Voyage Anatolia

Wish You a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-30T22:49:00.000+02:00

Ilgaz Mountain, Kastamonu, Turkey.
The decor and the gifts?
For you of course!... :)

Life inside Turkish nomad tent home: Yurt

2011-12-04T14:59:00.001+02:00

A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel (tüýnük) usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall (again steam bent). The top of the wall is prevented from spreading by means of a tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs. The structure is usually covered by layers of fabric and sheeps-wool felt for insulation and weatherproofing.

The word "yurt" comes originally from a Turkic word referring to the imprint left in the ground by a moved yurt, and by extension, sometimes a person's homeland, kinsmen, or feudal appanage. The term came to be used in reference to the physical tent-like dwellings only in other languages. In modern Turkish the word "yurt" is used as the synonym of homeland.

Photos:

Turkish Yurt at the Castle of Nigde.

Cicim: Traditional Turkish Carpet Kilim.

Daily life inside nomad Turkish Yörük tent home Yurt made of wool carpets and kilim rugs at Ancient City Diocaesarea of Olba on the southern slopes of Taurus mountains to the north of Silifke, (Seleucia ad Calycadnum), Mersin. The grandmother is stitching embroidery, the mother is sitting on floor cushions, and camera-shy little boy is hiding behind his mother.

Photon diffusion in autumn forest

2011-11-24T23:40:00.001+02:00

Photon diffusion is a situation where photons travel through a material without being absorbed, but rather undergoing repeated scattering events which change the direction of their path.

In medicine, the diffusion of photons can be used to create images of the body and has been contributing a lot to the advance of certain fields of research, such as neuroscience. This technique is known as diffuse optical imaging.

Photon diffusion and diffraction in autumn forest, Lake Karagöl near Ankara Airport. Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. A shadow of a solid object, using light from a compact source, shows small fringes near its edges consequence of the fact that light propagates as a wave.

Little Red Riding Hood at Autumn Lake

2011-11-22T14:46:00.000+02:00

Autumn reflections: Little Red Riding Hood focusing and shooting fall colors at forest lake Karagöl near Ankara Airport. Just reflection of fall colors spilled on water surface. Real watercolor painting by nature.

Aether theories in early modern physics proposed the existence of a medium, the aether, a space-filling substance or field, thought to be necessary as a transmission medium for the propagation of electromagnetic waves.

Autumn at Lake Karagöl

2011-11-21T22:56:00.000+02:00

Watercolor painting by nature: Reflection of autumn colors on the lake surface. Lake Karagöl near Ankara Airport.

An autumn leaf in the forest

2011-11-13T21:17:00.001+02:00

Autumn color in the forest Lake Karagöl, Çubuk, Ankara, Turkey.

PHOTO: Autumn leaf in the forest by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com

Critically Endangered Northern Bald Ibis at Birecik

2011-11-12T00:14:00.001+02:00

The Northern Bald Ibis was once widespread across the Middle East, northern Africa, southern and central Europe, with a fossil record dating back at least 1.8 million years. It disappeared from Europe over 300 years ago, and is now considered critically endangered. There are believed to be about 500 wild birds remaining in southern Morocco, and fewer than 10 in Syria, where it was rediscovered in 2002. To combat this ebb in numbers, recent reintroduction programs have been instituted internationally, with a semi-wild breeding colony in Turkey, as well as sites in Austria, Spain, and northern Morocco.

Critically Endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List for wild species before extinction. Critically Endangered means that a species' numbers have decreased, or will decrease, by 80% within three generations.

As the IUCN does not consider a species extinct until extensive, targeted surveys have been conducted, species which are possibly extinct are still listed as 'Critically Endangered.'

PHOTO: Critically Endangered Northern Bald Ibis at artificial nest at Birecik Urfa Turkey.

Dusk at Amasra Harbor

2011-07-12T13:44:00.000+03:00

Photo: Sea, sky and clouds in the night at West Harbor, Amasra, Black Sea, Turkey.

Black Sea Coast at Amasra

2011-06-15T15:16:00.006+03:00

Black Sea Coast at Amasra.

Veil of Mesopotamia

2011-05-31T14:52:00.001+03:00

Mevlid-i Halil Camii, Birth of Abraham Mosque at Urfa, where it is believed that Abraham was born. Follow the story and the mistery of 1001 nights at the gates Mesopotamia while I am posting the photos and the travelogues of my trip...

Church of Antioch

2011-05-13T20:12:00.000+03:00

Inside Orthodox Church of Antioch, Antakya, Turkey.

Frescos in Church Mosque

2011-05-03T15:01:00.001+03:00

Have you ever imagined to see Orthodox frescos of Mother Mary and Jesus in a mosque? Fertek (Fertakaina) Mosque was a Karamanlis Church of Archangelos Michael & Gabriel built by Kara Maho oğlu Hajji Nikola in 1835 in Fertek, Cappadocia, Turkey. The church has been a mosque since the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. However its architecture and frescos were left intact simply covering with curtains.

In Byzantine and Orthodox images, inside each of the bars of the cross in Christ's halo is one of the Greek letters ώ Ό Ν making up I AM—literally, "the Existing One" — indicating the divinity of Jesus.

Shoemaker

2011-04-27T14:20:00.000+03:00

Shoemakers and old style leather shoemaking in Safranbolu.

Gümüsler Monastery at Cappadocia

2011-04-26T13:00:00.003+03:00

The monastery is located in Gümüşler town, an important historical source with relation to the middle ages. Despite not knowing the precise foundation of the Gümüşler Monastery, it is supposed to have been built between 8th and 12th centuries. The monastery is carved out of a large rock church and is one of the best preserved and largest of its kind in the Cappadocia region.

There are quite a few monasteries hewn out of the rock in Cappadocia. Some scholars split these into two types: Those with dining halls and those with open courtyards. The Gümüşler Monastery is part of the second group, with an open courtyard.

The most important part of the monastery complex is the church to its north. The church comprises of four free standing closed aisles based on a Greek cross plan. In the northen aisle of the cross there is a niche with two tombs. To the west there are two entrances covered with a cradle vault. The function of many of the other spaces in the monastery is not known. Graves and storerooms are situated in the central courtyard. On the left side of the courtyard at the entrance is an underground city which has communication and ventilation systems extending to the soil surface.

It is assumed at least three different masters worked on the paintings found on the walls of the church. In the main apse there are three bands of paintings. The highest shows Christ Enthroned, with two angels to his right, the symbols of the Gospel writers and the moment of Desis with Mary and the disciples.

The lowest series shows fathers of the church, Basil the Great of Kayseri, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus known as the Cappadocian Fathers.

In the north aisle of the cross are represations of the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Presentation at the temple with the figures of John the Baptist and St. Stephen which must have been painted by the hand of a second artist. On the inside of the narthex to the south of the entrance door are representations of Mary and baby Jesus and on each side of them the archangels Gabriel and Michael which belong to the hand of a third artist.

On the walls of a room above the narthex is an example of something not seen anywhere else in Cappadocia: hunting scenes. There is an interesting composition of variety of animals. The special style and iconography of the paintings on the walls of the Gümüşler Monastery is the same as that can be seen in many churches in Cappadocia. It is possible to date the paintings in the church to the 12th and 13th century A.D. by comparing and evaluating them by these traits.

See fresco of Mary and Jesus smiling in Gümüsler Monastery Church.

Smiling Mary and Jesus - Exploring Hidden Cave Churchs of Cappadocia

2011-04-20T14:18:00.008+03:00

Smiling Mother Mary and Jesus. Fresco in secret underground monasteries of Cappadocia region in Turkey. Coming more about hidden cave churches of Cappadocia soon... Gümüsler Monastery...

Flight of Heron over Nallihan Dam Lake

2011-04-19T14:09:00.001+03:00

Flight of grey heron, ardea cinerea over Nallihan Dam Lake, Ankara.

Ganbare Nippon! Ganbare Tohoku!

2011-04-01T01:05:00.008+03:00

がんばれ東北。がんばれ日本。
春の花。

Traditional Hand Weaving in Buldan, Turkey

2011-03-22T19:11:00.006+02:00

Photo: Man weaving at traditional handloom in his workshop in Buldan, Denizli, near travertine terraces of Pamukkale, and ancient sites Hierapolis, Aphrodisias in Turkey. Hand weaving has been a traditional craft since Seljuq times in 13th century in Buldan, an old Aegean town in Turkey.

Travertine Terraces of Pamukkale

2011-03-10T17:30:00.001+02:00

Pamukkale's terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.

Travertine is a terrestrial sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solution in ground and surface waters, or geothermally heated hot-springs. Similar but softer and extremely porous deposits formed from ambient-temperature water are known as tufa.

Ancient city Hierapolis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hot springs there have been used as a spa since the 2nd century BCE. The former Roman Bath of the ancient city of Hierapolis has been used as the site of the Hierapolis Archaeology Museum since 1984.

Open Sesame Open

2011-02-23T18:28:00.001+02:00

Making and shopping pottery in the cave halls of Avanos, Cappadocia
Porcelain shop at Istanbul Spice Bazaar

One Night in Medieval Caravanserai

2011-02-22T10:48:00.011+02:00

A caravansara or khan was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravansaras supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and South-Eastern Europe, especially along the Silk Road.

“ Think, in this batter'd Caravansara
Whose Portals are alternate Night and Day,
How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp
Abode his destined Hour, and went his way.”
—Fitzgerald, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Stanza 17 in the 5th Edition

Most typically a caravansara was a building with a square or rectangular walled exterior, with a single portal wide enough to permit large or heavily laden beasts such as camels to enter. The courtyard was almost always open to the sky, and the inside walls of the enclosure were outfitted with a number of identical stalls, bays, niches, or chambers to accommodate merchants and their servants, animals, and merchandise.

Caravansaras provided water for human and animal consumption, washing, and ritual ablutions. Sometimes they even had elaborate baths. They also kept fodder for animals and had shops for travellers where they could acquire new supplies. In addition, there could be shops where merchants could dispose of some of their goods.

The word is also rendered as caravansara or caravansary. "Caravan" means a group of traders, pilgrims, or other travelers, engaged in long distance travel, while serai means palace.

The caravansara was also known as a khan, han in Turkish, funduq in Arabic, and fundaco in Venice.

Hamam window at Kastamonu Kursunluhan Caravanserai, inn hotel.

Kursunluhan is a medieval caravanserai was built in Kastamonu by the uncle of Sultan Mehmet II, who conquered Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire at the age of 21.

Winter at Cappadocia

2011-02-01T10:53:00.000+02:00

Snow at Orthodox Church of Saint Theodoros Trion at Derinkuyu, Cappadocia.

Snow at Cappadocia

2011-01-31T23:59:00.001+02:00

Snow at Cappadocia in winter, old Sinasos City, Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp, Turkey.

Exploring snowy Cappadocia.

Top 5 Things to Do or See in Turkey

2011-01-11T17:44:00.020+02:00

Stay in a cave hotel in Cappadocia, go to hot air ballooning, horseback riding or trekking among fairy chimneys.

Go to a sailing trip at Aegean Coast aboard a luxury yacht charter, a traditional Aegean schooner, gulet, which can be cheaper than you think. >>>

Travel Istanbul aboard a ferry cruise in Bosphorus Strait between two seas, Marmara and Black Sea, and two continents, Europe and Asia, like argonauts did. Have your dinner at sunset at Kadiköy pier at the end of the day. Order Yakut for red wine or Cankaya for white. >>>

Walk around Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul seeing Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Treasure and Harem of Ottoman Sultans, Blue Mosque, Archaeology Museum, Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar. See the Sufi performance of the Whirling Dervishes of Rumi at Sirkeci Train Station, terminus of the Orient Express in the evening. >>>

Go extreme: Go hiking on the old volcanos of Eastern Anatolia! Climb Mount Ararat! Join an expedition team to search Noah's Ark!... Or just visit ski resorts... >>>

Kids Playing at the Door

2010-12-10T08:43:00.001+02:00

Kids acting for the cameras at their house door by the street at Ankara Citadel. Candid and spontaneous...