Photography and Writing by A. Cemal Ekin
When we were living in Adana, many ancient historic places were a day trip away. We could go west or east and stop at different places to see the remnants of times long gone. In this article, I would like to take you to a place on the Taurus (Toros) Mountains, above the small town …
I have scanned many slides, negatives, prints over the years. Since late December 2019, I have been doing it as a project to convert old photographs to digital and, in some ways, relive the memories. The end result, I hope will be an archive of family members, gatherings, events as well as many photographs I …
Although this time we stayed in Ayvalik for only four days, we managed to do and see quite a bit. Ayvalik is colorful and charming that invites exploration. We also met new people and saw new places. In this final post of the ongoing travelog, I will try to give you a feel for the …
When we visited the olive grove for the second time in the morning, we went to Ma’Adra Vineyards on the hills of Madra mountains for lunch. The road was winding and rough, the weather a bit foggy, but traveling as a two-car convoy we made it to the vineyards high up on the mountains. The …
A couple of years ago, Binnaz and Ergun purchased an olive grove as a future revenue source for the ASKEV foundation. The grove has about 1,000 olive trees, mostly old with a few newer ones. Since the purchase, they have done additional work to make the grove conform to high-quality agriculture standards with automated irrigation …
After the first two weeks in Turkey and seeing the family and friends, Elif and Mina arrived at the beginning of our third week. We spent the first night in Istanbul and the next day Mustafa drove us to Ayvalik as the girls wanted. The new roads and the bridge crossing the Izmit Bay cut …
I am probably beating a dead horse by writing about the very strange change in Istanbul’s architectural character. I wrote before about the discomfort of Istanbul and I experienced the same when we visited there in October 2019. In my previous visits and related posts, I called Istanbul with a nickname I coined for it: …
Continued from part 1, the is the end of our second week in Istanbul. Elif and Mina arrived on October 14 and we all went to Ayvalik on October 15 to return to Istanbul on the 19th. October 11, 2019 As planned, I dropped Jan off at Mehmet and Isin’s house where the girls would …
Yellow is unique in the color spectrum. It is naturally luminous, almost up there with white. Most colors have lighter and darker tints and shades, but not yellow. The dark yellow sounds odd since it becomes brownish! The fall color in Utah, at least in the parts I have seen, is yellow unlike in New …
This post is dedicated to the memory of our good friend Alan French who passed away yesterday. He loved trains, I wish he could have seen some of the photographs. Rest in peace Alan. The delayed trip to the Great Salt Lake Marina happened one afternoon with great weather still prevailing. It was an easy …
It was good to see Elif at the airport waiting for us. The weather was very nice and it would remain so for the rest of our stay. We arrived at Elif’s house and settled in our bedroom Elif fixed for our arrival. Mina had gone on a trip with her father and was to …
A week ago on Monday, Jan and I flew to Salt Lake City to see Elif and Mina. The first leg of the flight, Providence to Baltimore was about an hour. By a sheer coincidence, the exit gate for us was next to the connecting flight gate to Salt Lake City. The wait was short …
As much as I wrote about the discomfort and stress I get in Istanbul, I should also mention the comfort zones, the pleasures even if they may be in the midst of the dreaded construction everywhere. There are still pleasant sides of Istanbul and you can find them. Around the house, we always had a …
This photograph has been in the making for about 20 years, maybe even more. When I first thought of taking a photograph from this point, on the exit connector from the freeway, the trees were not nearly as tall nor have the looming towers were built. The apartment buildings are situated on the slopes of …
Our friends invited us to Fenerbahce Dalyan Club last week. As we arrived we saw an old stone building which I later learned was an old seminary attached to a church. During the dinner, I excused myself and started searching for the church which led me to a couple of strangers who directed me to an …
After a wonderfully comfortable flight, we arrived in Istanbul about 75 minutes earlier than expected, always a pleasant surprise! Mustafa met us at the airport, and we left the parking lot to a surprise! The ever crowded and jammed traffic was surprisingly flowing, and the lanes were empty, I saw one or two cars ahead …
Restoration next door? No, not here on Spring Green Rd, but in Ayvalik, Turkey. Ergun sent me a few photographs last September that he took inside the house next to theirs as it was undergoing renovation. A few he sent were promising abstract photographs and I encouraged him to take more. The building undergoing the …
Various types of markets, called pazar in Turkish, are a way of life in Turkey. There are permanent markets, like the Kadikoy Pazari (market.) Others, like the Kuzguncuk Pazari, have a large weekly and a smaller permanent market. The goods range from vegetables, edibles, meat, fish, cheese, spices; to housewares, kitchenware, and many things in …
I strongly favor keeping the old architecture alive, restoration, repurposing and keeping the texture of cities and towns to the extent possible. This, I see in Rhode Island where I live, and nearby states. In fact, I saw 100-year-old photographs of New York compared to photographs taken from the same locations, and the texture and …
Mina is now 1o years old, time flew, and she has become a graceful girl. This year, many things came together and we were able to celebrate first Ergun’s, then Jan’s, and finally Mina’s birthdays in Turkey with family and friends. A couple of days after Elif and Mina arrived in Istanbul, we were on …
This post is for my lovely wife, love of my life! Happy belated birthday love. On October 13, we were ready to celebrate Jan’s birthday. We spent the day in the house, around the garden taking photographs, and just being together. In our garden, we have been waging a war against the invasive bamboo creeping …
We all went to Kantin for Ergun’s birthday on October 12, Oya and Bevan joined us. Semsa Denizsel owns and operates Kantin. She has been featured in several local and international cooking magazines and Web sites. Binnaz and Ergun have known Semsa since birth and have seen her development as a child, young woman, then as …
On Monday, we all went shopping. The first stop was Marks & Spencer. Binnaz and Ergun wanted to get gifts for girls of all ages, from Nana to Mina. Department stores are mostly similar all over the world for layout and display. Marks & Spencer differed mainly on the brand, style, and of course, the …
The next couple of days in Istanbul after we arrived on October 6, the delightful weather gave us a chance to enjoy the garden, relax, and then visit our friends Aytac and Cem for a great dinner. The real treat there was meeting Haluk and Turkan in person for the first time. On the way …
