Wow, I Did That!

We had an early departure so we could visit the Hagia Sophia this morning before our final critique session.  This used to be a Greek Orthodox Church before being converted to a Mosque and now a museum.  You may not realize that the Head of the Greek Orthodox Church is actually based out of Istanbul which dates back to when it was called Constantinople.  You can see the remains of the Christian church and also how many things were hidden after it was turned into a mosque.  There are beautiful gold mosaics on ceilings and the walls and hallways are also quite decorated.  It's a very beautiful and historic building.

We had about an hour to grab some lunch and look through our pictures before our last critique session.  There are several restaurants that have traditional Turkish food along the street that you can grab and go, so I opted for stuffed aubergine (eggplant) and some rice and headed back to the room.  I had to choose 10 images from the night before and this morning to present to Ira and Liza, which was tough.  I have become much more critical of my work, noticing all the background that can distract from the picture and also the composition, keeping the subject out of the center.  You simply can’t be married to a photo because of something you remember about when you took it.

We were free to roam the city for a couple of hours after the critique, so four of us headed back to the Spice Market to see if we could find some interesting things to shoot.  Behind the actual market, there’s a much bigger shopping area with streets dedicated to formal wear, scarves, children’s clothing, fabrics, pretty much anything you might want.  It stretches for blocks and we only could cover one small area in the time allotted.   Since Istanbul is a city of hills, it’s easy to get interesting photos looking up a street at the crowds.  It also gets dark very early, so the glow of the lights in the shops adds an interesting affect.  We roamed for a couple of hours before walking back through the main hall of the Spice Market for one last look.  We found a shop that had some interesting spice and tea blends that I had to sample.  We also met some girls from the US that are studying abroad from Columbia University Law School.  They seemed to be having a great time exploring.

This evening started with a lecture by Ira on how he edits his photos when on assignment.  It was good to see that he doesn’t get everything right either, having to sacrifice one element in order to capture a moment or grab good lighting while it lasts.  Next we watched the slideshow they had put together from the best of our pictures from the week.  It really is very impressive to see what we were able to capture of this charming city.  We’ll each receive a copy of it that we can show to our friends and family which is one of the best trip souvenirs I have ever received.

We hopped on the tram for a short trip to the Galata side for our farewell dinner.  The food was probably the best we had during the trip.  Before our main course, several mezes appeared at the table including stuffed grape leaves, a pepper nut spread, and a vegetable relish of sorts.  Combined with my pasta, I was quite full and enjoyed the walk back down the hill towards our hotel.  Independence Street was stuffed with Turks out for a good time on a Friday evening.  If you can imagine Times Square during the holidays you have a good picture of the festive feeling on the street.  This was a young crowd (the average age in Istanbul is 29) out for a fun evening at the clubs that line the streets and alleyways. 

With this busy day behind us, we still had one more adventure awaiting us Saturday morning, so it was time to hit the sack to grab a few hours of sleep in preparation for our last day.

Make Mine a Super Deluxe, Hold the Wax

We got a break from classroom work and remained out shooting all day. Our first stop was at an ancient Roman site, Basilica Cistern, which was basically a giant water tank.  It is all below ground, with giant pillars holding up a roof made of mini domes.  In Roman times, water was collected miles away and piped to this location where it was held until needed.  The lighting is very dramatic with spa type music being piped in to add to the bath like atmosphere.  There are two Medusa heads that look like they were just filling in as a column bases since one is upside down and the other sideways.  The lighting for taking pictures is terrible down here, but it was good practice for us.

Our next stop was lunch at Hamdi which is on the square by the Spice Market.  We were offered Turkish delights including a spicy meat kebab and, of course, baklava.  As soon as we were finished eating, we were turned loose to wonder the aisles of the Spice Market.  The name is a little misleading since they sell much more than spices at this bustling marketplace.  Stall owners call out to the shoppers, enticing them with samples of cheese, nuts, dried fruits, you name it, they have it.  The further you roamed from the center hall the cheaper the prices.  In addition to food, housewares and clothing were also abundant.  There was great energy here which translated into great photos.

Also on the square is The New Mosque (Yeni Camii) which is open to the public.  All around the outside of the mosque are basins with faucets so that the worshipers can clean their feet and hands before entering to pray.  Before entering, you must remove your shoes (plastic storage bags were available at the door) and women must put on headscarves.  Forgot yours?  The mosque happily provides you with a lovely blue one.  Inside, the back portion of the giant domed room is reserved for the Muslim women with the middle section open to tourists.  Past a short wooden rail, the men are allowed in for their prayers.  The prayers themselves were sung much like you might hear at a Synagogue. There was much standing, kneeling and bowing to touch the forehead to the to the carpet.  Very fascinating.

The Bospherus River runs through the middle of Istanbul serving to separate the European side from the Asian side.  We boarded a boat to take a tour past the two bridges that span the two continents.  Part tour boat, part ferry, we glided past mansions built on the water with high rises in the distance.  As interesting as the sites were our fellow passengers.  One couple was obviously very much in love with the woman having very expressive eyes that conveyed her amour. Another family had a budding photographer in a pink coated girl happy to take one of the adult's cell phones as her camera.  It was very breezy during our ride so we were all happy to go ashore and warm up.

Tonight, several of us signed up to visit a Turkish Bath, or Hammam, to get a real native experience.  The one we visited (several signs boasted that it's listed in A Thousand Places to Visit Before You Die) appeared to date back perhaps a century or more.  We made our treatment selection at the door then were escorted into a room with dressing rooms on the perimeter.  We disrobed and wrapped ourselves in Turkish towels which are thin cotton (think table cloth weight). We were also given wooden shoes that looked like they have been here since the beginning and were quite awkward.  We made our way back into the treatment room together.

This is where the real fun begins.  We were each shown to a marble step where we were disrobed by our treatment specialist and told to splash ourselves with water from the big marble basins filled with water beside us.  In the center of the room is a large (7 foot + sides) heated octagonal marble slab where our human car wash would soon begin.  The architecture of the treatment room is stunning with a marble dome unlike anything I've viewed before, but we were unable to take photos so you'll just have to use your imagination (or Wikipedia) to get a

full sense of the place.Our treatment specialist then disrobed in front of us, washed herself completely then pulled on a black swimsuit that looked like it was from an early silent movie with short type legs and a full coverage top.  We were helped to our piece of the slab (yes, we were all together in the treatment room) and told to lie on our backs.  During the hour plus treatment we were scrubbed, washed, soaped, washed, soaped again, washed, massaged, washed, shampooed, washed and then helped back to our changing room. We were definitely 'glowing' after our treatments!  I would highly recommend anyone visiting give this a go as it is definitely different than any spa visit I've ever had in the states.