Photographs and articles by A. Cemal Ekin
Many years ago, thirty-six to be precise, I was on my first sabbatical from Providence College and went to Turkey earlier than usual. Jan and Elif came to join me there when Elif’s school ended. Binnaz, Ergun, and I took a long Aegean trip and stopped at many places. I will do my best to …
As we come to the end of 2022, Jan and I wish you all happy holidays and a wonderful new year. Happy Holidays &A Happy New Year We survived another year! A series of health issues tried to tackle us, but we managed to move on. Elif and Mina managed to sneak out of school …
In this closing article about Safranbolu, we will wander around town and see a few locals, take a ride up north, and visit Bartin and Amasra. The final experience will be a visit to another mansion run by the Touring Club of Turkey. That seems to be the last day of our trip. Some Safranbolu …
As I said, we stayed at Paşa Konağı while in Safranbolu. It was a very nice hotel run by a very friendly couple, Ismail Urgancıoğlu and his family. In addition to showing us great hospitality at Paşa Konağı, they took us around to show us their other mansion, Gökçüoğlu Summer House, and beyond. Judging by …
In the previous post, I presented general views of Safranbolu. This one will focus on one well-restored mansion and its owners. And after that is a short presentation of Cinci Han, an old caravanserai. Let us go in … Zamanlık for Safranbolu While walking on one of the narrow streets, Ergun noticed an eye-catching sign …
Seventeen years ago, when Jan and I were visiting Turkey, we drove to the historic town of Safranbolu. Binnaz and Ergun had arranged everything, and the four of us spent a few days in the time capsule. Back in those days, I did not write articles on my site. It recently occurred to me that …
This is a short story of a few historic photographs of Adana, my hometown. In the late 1960s, I had returned to Adana to work at the newly established Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences. Although I was hired as an assistant, as in teaching assistant, little did I know that my job definition would …
Old Photographs from Film Days 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 in the Taurus (Toros) …
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 …
Ma’Adra Unites a Mythological Couple 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 …
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 architecture. 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 referred to the city with the nickname I coined for …
Continuing from part 1, this is the end of our second week visiting Istanbul and spending quality time with family and friends. 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 …
Our main reason to visit Turkey this year was mainly to see our family and friends. As we get older, our shrinking circle becomes more important, and that brought us there. Travel, especially air travel is getting harder, at least for me, but people we wanted to see made it somewhat bearable. Landed in Turkey …
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. Let’s Talk About the Pleasant Sides Around …
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 …
Dinner With Friends Our friends invited us to Fenerbahçe 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. Little did I know that it was St. Augustine Church, like the one we saw in Sheffield. During the dinner, I excused …
Our first couple of days in Istanbul started on the right foot! 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, …
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 …
Disappointing! One word. Although I strongly favor keeping the old architecture alive, restoration, repurposing, and keeping the texture of cities and towns to the extent possible, the old church disappoints. I see preservation in Rhode Island where I live, and in nearby states. In fact, I saw 100-year-old photographs of New York compared to photographs …
Mina is now 1o years old, time flew by, 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 …
This post is for my lovely wife, love of my life! Happy belated birthday love. Happy Birthday, Jan 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 …
There is a Turkish song, “I don’t like Istanbul at all anymore,” in which a lover laments the lost love. That reflects my current state of mind. The city that graced the shores of the Bosphorus for centuries, bridging the east and west, the melting pot of diverse cultures, is being raped, and the raping …
