A stroll through the narrow streets in Ayvalik will make one aware of the close relation the people have with two things: flowers and cats. Now, I don’t mean to give the impression that you will find lush gardens, meticulously manicured in ever respect. I know of one such garden in Ayvalik, it is the garden of the Melin house on Zafer Street. Instead, you will see hollyhocks reaching 8-feet or more in height on a sliver of soil on the side of the street, perhaps a mere 8 inches; you will go by many houses where windows became mini gardens with some flowers in pots; you will even see flowers painted on old, crumbling walls, as if to make them last longer. In every alley, next to most poles, at the corner of many houses will be some plant trailing to find the best path to reach the sun. [Read more...]
Ayvalik, Flowers, and Windows
Six-Winged Seraphim 3D
As I mentioned in the previous post, the newly unveiled Seraphim mosaic in Hagia Sophia reminded me of a head mapped to a flat surface. I am not an expert in 3D mapping, but I created the following composite showing how the face could have looked in 3D. I used FaceShop, a Photoshop plugin, to map the features of the depicted face to the features of a 3D face. The software then creates a 3D model that can be rotated maintaining the features of the original. I took two angles that show the shape of a face. [Read more...]
Hagia Sophia, a new mosaic unveiled
I read in a Turkish newspaper, Aksam, that one of the mosaics in Hagia Sophia was cleaned to reveal the face of the angel Seraphim. According to the news article, the mosaic has been covered for about 160 years. Possibly because of this, the pieces of the mosaic are preserved exceptionally well. This is exciting news for art historians and art lovers around the world. It is particularly exciting for me as I was probably within touching distance from the beautiful face when I was up on the scaffolding a month ago. [Read more...]
From the Roof of Hagia Sophia
Earlier, I posted a slide show consisting of the photographs I took inside Hagia Sophia. Since then, I have created a second slide show, this time featuring the photographs taken from the roof of Hagia Sophia. You will see the Blue Mosque, the old hippodrome, the obelisks on one side; and Hagia Eirene and the Topkapi Palace on the other. In between, you will see the Marmara Sea and a view of Istanbul not many has seen before.
I walked a narrow ledge on the roof, probably not wider than 4 feet, to go from the front side to the back side so that I could see Hagia Eirene and Topkapi Palace. Making that walk with no protection was not the smartest thing I have ever done! But, the view on the other side was worth it (now that I made it back in one piece!)
I hope you enjoy the show.
Walter Cronkite, 1916-2009
Walter Cronkite, 2006
In memory of Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in the country for years.
I saw him having lunch with his friends and his wife in the restaurant at Martha’s Vineyard Airport on August 18, 2006. I asked if I could take a photograph of him. He was very gracious and said, in his memorable deep voice, “that’s fine by me”.
Thank you Walter Cronkite, for the memories; and that’s the way it was on August 18, 2006.
Flora
Infrared Earthscapes
Junk Yard