Voyage Anatolia

Cloth Weave at Ankara Beypazari

2009-11-05T11:43:00.001+02:00

Weaving on a foot-treadle floor loom, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.

Craftsman weaving on an old foot-treadle floor loom in his work shop at Baypazari Ankara.

Climbing Mire Mountain

2009-11-02T15:55:00.002+02:00

Climbing Mt. Mire, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.

Log Cabin in the Autumn Garden

2009-10-30T13:51:00.001+02:00

Log Cabin in the Autumn Garden, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Autumn at Lake Karagöl

2009-10-23T12:04:00.003+03:00

Autumn at Lake Karagöl, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Silk Carpets

2009-10-15T19:38:00.002+03:00

Silk Carpets, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Fine Turkish silk carpets and rugs at Ankara.

Carpets, whether knotted or flat woven (hummas) are among the best known art forms produced by the Turks from time immemorial. There are environmental, sociological, economic, and religious reasons for the widespread art of carpet weaving among the Turkish people from Central Asia to Turkey.

The geographical regions where Turks have lived throughout the centuries lie in the temperate zone. Temperature fluctuations between day and night, summer and winter may vary greatly. Turks-nomadicor pastoral, agrarian or town-dwellers, living in tents or in sumptuous houses in large cities-have protected themselves from the extremes of the cold weather by covering the floors, and sometimes walls and doorways, with carpets. The carpets are always hand made of wool or sometimes cotton, with occasional additions of silk. These carpets are natural barriers against the cold. The flat woven kilims which are frequently embroidered are used as blankets, curtains, and covers over sofas or as cushion covers.

In general, Turks take their shoes off upon entering a house. Thus, the dust and dirt of the outdoors are not tracked inside.The floor coverings remain clean, and the inhabitants of the house, if need be, can comfortably rest on the floor. In the traditional households, women and girls take up carpet and kilim weaving as a hobby as well as a means of earning money. Even technological advances which promoted factory-made carpets could not hamper the production of rug weaving at cottage-industry level. Although synthetic dyes have been in use for the last 150 years, hand made carpets are still considered far superior to industrial carpeting.

Turkish carpets are among the most sought after household items all over the world. Their rich colors, warm tones, and extraordinary patterns with traditional motifs have contributed to the status that Turkish carpets have maintained since the 13th century. Marco Polo, who traveled through Anatolia in the late 13th century, commented on the beauty and artistry of the carpets. A number of carpets from this period, known as the Seljuk carpets, were discovered in several mosques in central Anatolia. These were under many layers of subsequently placed carpets. The Seljuk carpets are today in the museums in Konya and Istanbul. It is very exciting to imagine that we may be looking at the very same carpets that Marco Polo praised in the year 1272.

Turkish carpets in the 15th and 16th centuries are best known through European paintings. For example, in the works of Lotto (15th century Italian painter) and Holbein (16th century Germanpainter), Turkish carpets are seen under the feet of the Virgin Mary, or in secular paintings, on tables. In the 17th century, when the Netherlands became a powerful mercantile country, Turkish carpets graced many Dutch homes. The Dutch painter Vermeer represented Turkish carpets predominantly to indicate the high economic and social status of the persons in his paintings. Turkey carpets, as they were known, were too valuable to be put on floors, except under the feet of the Holy Mother and royalty.

Anyone who enters a mosque has to take off his/her shoes. The mosque is the common house of a Muslim community, therefore, shoes are cast off before the door. Moreover, the ritual of prayer requires the faithful to kneel and touch the ground with one s forehead in humility before God. There are no chairs or benches in a mosque, only carpets. A Turkish mosque is often covered from wall to wall with several layers of carpets.

The Turkish carpets have exuberant colors, motifs, and patterns. No two carpets are the same; each one is a creation from a new. Because traditionally women have woven the carpets, this is one art form that is rarely appreciated as being the work of a known or a specific artist. Nevertheless, the Turkish women silently continue to create some of the most stunning examples of works of art to be distributed all over Turkey and the world.

Skylight Window

2009-10-15T15:32:00.001+03:00

Skylight Window, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Skylight window, dome and ceiling detail of Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Architectural Detail in Old Ankara

2009-10-14T09:32:00.001+03:00

Architectural Detail in Old Ankara, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Stairway window of an old building in old Ankara.

Flying Kites

2009-10-12T23:20:00.009+03:00

Flying Kites, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Kids running and flying kites in the narrow streets of old Ankara. It was candid and instantaneous. Do you think the streets are narrow for them? They don't know that yet. They just fly in the streets. Just "Celebrate the moment!" Like in the old Bushido way of Samurai. Or should I say the way of candid photographer?

Düden Waterfalls, Antalya

2009-10-05T19:32:00.002+03:00

Düden Waterfalls, Antalya, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Düden Waterfalls are a group of waterfalls in the province of Antalya, Turkey. The waterfall, formed by the Düden River is located 12 km north-east of Antalya; which ends, where the limpid waters of the Lower Düden Falls drop off a rocky cliff directly into the Mediterranean Sea in a dazzling show.

The water comes out from Taurus Mountains through underground rivers, tunnels and caves and surfaces by siphon effect; as the part of an exciting hydrogeologic and karstic system.

Scanned, 35 mm. color negative film taken with a Canon FTb SLR camera.

Shopkeeper at Kalkan, Antalya

2009-09-30T12:33:00.001+03:00

Shop Keeper at Kalkan, Antalya, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Shopkeeper selling handwoven carpets, rugs and clothes sitting on the street in the summer night at small Mediterranean town of Kalkan, Antalya, Turkey.

Shrine of Aladdin & Seljuq Sultans

2009-09-19T11:54:00.004+03:00

Shrine of Aladdin & Seljuq Sultans, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Night at Konya. Shrine of Aladdin and medieval sultans of Anatolian Turks, Seljuqs (Sultanate of Rum: Seljuq Sultanate of Eastern Rome) who stopped Crusades in Anatolia. Mesud I, Kilicarslan II, Rükneddin Süleyman II, Giyaseddin Keyhüsrev I, Alaeddin Keykubat I, Giyaseddin Keyhüsrev II, Kilicarslan IV, Giyaseddin Keyhüsrev III... All eight under the characteristic medieval Seljuq style polygonal tented roof kümbet, decagonal in this case, at the courtyard of Alaaddin Mosque at Konya, Turkey.

Turkish Steam Bath

2009-09-10T15:58:00.003+03:00

Turkish Steam Bath, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Hamam: Traditional Turkish bath towels, robes and clogs at Alanya Museum.

Sunset at Lake Beysehir

2009-09-07T11:49:00.002+03:00

Sunset at Lake Beysehir, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

People enjoying and celebrating the sunset at Lake Beysehir, Konya, with kids, bicycles, some fishing, on the small island connected to the land with a narrow wooden bridge.

Shoe Maker of the Village Bazaar

2009-09-04T19:49:00.001+03:00

Shoe Maker of the Village Bazaar, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Rainbow Duck

2009-09-02T03:02:00.001+03:00

Rainbow Duck, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Why do birds stand on one leg?

Seine Fishing at Lake Beysehir

2009-08-25T07:46:00.002+03:00

Fisherman at Lake Beysehir, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Fisherman and his small fishing boat at Lake Beysehir, near Konya, Turkey.

Flamingo Dancers

2009-08-24T09:30:00.001+03:00

Flamingo Dancers, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Flamingo dancers at Ankara Zoo.

Sunset at Lake Beysehir

2009-08-22T09:47:00.001+03:00

Sunset at Lake Beysehir, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Sunset at Lake Beysehir

2009-08-21T07:28:00.002+03:00

Sunset at Lake Beysehir, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Angling at Lake Beysehir at sunset.

Seljuq Mosque at Beysehir Konya

2009-08-19T22:32:00.001+03:00

Seljuq Mosque at Beysehir Konya, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

The Great Mosque of Beyşehir built by the Seljuq Beys of Eshrefoghlu dynasty between 1296-1299, also called Eşrefoğlu Mosque, is considered one of the masterpieces of the intermediate period of Anatolian Turkish Beyliks between the Seljuk and Ottoman architecture styles.

Ottoman Hamam at Sille, Konya

2009-08-18T18:37:00.003+03:00

Hamam at Sille, Konya, Turkey, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Old Turkish steam bath at Konya Turkey.

Harvest at Konya Plain

2009-08-18T10:42:00.001+03:00

Harvest, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Harvest at Konya Plain, Turkey.

My Sweet Rose

2009-08-17T19:33:00.001+03:00

My Sweet Rose, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Pink rose in the garden of Yalvac Museum of Archaeology near Konya, Turkey.

Golden Sunset at Lake Mogan

2009-08-12T19:02:00.001+03:00

Golden Sunset at Lake Mogan, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Fulica atra at sunset at Lake Mogan, Ankara.

Golden Fields near Ankara

2009-08-10T14:54:00.002+03:00

Golden Fields near Ankara, originally uploaded by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com.

Summer is the golden times of the year. I love to see the golden fields along the horizon rippling and waving with dry and warm winds under the blue sky, and smell the fragrance of fields...