Here's the Nuruosmaniye Camii, an Ottoman Baroque mosque from the 18th century. It's not my favorite mosque, but it is pretty. They cleaned it recently, and the difference between what you see now and what I am familiar with from architectural-history books is flabbergasting. In the old days this thing was practically black. It's like they sent fraternity pledges up there with bleach and toothbrushes.
I like this next one. I took it on the same walk I was on when I shot the Nuruosmaniye. It's from the nearby Sahaflar Çarsisi, or Second-Hand Book Bazaar. Amazing what you can read in Turkey these days. I find it kind of amusing that Atlas Shrugged is sitting on top of a biography of Che Guevara. It's also funny that while to Che's left is a copy of Mein Kampf (birds of a feather, don't you know), on his right is an encyclopedia of medicinal herbs!
Here's a picture of Meltem I took while we were taking the long, hard hike up the hill from Bebek to our apartment. Directly behind her is a nice old building which gives you an idea of the pretty wooden houses which USED to adorn our fair city. I also like the Jeep.
Finally, here is a Christmas (or rather New Year's?) tree beneath the bulletin board of the Yeditepe Philosophy Department. It had flashing lights which weren't flashing when I snapped this. I thought it was a cute gesture. (Some around here don't appreciate such cute gestures; from the bus window today I saw a banner that said "Christmas is not for MUSLIMS!")
So, another visual feast for you! More to come courtesy of me and Samsung!
1 comment:
These are cell phone pics!? Man, I gotta upgrade! They're very good.
That is an interesting juxtaposition of books.
Post a Comment