Joshuaphotography
20 creative works found
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This door was photographed in the small Central Anatolian village of Guzelyurt, by the side of the street as we walked down to Monastery Valley. The village is in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, surrounded by soft volcanic rock that over the years has been given shape both by nature and human residents. Many houses like this one featured back rooms or cellars that were literal caves, carved out of the cliffs. Monastery Valley itself is home to several houses of worship carved into the cliffs during the Middle Ages. The colors of this wall and door immediately drew my attention, and the unique shape of the doorway convinced me this was one I needed to capture.
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This door detail was photographed in Avanos, a small town in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey. The bright colors and old wood of houses and doors in these small towns are often beautiful and always intriguing. The splintered wood, tooled brass lock and handle, and encroaching shadow give this piece a sense of mystery for me.
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These men were enjoying tea on a slow afternoon in Ulus, the old downtown part of Turkey’s capital city Ankara. Just up the street is a row of shops selling wool carpets and down the street is a row of copper workers, but right here there’s nothing to think about but the tea.
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The front door of a family house in the center of the Ulus castle, the old neighborhood at the heart of Turkey’s capital city. Ankara is a modern city that often leaves the visitor thinking he is in Europe, but occasional turns around the corner present a new world and a step back in time. The cheerful blue color on this framing immediately jumped out at me, so I have tried to accent it in a black and white environment. My only wish is that I could have captured more of the wall, but since my back was pressed against the opposite wall already there wasn’t much else I could do. It is always amazing to me to watch cars and trucks thread their way up and down these cobblestone streets, built centuries ago for donkeys and handcarts. At any rate, the resulting picture appeals to me for its mystery, for the sense that this door might open onto almost anything.
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This door leads into one of several dwellings used by Byzantine monks in the later middle ages. The cells, stables, dining rooms and chapels at this monastery in Cappadocian Goreme were carved out of the soft volcanic rock in this part of central Turkey. The wooden door in this picture is new, but the cross on the wall above it is original.
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This house, carved out volcanic stone, sits on the street in the old part of town in Avanos, Turkey. The carved wooden front porch was no doubt built at the same time as the house itself, more than 75 years ago. The central Anatolian Cappadocian region of Turkey is covered by rich, soft volcanic rock deposited by the eruption of Mt. Erciyes centuries or millenia ago. The area is now full of houses like this one built from the malleable stone, as well as caves used as houses and even underground cities and villages.
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This door was photographed in the small Anatolian town of Avanos, in the Cappadocia region of central Turkey. I was attracted by the window arrangement at this house, and also the total lack of a front step. There is nothing cookie-cutter about Turkish towns, which makes for some intriguing photographs.
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This door handle was photographed in the Turkish town of Beypazari, settled in the hills of the Central Anatolian plateau. The town is full of centuries-old wooden Ottoman houses, some restored and some still in their original state. Many of them, such as this house, are still in use. This door obviously hasn’t seen any restoration work, but to me the faded paint and decaying wood only add to its fascination.
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The town of Beypazari in central Turkey was once a market and bazaar center for Ottoman captains, or “beys” stationed in the surrounding Anatolian plateau. Today the centuries-old Ottoman houses with their distinctive wooden architecture are being gradually restored, but the town is still full of the feeling of times long gone. I was walking through the downtown neighborhoods when the late afternoon sunlight poured down this street like water running towards me. The solitary traveler in the February cold creates a sense of loneliness in the scene, and the surrounding houses evoke memories of the past.
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Although the lack of bikes in cities like Ankara and Istanbul is surprising, there’s no shortage of them in smaller Turkish towns like Avanos. Bicycles, motorcycles and scooters of every shape, size and color can be found on the street next to bearded old men counting their prayer beads. This front yard scene was shot on a back street right around the corner from several small pottery workshops. The town of Avanos in Cappadocia is well-known for its small kilns and hand-decorated pottery. The wooden urn at the top of the stairs is probably used for churning ayran, a traditional peasant drink made from sour yogurt.
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The interior of the magnificent Hagia Sophia, or “Holy Wisdom,” in Istanbul. Originally built as a cathedral in the days of the Byzantine Empire, it was later converted to a mosque with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, finally to become a museum after the foundation of the modern nation of Turkey. Inside, remnants of all three eras are visible: Byzantine mosaics of Christian saints, huge medallions with Arabic calligraphy naming prophets of Islam, and an open floor crowded with European tourists of every creed or none at all. This view shows the main floor as seen from a railing in the upper gallery. At the opposite side of the building, the lower and upper galleries can be seen, below a wall of windows where Byzantine mosaics are still being uncovered and restored.
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This door handle was photographed in the Turkish town of Beypazari, settled in the hills of the Central Anatolian plateau. The town is full of centuries-old wooden Ottoman houses, some restored and some still in their original state. This door obviously hasn’t seen any restoration work, but to me the faded paint and decaying wood only add to its fascination.
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Last summer I visited a small village in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, about an hour from Konya, because I had a friend there who was getting married. On the first of the three days set aside for the wedding, this woman (the groom’s aunt, I believe) was preparing boiled chicken and rice in three huge iron pots. A professional chef from the city had been hired to prepare the meal for the following day, when a few hundred guests would attend from Konya and surrounding villages. On this day, with only friends and family present, the relatives handled refreshments.
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On the most important day of a Turkish Anatolian village wedding, the women gather in one crowd, the men in another, to ceremonially welcome the young couple into their new home. In this setting, the colorful style of Turkish village women is on full display. Young or old, each one knows how to choose their best outfit for the day: coordination is not important, chic modern looks are not important; what is important is loud and exciting color. Here, friends, relatives and neighbors look anxiously down the dirt streets, waiting for the bridal car to arrive.
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It seems like even the oldest, most nondescript buildings in city or village are worth a splash of color to the Turks. This home within the old castle walls in downtown Ankara bears red marks to warn the cars which amazingly fit through these cobbled streets. The blue wash on the wall, though, seems purely for beauty’s sake.
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These two Turkish children wanted their picture taken when we walked down their street in the old Ulus neighborhood of Ankara. First, actually, they asked if we wanted any food cooked, because they are apparently taking classes to learn how to cook. There are various programs run in this part of town to help the street children by teaching them different trades.
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The old continues to give way to the new along the cobbled streets of Ankara’s Ulus Castle neighborhood. This house, inside the outer castle walls, has been seeing restoration work for almost the last year, and on my last visit I guess I caught the front door right in the middle of its makeover. From looking at the picture, it’s hard to separate what is old and what is new, what is the tradition and what is the future vision, but perhaps that makes it a perfect reflection of the Turkey we see all around us.
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Some things you can hardly believe when you see them. I went to school as a structural engineer, and I have to say I’m amazed this house is standing. I went to some pains to make sure the image is vertical, and it’s definitely pretty close. So yes, that lamppost on the left really is leaning like that. This is just a scene captured while on the back streets of Nallihan in central Anatolia. Sometimes I feel like every door I see has a story behind it worth telling. If you look closely there’s a padlock keeping this one shut. What we’ll probably never know is … why?
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Even at two years old, Lucy knows how to go for the kill. Of course, it doesn’t look like her little brother minds too much either. In a few years, we’re going to have to start keeping an eye on these two. At least we know they love each other.
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This door always stands out to me when I visit the old fortress in the historic center of Ankara, and I finally gave in and decided to make it a picture. Flaking paint in blue, yellow and red on an abandoned house badly in need of renovation frame a window reflection of the restored Ottoman-era houses opposite.
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