Another Photo Shoot
I had a chance to photograph Mina again this morning. After that, other family members participated in the photo shoot. Lovely! Every one of them (especially the one with white hair, all natural you know.)
Mina in RI 2009
Mina and Elif have been here for just over a week, but school closing, paper grading, and running other errands have prevented us from having a photo shoot. This morning, after sufficient bribing with a promise to watch “Frosty the Snowman” DVD, she put on her nice dress, I carried my gear down to the basement and we had a brief photo shoot. The following are selections from that. She is standing in front of a dark back drop.
Happy holidays to you all.
Mimi and Dede in the Back Yard
Yesterday our friends Jim and Carol came, we had pizza in the back yard. Mina likes them, “Jim and Carol are really nice people” she says. Jim took some photographs of Mimi and Dede, we had fun. Thanks Jim for taking these photographs.
Anemon Hotel and Grifin Fish Restaurant
Ergun, my brother-in-law and good friend, scouts the most interesting places to visit. On June 29 we visited the Covered Bazaar for some last minute shopping then went to the Tunel district in old Pera. The first stop was an interesting bookstore which seemed to specialize in historical publications. We saw some interesting books, Ergun purchased a few and we started walking down towards the Galata Tower. It was built by the Genoese in mid 14th century. Its walls are about 10 feet thick, no wonder it still stands tall.
The tower is very impressive from the ground level with a height of 220 feet. There is a hotel directly across from the tower, Hotel Anemon which serves food and drinks at its roof. We took the elevator there and the imposing tower looked even more so and felt almost touchably close. I could see the tourists on its circular walk taking pictures with the flash firing! As we enjoyed some drinks, I looked down to see a group of a cappella musicians singing to an audience. Also interesting was to see the darting swallows around the tower. Read more
Ayvalik
We are in Ayvalik again, the weather is very nice; a bit on the warm side but perfectly tolerable. The Melin house and its garden continues to please everyone who visits it. Yesterday we had an interesting group of guests. Two ladies who were born in the house where the conservatory now stands, and their friends came to visit. They wondered around the house with great deal of pleasure; for the two who were born and raised here it was even more meaningful I’m sure. I took some group photographs which I am sharing with the ladies; and to show their joy of being together at their birth place, with you all.
Sunset over the Bosphorus
We enjoyed a very special dinner at the Borsa restaurant at Kandilli. Later on the sunset and the lighting on the Bosphorus Bridge (the first one for those wondering) created great colors and mood. I tried to capture the spirit of the moment in between the great food. This is the view we all enjoyed very much.
Dinner at Borsa Restaurant
Another special place we visited this year was the Borsa Restaurant, located on the hills of Kandilli. It occupies the location, and most of the structure where the Kandilli Girls’ High School used to stand. The building, renovated by a grant from the Sakip Sabanci and through the vision of the late Turkan Saylan, offers a great vista on the Bosphorus. We went there as the guests of our dear friend Nevin Bilginer to enjoy the company of the family. She was a gracious hostess and both the food and the company were highly enjoyable. I wil post another entry from the same location but this one is reserved for the initial vista and the family. We were there with my wife, my sister and brother-in-law, Nevin and Melin; the last three are siblings. Enjoy the vista and my family.
Jan arrived, Mabeyin Restaurant
Jan arrived on June 12, I am happy. Her plane came at 4:17 PM but she came out a little after 5:00 pm, long wait at the passport control because of multiple plane landings. She looked wonderful as she came out of the gate. We went with Yunus, my nephew, to pick her up. He saw Jan first as he had gone near the gate. The traffic was crazy at the freeway, so we took the fast, scenic route.
That evening we went to a very nice restaurant, Mabeyin, near Altunizade. It is a converted old villa. They did a very nice job in the restoration and sufficient attention to detail without being pretentious as the Mardin restaurant was. The food was good and it was good to see the family and the friends. Below are some photographs from that evening at Mabeyin.
Visit to Princes Islands
We took the boat to Princes Islands to visit with our friends. They had invited us for dinner at a special place, which proved to be a very accurate description. The boat took off from Bostanci and we arrived at the Grand Island, the largest of the Princes Islands. The only mode of public transportation on the island is by horse-drawn carriages. They take off from a central location, sort of grand central for the carriages. The strong smell dissipates as you leave the gathering area.
The island has very interesting buildings, many are quite old with strong architectural character. Many are in excellent shape but some are in need of at least a good coat of paint. The carriage ride was about 15 minutes to “Sinek Kafe”. opearated by three siblings, one male and two female, the “restaurant” is essentially a private dining experience at Read more
Kardelen in Infrared
As the queen of the house, and a fine Angora cat, Kardelen deserved a little mor study. Yesterday, I photographed her with my IR camera for enhanced contrast and pale rendering of her pink skin, essentially white-on-white study.
The second Kardelen study, in infrared is below.
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