her adult life.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-200, f/10, 1/40 sec.

Ladder Windows Arches

•November 10, 2009 • Leave a Comment

An old house in the village of Kurecik, Malatya, Turkey. In a region where it’s still not hard to find abandoned church buildings a century or two old, the arches over these windows belie an architectural tradition older and higher than a square stone Turkish village house might normally be expected to reflect.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-400, f/11, 1/200 sec.

Village Wedding 15: Confetti Shower

•August 17, 2009 • Leave a Comment

As the bride arrives at the groom’s home, still veiled and accompanied by her maid of honor, Eren stands above with his best man and showers confetti on her.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-200, f/13, 1/100 sec.

History In Tarsus: Ataturk At Cleopatra’s Arch

•August 5, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Cleopatra’s Arch in Tarsus dates from Roman times and is supposed to mark the place where the Marc Anthony and the notorious queen first laid eyes on each other. A pretty good pedigree for any structure, but here as many other places in Turkey, the arch takes a back seat to a Turkish flag and the inspiring figure and words of Ataturk.

On the left hand stone, one of Ataturk’s famous quotes: “Turk, plan, work, and trust.” On the right hand stone, and even more inspirationally: “O Turk, son of the future, the power you need is present in the blood in your veins.”

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-200, f/13, 1/125 sec.

Village Wedding 14: Bringing Home The Bride

•July 27, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Bringing Home The Bride, originally uploaded by Josh and Julie.

Mehmet and Fadimana, proud parents of the groom, escort Ayşegül out of the bridal car and down the hill to the doorway where Eren waits.

Canon EOS Rebel XTi, ISO-200, f/13, 1/200 sec.