The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

Istanbul!  An amazing city in an amazing setting!

Istanbul is a gigantic city, both in terms of physical size (2,063 sq. mi.) and population (est. 14.2 million).  It is the 5th largest city in the world, and the largest in Europe.

The sea of humanity stretches to the horizon in every direction.  This was our hotel room view.  But, of course, we didn't come to see the city from above . . . we came to get lost in the maze of small streets.

Our hotel was just off Taksim Square, a more or less "central" location with easy walking to most attractions.

Taksin Square leads directly to Istiklal Avenue, a crowded and atmospheric walking street with old trams.

There were always crowds on Istiklal Avenue.

Istanbul is an ancient city, perhaps the longest inhabited city on earth.  There is a wonderfu mix of archectural styes from many eras all mixed togther to good effect.

Remnants of Byzantium mix with modern and Victorian styles.

Turn in what looks like an inviting shop and discover an indoor solarium/galleria with many restaurents.

Many charming old structures telling a story of years of habitation.

Yes, Turkish people eat Turkish Delight . . . so do the tourists.  A major blog entry follows this one with many nice photoraphs of what can be found in Istanbul.  (Go to "Istanbul: Things, Mostly Edible")

Turkish people are very political.  We arrived in the middle of a heated national election.  In fact, our plane departed on election day.  There is often 'trouble' surounding elections.

But it looked like the "Polis" were used to these kind of things and were prepared.  That's a pretty serious anti-riot vehicle there!

Although London claims to have the most security CCTV coverage, Istanbul must be a close second.  There were cameras everywhere!

Of course, walking down the avenue every day we discovered some favorite places to eat.  We had lunch three times at the Konak Kabop House.  Yummie!

The interior of the Konak Kabap House was sumptiously ornate.  Lovely.

We had breakfast and one dinner, and several afternoon coffees at the elegant and trendy The House Cafe, on Ortaköy.  Excellent food and drink and a beautiful atmosphere.  Highly recommended.

The Tram ran down Ortaköy to a part of the city dating from the 5th century, Beyoğlu.

Beyoğlu is a section of Old Istanbul with charming cobbled steep walking streets, small shops, and tons of tourists.  I don't mind tourists:  they are not at home watching TV.  That's good.

Many inviting side streets and alleys led off to adventures . . . untaken.

This photo typifies the archectural wonder of the old Beyoğlu district.

 Istanbul tourist curios was of a pretty high quality generally.

Small Mosques were tucked away here and there. 

The streets around Galata Tower were festooned with political banners and flags.  This part of the city was a Genoese colony for centuries.

The Galata Tower, built as Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) in 1348.  We paid a token fee to take the elevator to the top . . . .

The views of Istanbul from the top of the Galata Tower were magnificent!

Looking across from Galata Tower to the great Mosques of Istanbul.

The square in front of Galata Tower was packed with political banners and flags . . . .

Electioneering everywhere!

Galata Ssuare also had a fine cafe.  We stopped for strong Turkish coffee.

We continued our walk around the charming old Italian quarter.

I would love to have had the time to explore and photograph these side streets . . . like I did so often during my many years in Bangkok.

Also like Bangkok, you could get freshly squeezed fruit juice anywhere you went.  The pomegranet/orange was delicious.

We walked through this part of town many time during the seven days were in Istanbul.

There were always artistic photo opportunities wherever I went.  I have made multiple postings on Istanbul in the following sections on the people and things of Istanbul.

I'm going to have to go back through my photos . . . I think I can put together a study of street lamps from around the world.  Istanbul had some very nice ones.

Not every street was beautiful in Istanbul.

We regularly returned to our hotel near Taksim Square . . . and we were always greeted with this panoramic view of the city from our shoebox room.

The Republic Monument stands in Taksim Square, near ouur hotel.  The monument commemorated the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923.

THE TOURS

Yes, we also took two organized bus tours to get the lay of the land.  It was a good idea: we learned where to come back to and spend more time.

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also called The Blue Mosque, was fantastic!

It was not a very nice day when we visited The Blue Mosque on tour.  It was drizzly.

Although the exterior of this 16th century mosque is certainly impressive, and especially against the grey sky with the siholettes of the denuded trees in he foreground . . . .

The interior of the Blue Mosque may be the most beautiful space I have ever been in.  It certainly rivals St. Pauls Cathedral in The Vatican.

WOW!  Just WOW!

I took many, many photos here . . . and you can see why.  Incredible.

The guide was very gracious and generous with questions about the mosque and Islam in general.  The Blue Mosque is a National Monument and not an every day mosque.  During his explanation of the construction methods used in building the Blue Mosque I looked up . . . .

. . . and WOW!

We exited through a portico which also had a wonderful ceiling.  The entirety of the structure guided your attention and gaze up, to 'the heavens.'

We left the Blue Mosque and walked next door to the Hagia Sophia, the grandest Mosque of all . . . and one of the oldest.  Built as a Greek Orthodox cathedral in 537 (!!), it was the largest building in the world for over 900 years.  It was a cathedral for over 1000 years before being converted into a mosque. More to come on this magnifiscent structure.

One of our tours took us from the 'European' side of Istanbul across the Bosphorus Bridge (built 1973) to the 19th century Beylerbeyi Palace and gardens.  The view of the Bosphorus Bridge from the gardens was magnifiscent.

The Bosphorus Bridge is the 4th longest suspension span in the world.  Yes, that very dark cloud did rain on us!

The Beylerbeyi Palace gardens were interesting too.

Of course no visit to Istanbul would be complete without a visit to the 13th century The Grand Bazaar! With 61 covered streets and 3000 shops, it is a curios and trinket shoppers dream.  Unfortunately it has become primarily a tourist spot . . . with inflated tourist prices.  They would bargain and haggle, but not all that much . . . it was expensive.  Foutunately the hawkers were not too aggressive.

The Grand Bazaar was very atmospheric.

A photographers dream!  I have posted many, many more captures from the Grand Bazaar in the following sections, 'People' and 'Things' of Istanbul.  The origional Shopping Mall!

Perhaps more interesting is the Spice Bazaar (called The Egyptian Spice Market by many locals) located near the New Mosque.

The Spice Bazaar is a living and breathing local market that has been active since 1660. That's 357 years as a spice market!

Tourists and Turks mingled in a free and friendly manner in the Spice Bazaar.  The Turks were a very gracious and helphul people.  Yes, we bought nice things here to bring back to Scotland.  Again, I posted many more photos from the Spice Bazaar in the next sections of this blog.

The neighborhood around the Spice Bazaar was a maze of small lanes crowded with shoppers.  We found a "State Tea Shop" and bought delicious government cost controlled organic Turkish tea . . . cheap! 

The Spice Bazaar was located next to The New Mosque (Yeni Cami). "New" meaning construction began in 1597 and compleeted in 1665!

The New Mosque had some wonderful Islamic Art.

It's a small world after all.  Those Harlem Globtrotters sure get around!  I saw them in San Bernardino, California in 1964.

One of our tours ended high on a hill on the 'Asian' side of Istanbul.  The view was breathtaking.

ISTANBUL BY NIGHT

As the sun set over Istanbul . . . the city became even more exciting and beautiful.

The New Mosque by night.  I was really glad I had my Fuji X-series camera with me.

The Süleymaniye Mosque by night across The Golden Horn waterway.

Although there are bridges from the European to the Asian side of Istanbul, it takes forever and is expensive for commuters.  As a result, millions take ferries to and from their officecs every day.

We loved walking around the waterfront and across the bridges at night.

The views from the 'seafood pier' under the Galata Bridge was special.

Scrumptious reflections.

We never got close to the Bosphorus Bridge at night, but we could see it from  far away.  The lights shifted color very slowly.  Nice.

Fishermen were out until very late at night trying their luck. Most seemed to have pulled up a good catch from the Galata Bridge.

The  view across the Golden Horn up towar Galata Tower from Galata Bridge.

Midnight in Istanbul.

It was always visually interesting to walk around Istanbul by night.

Although it was April, and the nights were a bit chilly, people stayed out quite late.

The immediate neighborhood around our hotel was poorly lit . . . perfect for these night still life portraits.

Tones, textures, light, shadow, color, composition.  Lovely.

Our hotel was down this street at the end, on the left.

In the beautiful existential light, an election draws near.

Istanbul has lots of people, 14 million of them in Istanbul proper, with many million more in the adjacent suburbs and towns.  Everybody has to make a living one way or another.

14 million people means a lot of customers . . . customers for everything, like made-on-the-spot candy.

Street clam hawker.  It's a way to live.

There are literally millions of shopkeepers in Istanbul, but not all as friendly and positive as this spice shop worker.  A nice guy.

This tiny pastry shop was on the corner near our hotel.  We stopped there on our way back to our room every day . . . and the pastry guy remembered our favorite.

There is a row of men's clothing shops near the Egyptian Spice Market.  I bought three pairs of corduroy pants and a hat from this very helpful clothier.

We were told that there weren't many tourists, and those who were in Turkey weren't spending much.  What to do?  Enjoy each others' company in the Grand Bazaar.

The "staff" at the Grand Bazaar were all very hungry . . . for money.  I can't blame them, the overhead must be steep.  This Harim supply stall was vacant.  I guess the women's movement hasn't helped sales any.

We bought some scarves and a table cloth in The Grand Bazaar, but, sadly, not from this guy.

The curios hawkers weren't doing any better.  Time to play with the new stock.

A fellow browser in the Grand Bazaar.  O, what to buy?

The nut, dried fruit, and Turkish Delight vendors were doing alright. Imagine this is your place of employment . . . every day of your life!

This happy gentleman provided excellent service.  We bought nuts, stuffed figs, and spices from him at the Egyptian Spice market.

For some reason this Spice Market photo reminds me of Singapore, "You buy, or not?"

I spoke to the owner of this stall in the Egyptian Spice market . . . he said the exactitude of the spice display meant everything for sales.  He said his family had occupied this stall since 1660. 354 years of straightening spice piles.

The guy in the mirror followed us everywhere.

We walked everywhere from our Taksim Square location.  I enjoyed talking to the Turks and taking their photos, when allowed.

There were throngs of people on Istiklal Avenue, a main shopping street.  There were also a number of buskers and beggars too.

 Istiklal Avenue was a lively place full of warm humanity. A Turkish Huck Finn.

The Byzantines hired Viking mercenaries (a big mistake) . . . and it seems there are still a few around.  For a rough and tough Viking he is very careful with that cup of hot coffee.  NO, I can't explain it. Taken near Beyogiu.

This old fellow had seen his fair share of this and that.  Wonderful face.

Modern Turkish people, more or less.

We left on an election day . . . so the city was full of e electioneering posters and banners and flags.

Yesterday's politician.

We were going to see the Grand Palace, but the line was around the block.  Good thing too; we were able to spend the morning in the adjacent Guihane Park.  I saw this woman take this photo and went right over and took the same photo.

It was a beautiful day so there were many families in the park.

It was also a good day for a school trip to the park.  Sweet.

This neo-hippy street band was really good.  However, the guitar player became enraged that the old street person decided to join in on his penny whistle.  He got up and went over and confronted the old man.  A very violent scene  ensued with the hippie pushing the old man around while the crowd took sides.  It went from sweet odes to nature, to a classless demonstration of elitism.  Disappointing.

There were many street buskers around.  They were happy for me to take their photo once I had thrown some change in the case.

This man plays very sweetly.

I saw this young busker on several occasions, in different parts of town.

I gave her a good tip and she let me click away.

Not the best way to make a living in a big city.

There's that guy again.  Still following me.

We did not meet the complete cross section of Turkish society.  Mostly we met merchants and people engaged in food preparation and service . .  like this flatbread maker.  They had her working in the front window of a traditional Turkish restaurant . . . I guess to prove authenticity!

Another shop window bakery worker.

Of course, we frequented the kabob joints.  This was our favorite, The Konak Kabob . . . we went back several times.  Always delicious.

It was a very busy place.  They were hard working slicing and preparing the shawarma.

The Executive Chef, Mitat Oz, at the Konak Kabob was a real showman.

Mitat happily obliged to be photographed.

An apprentice shawarma assembler at the Konak Kabob.

Day turned to night . . . the street vendors were always there.  I had to walk by this guy twice a day . . . he was a hard sell.  I overpaid for some oranges one day.

The shawarma slicers were out at night too.

Midnight chicken shawarma!  Yum-yum!

A young Turkish couple out on a date.  While my wife took a photo with their iPhone, I snapped this sweet shot.

I, for one, would NOT name my night club The Crab Bar.  I would also get rid of the lurker outside the door.

OK . . . I like the effect.  People were out at all hours, even though nit became quite chilly at night in late March.

Such a sad and forlorn sight this political poster made after midnight in the orange light.  But the corrugation made me happy.

The markets, shops, and bazaars of Istanbul are full of a kaleidoscopic array of things . . . lots of things . . . like these wonderful tea sets.  We bought that very purple-tasseled one right there.

Beautiful things: Turkish tea sets.

We spent seven days in Istanbul, and I believe we spent half of our time snooping in shops and market stalls.

There were myriad things to look at, buy, and of course, photograph.

Lamps, lamps, lamps.  These shops made us continually recalculate our baggage weight!  Should we buy, or not.  We didn't get any of these . . . this time.

There were some very interesting shops in Istanbul . . . like this quill pen shop.  You don't see these too much any more.

They have nice soap in Istanbul.

Very nice, and aromatic, soap.  We bought several different scented bars.

Woven and knitted things outside The Grand Bazaar.

A Turkish flag hawker hidden in his wares.

There was no shortage of trinkets at the trinket shops.  These are made for tourists, although I saw plenty of Turks purchasing these trinkets too. An exploitation of cultural iconography.

Traditional Turkish blue glass 'evil eye' bobbles were everywhere in Istanbul.

The trinket shops were interesting, but the GOLD SHOPS were, well, dripping in gold like some potentate's secret treasure room!

The variety of things for sale in the bazaars was incalculable.

15th century Head Shop! Also the only merchant using white light to show his wares . . . they stood out like a fire in the night.

Need to dress your harem dancers?  No problem, there's a shop for that.

We spent some time perusing the fabric shops.  We brought home a nice tablecloth for the kitchen table.

I bought the Black Harley-Davidson Istanbul t-shirt here.  Cool.

It was the spice shops, and The Egyptian Spice Market of Istanbul, that really had fascinating 'things' . . . .

Spice shop array.

The Egyptian Spice Market of Istanbul (Mısır Çarşısı), selling spices, nuts, potions, teas, powders, and dried everything since 1660.  Amazing.

I spoke to the owner of this shop who said his family has held this exact location in The Spice Market since 1660, 355 years!

Dried fruits, some stuffed with nuts (my favorite), and mountains of nuts (my favorite) we fantastic!  We brought back a niece selection of these.

Figs stuffed with walnuts . . . I cannot imagine anything better to eat on this planet . . . OK . . . maybe durian or mango and sticky rice . . . but these are right up there!

I took way too many walnut stuffed fig photos.  These are but a few of the really good ones.  Notice the walnut stuffed dates nearby: also yummie.

These walnut stuffed dried apricots were also marvelous.  The snackage here was astonishing!

A strange twist:  right in the middle of the spice market was what looked like a wedding dress shop.  Complete incongruity!  A strange dream.

Nuts and dried apricots, dates, and figs.  Wow.  Just WOW.  These constitute 74% of my normal, everyday snackage.

The displays in The Spice Market were works of edible Art.

Dried whatnot . . . perhaps some kind of flower petal for tea-making.

Olives!  The Olives . . . . were . . . to . . . . DIE    for!

Fancy some tea?  The tea stalls were fantastic and brought about thoughts of ancient ships bringing these, and the spices, to Istanbul markets for further distribution throughout Europe.

Beautiful sage tea.  The color!!!

There were candies of every imaginable hue in the Bazaars, but it was the Turkish Delight shops and stalls that had the corner on satisfying the globe's sweet tooth.

Enjoy this slide show of the edible things of Istanbul!

If I take a lot of diabetes medication, I can get away with trying a little square of Turkish Delight once a day.  And did.

At a Turkish Delight shop on a cloudy day in Istanbul.

Each of these different types of Delight are ridiculously delicious.  The slice off a piece any size you want.  Nice.

The Delight shops were every five or six shops apart . . . calling out to you to submit yourself to a diabetic collapse.

As it turns out, there are all kinds of delights in a Turkish Delight shop. Some sell good coffee and baked baklava-like things . . . crazy sweet with honey.

These will kill you with sweetness.

Every 50 meters there is a shop like this with stacks of baked and assembled and rolled, and coated delights.

Baklava-ish temptations.  They know how to make desserts in Istanbul, that's for sure.

A stack of pistachio-filled baklava rolls.  Oh My God!

I got a headache just looking at these.

If there wasn't enough honey IN YOUR Baklava, you could buy more and spread it on yourself!  Incredible.

We were very happy when we found the fresh fruit stands and shops.  Pomegranate and orange juice is very thirst quenching . . . .

. . . especially after a really good Turkish pizza(!) made with twisted cheese:

Twisted Turkish cheese.  Mighty fine.

Turkish Efes beer is not too bad.  Not bad at all.

These bread loop peddler's carts are as ubiquitous as, well, kabobs in Istanbul . . .

They are literally on every corner . . .

The carts sometimes seem like meeting places for old friends . . .

As we strolled around Istanbul for a week, I found myself drawn to photographing these peddler carts, even though I do not especially like roasted chestnuts . . .

At first I thought of them as only an interesting foreground detail in a photo frame . . . .

Then I began to see them as an inscribed pecuniary universe inhabited by the cart tender, the peddler . . .

These were mobile business dramas; personal survival was at stake . . .

I was surprised by the limited products offered by the peddlers . . .

There were corn carts, with chestnuts . . .

. . . and corn carts without chestnuts . . .

Some bread ring carts also sold water by the bottle . . . . like this thoughtful peddler . . .

Other carts sold only chestnuts, and very few at that . . .

An interesting business concept employing a cart . . . . Tea and a bowl anyone?  This was one of only a few carts I saw in Istanbul that was not selling either chestnuts, bread rings, corn, or water.

But, it was when the sun began to go down that my infatuation in these Istanbul peddler carts hit a crescendo . . .

At night the peddler carts became small planets arrayed around the monuments, markets, and main streets throughout the city . . .

At night many of the carts were replenished to meet the demands of the night shoppers and party-goers . . .

The pedestrian walks at the city center draw throngs of shoppers in the evening . . .

The carts become lanterns in the night . . . to draw customers, like moths . . .

Visitors, businessmen, tourists, and locals all succumbed to the chestnuts' inescapable allure.

I wonder how these 'locations' are apportioned?  Is there a licensing process with the city? . . .

This man was intensely arranging and rearranging the chestnuts on his cart in an effort, I suppose, to draw attendion to his attention-worthy fare . . .

In the realm of the night peddler cart . . .

As it got later and later in the evening, and the pedestrians thinned out, the carts stood out more and more as forlorn islands of light along the dim streets and avenues . . .

Some cart tenders packed it in and went home . . .

Some cart tenders made their decisions to call it an evening based on the day's take.  I wondered if this man, with a cart still full of chestnuts, had made enough to go home yet . . .

As the evening grew later, I ventured off the main pedestrian walking streets . . .

One last customer.  Who eats roasted chestnuts at midnight? . . .

Walking back to the hotel, along a bridge ramp, I encountered this lonely nut peddler and his cart . . .

Out here, along the broad boulevards with fast moving traffic and few pedestrians, there were still a few carts with their lights on.  This fellow had twisted doughnuts as well as bread rings.

Yes, still customers out at midnight, going who-knows-where . . .

Lit by the red brake lights of a passing bus, this man seemed to have chosen the darkest, most out of the way location possible . . .

This was the only drink cart I saw in seven days of walking Istanbul.  The presence of mayonnaise and catsup made me think that it wasn't going to be a hot drink poured into those cups . . .

Very late at night, the last corn and chestnut cart began to shut down . . .

The last hold out . . . with head hung low.

Emptied and secured for the night (next to a police stand), another day gone in the life of a street peddler cart.

I spent about 90 minutes just around the corner at the Bridg of Dee taking these photos.  It was a wonderous morning.

 I have quickly posted these photos . . .and will get back to this post to make comments . . .  soon.