Photo of the day

I cant stop looking at the top picture you captured Iain.
It is bloody mesmerizing mate.
Superb! :)

The memorial - it's an astonishing thing. Beautiful and eloquent and moving in turn. It's sort of difficult from the pictures I posted to understand what's going on. The light from above is natural daylight - there is a polythene dome that extends from underground up to and beyond street level. When you get to the room - you have been up and down so many levels in Atocha station that I had no idea where I was in relation to street level. It's a big space and has the atmosphere of a cathedral or similar. Everybody whispers there - this is remarkable for Spaniards.The surprising thing is that the monument makes noise - it's plastic and moves in any breeze at street level. It ripples gently. I think it is astonishing because you are in darkness and looking up to light and also that the dead are not silenced. The inside of the dome has messages left for the deceased printed on it - taken from a phone line set up by the Spanish government to leave condolences and thoughts. As I said - in its own way - beautiful and eloquent. Completely free from hate and bitterness as a response to such idiocy. Re-posts again but these might give you a better idea of the place. Yours - I.

AtochaM2SR.jpg

Atocha3SR.jpg
@William Dobson

@Barry Giddens @Helveticum
 
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The memorial - it's an astonishing thing. Beautiful and eloquent and moving in turn. It's sort of difficult from the pictures I posted to understand what's going on. The light from above is natural daylight - there is a polythene dome that extends from underground up to and beyond street level. When you get to the room - you have been up and down so many levels in Atocha station that I had no idea where I was in relation to street level. It's a big space and has the atmosphere of a cathedral or similar. Everybody whispers there - this is remarkable for Spaniards.The surprising thing is that the monument makes noise - it's plastic and moves in any breeze at street level. It ripples gently. I think it is astonishing because you are in darkness and looking up to light and also that the dead are not silenced. The inside of the dome has messages left for the deceased printed on it - taken from a phone line set up by the Spanish government to leave condolences and thoughts. As I said - in its own way - beautiful and eloquent. Completely free from hate and bitterness as a response to such idiocy. Re-posts again but these might give you a better idea of the place. Yours - I.

View attachment 30366

View attachment 30367
@William Dobson

@Barry Giddens @Helveticum
Truly fascinating and thank you for sharing.
 
Images of Ataturk in Istanbul - a short picture essay - (1)

SR-Istan27.jpg

The monument of the Republic - Taksim Square, Beyoglu. The European quarter of the city.

A brief overview if you are unfamiliar with the subject - born 1881 in Thessaloniki, then part of Ottoman territory and now Greece - or thereabouts, nobody is entirely sure and died 10/11/1938. A major figure in 20th C. world politics he was the main architect of the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, and served as its president until his death 15 years later. He abolished - after nearly six and a half centuries - the Ottoman Caliphate. He led resistance to the Allies carving the Ottoman territories up between themselves after the First World War and instituted a massive modernisation effort. He took such matters as law, education and the political rights of the citizen from the Caliph and religious authorities and reserved them for the state legislature. Women gained equal legal and political rights in the Republic before many western European countries. Concerning his name - Kemal is the only remaining bit of his birth name - Mustafa was a nickname given to him by a teacher and Ataturk is an honourific granted to him by parliament in 1934 - it means literally 'Father of the Turks.' Some have suggested that he was of Albanian or even Slavic origin but that is very much not the party line - he was Turkish, end of. Ataturk was a career army officer before politics - serving with distinction and gained national prominence as the de-facto front line commander at Gallipoli. As an aside he - and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - are responsible for the immaculate state of preservation of the battlefield sites, such was his admiration for the bravery of Anzac, Indian and other Commonwealth troops that he ordered them maintained by the state as a memorial to them. How Churchill's career survived this ill conceived slaughter has always puzzled me. Representations of Ataturk are everywhere - bank notes, stamps, the airport is named after him, as is the main bridge joining Europe to Asia - the usual sorts of things but it was the apparently spontaneous uses of his image on the streets that interested me most. A secular ikon - in the original meaning of ikon. That's what these pictures are about. There is probably enough material for three or four posts if people are interested.

SR-Istan26.jpg

Disused shop front - on a back street running down the hill from the Grand Bazaar to Sirkeci.

You'd come across these secular 'shrines' commonly - I suppose you could also see them as spontaneous museum exhibits? Something that interested me was the apparent lack of variety in the photographs of Ataturk used. There appeared to be half a dozen or so 'approved' images that were used endlessly. This will become obvious in the following posts.

Thank you for looking and reading. All images in this series were taken with Leica M series cameras and black & white film.

Cheers - I.

@Barry Giddens @William Dobson @Blademonkey @Helveticum
 
Images of Ataturk in Istanbul - a short picture essay - (1)

View attachment 30397

The monument of the Republic - Taksim Square, Beyoglu. The European quarter of the city.

A brief overview if you are unfamiliar with the subject - born 1881 in Thessaloniki, then part of Ottoman territory and now Greece - or thereabouts, nobody is entirely sure and died 10/11/1938. A major figure in 20th C. world politics he was the main architect of the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, and served as its president until his death 15 years later. He abolished - after nearly six and a half centuries - the Ottoman Caliphate. He led resistance to the Allies carving the Ottoman territories up between themselves after the First World War and instituted a massive modernisation effort. He took such matters as law, education and the political rights of the citizen from the Caliph and religious authorities and reserved them for the state legislature. Women gained equal legal and political rights in the Republic before many western European countries. Concerning his name - Kemal is the only remaining bit of his birth name - Mustafa was a nickname given to him by a teacher and Ataturk is an honourific granted to him by parliament in 1934 - it means literally 'Father of the Turks.' Some have suggested that he was of Albanian or even Slavic origin but that is very much not the party line - he was Turkish, end of. Ataturk was a career army officer before politics - serving with distinction and gained national prominence as the de-facto front line commander at Gallipoli. As an aside he - and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - are responsible for the immaculate state of preservation of the battlefield sites, such was his admiration for the bravery of Anzac, Indian and other Commonwealth troops that he ordered them maintained by the state as a memorial to them. How Churchill's career survived this ill conceived slaughter has always puzzled me. Representations of Ataturk are everywhere - bank notes, stamps, the airport is named after him, as is the main bridge joining Europe to Asia - the usual sorts of things but it was the apparently spontaneous uses of his image on the streets that interested me most. A secular ikon - in the original meaning of ikon. That's what these pictures are about. There is probably enough material for three or four posts if people are interested.

View attachment 30398

Disused shop front - on a back street running down the hill from the Grand Bazaar to Sirkeci.

You'd come across these secular 'shrines' commonly - I suppose you could also see them as spontaneous museum exhibits? Something that interested me was the apparent lack of variety in the photographs of Ataturk used. There appeared to be half a dozen or so 'approved' images that were used endlessly. This will become obvious in the following posts.

Thank you for looking and reading. All images in this series were taken with Leica M series cameras and black & white film.

Cheers - I.

@Barry Giddens @William Dobson @Blademonkey @Helveticum
A wonderful and interesting pictorial.

Looking forward to your following posts Iain.
 
Images of Ataturk in Istanbul - a short picture essay - (1)

View attachment 30397

The monument of the Republic - Taksim Square, Beyoglu. The European quarter of the city.

A brief overview if you are unfamiliar with the subject - born 1881 in Thessaloniki, then part of Ottoman territory and now Greece - or thereabouts, nobody is entirely sure and died 10/11/1938. A major figure in 20th C. world politics he was the main architect of the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, and served as its president until his death 15 years later. He abolished - after nearly six and a half centuries - the Ottoman Caliphate. He led resistance to the Allies carving the Ottoman territories up between themselves after the First World War and instituted a massive modernisation effort. He took such matters as law, education and the political rights of the citizen from the Caliph and religious authorities and reserved them for the state legislature. Women gained equal legal and political rights in the Republic before many western European countries. Concerning his name - Kemal is the only remaining bit of his birth name - Mustafa was a nickname given to him by a teacher and Ataturk is an honourific granted to him by parliament in 1934 - it means literally 'Father of the Turks.' Some have suggested that he was of Albanian or even Slavic origin but that is very much not the party line - he was Turkish, end of. Ataturk was a career army officer before politics - serving with distinction and gained national prominence as the de-facto front line commander at Gallipoli. As an aside he - and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - are responsible for the immaculate state of preservation of the battlefield sites, such was his admiration for the bravery of Anzac, Indian and other Commonwealth troops that he ordered them maintained by the state as a memorial to them. How Churchill's career survived this ill conceived slaughter has always puzzled me. Representations of Ataturk are everywhere - bank notes, stamps, the airport is named after him, as is the main bridge joining Europe to Asia - the usual sorts of things but it was the apparently spontaneous uses of his image on the streets that interested me most. A secular ikon - in the original meaning of ikon. That's what these pictures are about. There is probably enough material for three or four posts if people are interested.

View attachment 30398

Disused shop front - on a back street running down the hill from the Grand Bazaar to Sirkeci.

You'd come across these secular 'shrines' commonly - I suppose you could also see them as spontaneous museum exhibits? Something that interested me was the apparent lack of variety in the photographs of Ataturk used. There appeared to be half a dozen or so 'approved' images that were used endlessly. This will become obvious in the following posts.

Thank you for looking and reading. All images in this series were taken with Leica M series cameras and black & white film.

Cheers - I.

@Barry Giddens @William Dobson @Blademonkey @Helveticum
Very interesting Iain, I look forward to hearing / seeing / learning more. P.
 
Images of Ataturk in Istanbul - a short picture essay - (1)

View attachment 30397

The monument of the Republic - Taksim Square, Beyoglu. The European quarter of the city.

A brief overview if you are unfamiliar with the subject - born 1881 in Thessaloniki, then part of Ottoman territory and now Greece - or thereabouts, nobody is entirely sure and died 10/11/1938. A major figure in 20th C. world politics he was the main architect of the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, and served as its president until his death 15 years later. He abolished - after nearly six and a half centuries - the Ottoman Caliphate. He led resistance to the Allies carving the Ottoman territories up between themselves after the First World War and instituted a massive modernisation effort. He took such matters as law, education and the political rights of the citizen from the Caliph and religious authorities and reserved them for the state legislature. Women gained equal legal and political rights in the Republic before many western European countries. Concerning his name - Kemal is the only remaining bit of his birth name - Mustafa was a nickname given to him by a teacher and Ataturk is an honourific granted to him by parliament in 1934 - it means literally 'Father of the Turks.' Some have suggested that he was of Albanian or even Slavic origin but that is very much not the party line - he was Turkish, end of. Ataturk was a career army officer before politics - serving with distinction and gained national prominence as the de-facto front line commander at Gallipoli. As an aside he - and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - are responsible for the immaculate state of preservation of the battlefield sites, such was his admiration for the bravery of Anzac, Indian and other Commonwealth troops that he ordered them maintained by the state as a memorial to them. How Churchill's career survived this ill conceived slaughter has always puzzled me. Representations of Ataturk are everywhere - bank notes, stamps, the airport is named after him, as is the main bridge joining Europe to Asia - the usual sorts of things but it was the apparently spontaneous uses of his image on the streets that interested me most. A secular ikon - in the original meaning of ikon. That's what these pictures are about. There is probably enough material for three or four posts if people are interested.

View attachment 30398

Disused shop front - on a back street running down the hill from the Grand Bazaar to Sirkeci.

You'd come across these secular 'shrines' commonly - I suppose you could also see them as spontaneous museum exhibits? Something that interested me was the apparent lack of variety in the photographs of Ataturk used. There appeared to be half a dozen or so 'approved' images that were used endlessly. This will become obvious in the following posts.

Thank you for looking and reading. All images in this series were taken with Leica M series cameras and black & white film.

Cheers - I.

@Barry Giddens @William Dobson @Blademonkey @Helveticum
Great stuff. Thank you for sharing your wealth of information. Look forward to anything more.
 
Images of Ataturk in Istanbul - (2)

SR-Istan24.jpg

Kuyumcular Carsisi - the Grand Bazaar - Fatih district.

Keeping watch over the 'street of the jewellers.' The Grand Bazaar is an astonishing place - it's like an enclosed town. Even now it's the fantasy eastern bazaar of romantic travelogues. It has a mosque, police station, post office, cafes and eating places. Over 4,000 shops which employ around 25,000 people. It's been in continuous existence for over 560 years - do you think we will still have Ikea half a millennia from now? This is one of the 'main' streets - with shops in the normal sense, the vast majority are stalls and holes in the wall. The jewellers here pay their rent and taxes in solid gold. Cash not accepted. I spoke to the owner of a particularly impressive shop and he explained that people from all over the world came to Istanbul to buy jewellery as dowry. The best customers were from the Gulf States - they spent truly eye-watering amounts of money - although the deal would take weeks to negotiate. The price of the gold was calculated on a daily basis during discussions. Not withstanding the way the place looks - very little of it is actually original - it keeps catching fire or being destroyed in earthquakes. If there is anything legal for sale - you'll find it somewhere within the walls. No slaves or opium anymore - I'm pretty sure that if you knew where to look though. The shop keepers are incredibly good at it - my partner and I walked past a stall specialising in the sale of the traditional outfits for boys worn at the celebration of their circumcision. He grinned and said in perfect English - 'let me sell you something you don't need!' This sort of thing also happened to the wife of a friend - from Tokyo - who was astonished to be addressed in fluent Japanese by a stall keeper. It worked - she bought something from him.

SR-Ata4.jpg

Coffee shop - Sultanahmet - Christmas morning.

Thank you for looking and reading - yours - I.

@Barry Giddens @William Dobson @Blademonkey @Helveticum
 
Images of Ataturk in Istanbul - (2)

View attachment 30419

Kuyumcular Carsisi - the Grand Bazaar - Fatih district.

Keeping watch over the 'street of the jewellers.' The Grand Bazaar is an astonishing place - it's like an enclosed town. Even now it's the fantasy eastern bazaar of romantic travelogues. It has a mosque, police station, post office, cafes and eating places. Over 4,000 shops which employ around 25,000 people. It's been in continuous existence for over 560 years - do you think we will still have Ikea half a millennia from now? This is one of the 'main' streets - with shops in the normal sense, the vast majority are stalls and holes in the wall. The jewellers here pay their rent and taxes in solid gold. Cash not accepted. I spoke to the owner of a particularly impressive shop and he explained that people from all over the world came to Istanbul to buy jewellery as dowry. The best customers were from the Gulf States - they spent truly eye-watering amounts of money - although the deal would take weeks to negotiate. The price of the gold was calculated on a daily basis during discussions. Not withstanding the way the place looks - very little of it is actually original - it keeps catching fire or being destroyed in earthquakes. If there is anything legal for sale - you'll find it somewhere within the walls. No slaves or opium anymore - I'm pretty sure that if you knew where to look though. The shop keepers are incredibly good at it - my partner and I walked past a stall specialising in the sale of the traditional outfits for boys worn at the celebration of their circumcision. He grinned and said in perfect English - 'let me sell you something you don't need!' This sort of thing also happened to the wife of a friend - from Tokyo - who was astonished to be addressed in fluent Japanese by a stall keeper. It worked - she bought something from him.

View attachment 30420

Coffee shop - Sultanahmet - Christmas morning.

Thank you for looking and reading - yours - I.

@Barry Giddens @William Dobson @Blademonkey @Helveticum
"Let me sell you something you don't need"! Ha, at least he was being honest :)
A nice piece Iain, very interesting indeed. Paul.
 
Images of Ataturk in Istanbul - (2)

View attachment 30419

Kuyumcular Carsisi - the Grand Bazaar - Fatih district.

Keeping watch over the 'street of the jewellers.' The Grand Bazaar is an astonishing place - it's like an enclosed town. Even now it's the fantasy eastern bazaar of romantic travelogues. It has a mosque, police station, post office, cafes and eating places. Over 4,000 shops which employ around 25,000 people. It's been in continuous existence for over 560 years - do you think we will still have Ikea half a millennia from now? This is one of the 'main' streets - with shops in the normal sense, the vast majority are stalls and holes in the wall. The jewellers here pay their rent and taxes in solid gold. Cash not accepted. I spoke to the owner of a particularly impressive shop and he explained that people from all over the world came to Istanbul to buy jewellery as dowry. The best customers were from the Gulf States - they spent truly eye-watering amounts of money - although the deal would take weeks to negotiate. The price of the gold was calculated on a daily basis during discussions. Not withstanding the way the place looks - very little of it is actually original - it keeps catching fire or being destroyed in earthquakes. If there is anything legal for sale - you'll find it somewhere within the walls. No slaves or opium anymore - I'm pretty sure that if you knew where to look though. The shop keepers are incredibly good at it - my partner and I walked past a stall specialising in the sale of the traditional outfits for boys worn at the celebration of their circumcision. He grinned and said in perfect English - 'let me sell you something you don't need!' This sort of thing also happened to the wife of a friend - from Tokyo - who was astonished to be addressed in fluent Japanese by a stall keeper. It worked - she bought something from him.

View attachment 30420

Coffee shop - Sultanahmet - Christmas morning.

Thank you for looking and reading - yours - I.

@Barry Giddens @William Dobson @Blademonkey @Helveticum
A very enjoyable read Iain. Superb images.
 
Images of Ataturk - (3) -

SR-Ata3.jpg

Ataturk and the Whirling Dervishes - The Museum of the Printing Press - Sultanahmet.

I could not believe my luck when this picture presented itself to me - it pretty much symbolises everything about Ataturk's vision of his modernisation process in the Republic. A bit of background is probably necessary why this is so for me. In the foreground are the famed whirling dervishes of the Sufi Mevlevi order. If you know what Sufis are skip this next bit - if not read on. The name Sufi probably is a corruption of the Arabic for wool - historically they wore rough woolen garments. The various fraternities trace their lineage - and hence authority - back to the time of the Prophet or his son-in-law Ali. Simply put they are the mystical tradition in Islam. They tend to be Sunnis but this is missing the point - they sort of sit above the great schism in Islam. The theological differences between them and mainstream Islam are horribly complex - trust me - but the most important thing is that Sufis understand that you can have direct ecstatic experience of the love of Allah during your life - and not solely post-mortem, as is the more commonly held position. They use various methods to achieve this state - and this is one of them. The dancers' spinning is perhaps best understood as dynamic meditation. In the west probably the most famous Sufi was the 13th C. poet and prose writer Rumi - who is even now, one of the biggest selling poets in the United States - for some reason beyond me, he has been taken up by the new age movement. I'm sure it would have puzzled him too. Commonly Sufis were the power behind the throne - and this was certainly true of the Ottoman period. It might sound odd for ascetics to end up so but it isn't really - if you want a medieval Christian comparison then the Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux and his influence on the second crusade is a good place to start. So - after Ataturk abolished the Sultanate and the Caliphate in the 1920's he went for the Sufi orders next. They were never truly proscribed but heavily suppressed - their property seized, their rituals banned and they were politically emasculated. What remained was what you see above - something for tourists. So - this picture was taken in the museum of the printing press in Sultanahmet - the home tekke of the order was closed for renovation at the time - in the background is Attaturk reading a daily newspaper. What better symbol of progress in 1920s Turkey? Bear in mind that it took nearly 300 years from the invention of the movable type press to the first one to start printing in Turkish - then an Arabic script - but Ataturk changed that too - to the adapted Latin they use today. Although the ritual was devoid of any spiritual content - is was mesmerising to see.

SR-Ata2.jpg

Book shop window - Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu.

So - Attaturk flanked by - on his left - 'The Guinness Book of Records' and - on the right - 'Harry Potter.' Below that 'The Turks Today' - which is actually very good. Underpinned by Coca Cola. Eighty odd years later - I'll leave you to interpret this picture as you see fit.

Thank you for looking and reading - yours - I.

@Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Helveticum @William Dobson
 
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Images of Ataturk - (3) -

View attachment 30450

Ataturk and the Whirling Dervishes - The Museum of the Printing Press - Sultanahmet.

I could not believe my luck when this picture presented itself to me - it pretty much symbolises everything about Ataturk's vision of his modernisation process in the Republic. A bit of background is probably necessary why this is so for me. In the foreground are the famed whirling dervishes of the Sufi Mevlevi order. If you know what Sufis are skip this next bit - if not read on. The name Sufi probably is a corruption of the Arabic for wool - historically they wore rough woolen garments. The various fraternities trace their lineage - and hence authority - back to the time of the Prophet or his son-in-law Ali. Simply put they are the mystical tradition in Islam. They tend to be Sunnis but this is missing the point - they sort of sit above the great schism in Islam. The theological differences between them and mainstream Islam are horribly complex - trust me - but the most important thing is that Sufis understand that you can have direct ecstatic experience of the love of Allah during your life - and not solely post-mortem, as is the more commonly held position. They use various methods to achieve this state - and this is one of them. The dancers' spinning is perhaps best understood as dynamic meditation. In the west probably the most famous Sufi was the 13th C. poet and prose writer Rumi - who is even now, one of the biggest selling poets in the United States - for some reason beyond me, he has been taken up by the new age movement. I'm sure it would have puzzled him too. Commonly Sufis were the power behind the throne - and this was certainly true of the Ottoman period. It might sound odd for ascetics to end up so but it isn't really - if you want a medieval Christian comparison then the Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux and his influence on the second crusade is a good place to start. So - after Ataturk abolished the Sultanate and the Caliphate in the 1920's he went for the Sufi orders next. They were never truly proscribed but heavily suppressed - their property seized, their rituals banned and they were politically emasculated. What remained was what you see above - something for tourists. So - this picture was taken in the museum of the printing press in Sultanahmet - the home tekke of the order was closest for renovation at the time - in the background is Attaturk reading a daily newspaper. What better symbol of progress in 1920s Turkey? Bear in mind that it took nearly 300 years from the invention of the movable type press to the first one to start printing in Turkish - then an Arabic script - but Ataturk changed that too - to the adapted Latin they use today. Although the ritual was devoid of any spiritual content - is was mesmerising to see.

View attachment 30451

Book shop window - Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu.

So - Attaturk flanked by - on his left - 'The Guinness Book of Records' and - on the right - 'Harry Potter.' Below that 'The Turks Today' - which is actually very good. Underpinned by Coca Cola. Eighty odd years later - I'll leave you to interpret this picture as you see fit.

Thank you for looking and reading - yours - I.

@Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Helveticum @William Dobson
I was looking forward to your Ataturk series Iain, and it's living up to expectations. Excellent.
 
Images of Ataturk - (3) -

View attachment 30450

Ataturk and the Whirling Dervishes - The Museum of the Printing Press - Sultanahmet.

I could not believe my luck when this picture presented itself to me - it pretty much symbolises everything about Ataturk's vision of his modernisation process in the Republic. A bit of background is probably necessary why this is so for me. In the foreground are the famed whirling dervishes of the Sufi Mevlevi order. If you know what Sufis are skip this next bit - if not read on. The name Sufi probably is a corruption of the Arabic for wool - historically they wore rough woolen garments. The various fraternities trace their lineage - and hence authority - back to the time of the Prophet or his son-in-law Ali. Simply put they are the mystical tradition in Islam. They tend to be Sunnis but this is missing the point - they sort of sit above the great schism in Islam. The theological differences between them and mainstream Islam are horribly complex - trust me - but the most important thing is that Sufis understand that you can have direct ecstatic experience of the love of Allah during your life - and not solely post-mortem, as is the more commonly held position. They use various methods to achieve this state - and this is one of them. The dancers' spinning is perhaps best understood as dynamic meditation. In the west probably the most famous Sufi was the 13th C. poet and prose writer Rumi - who is even now, one of the biggest selling poets in the United States - for some reason beyond me, he has been taken up by the new age movement. I'm sure it would have puzzled him too. Commonly Sufis were the power behind the throne - and this was certainly true of the Ottoman period. It might sound odd for ascetics to end up so but it isn't really - if you want a medieval Christian comparison then the Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux and his influence on the second crusade is a good place to start. So - after Ataturk abolished the Sultanate and the Caliphate in the 1920's he went for the Sufi orders next. They were never truly proscribed but heavily suppressed - their property seized, their rituals banned and they were politically emasculated. What remained was what you see above - something for tourists. So - this picture was taken in the museum of the printing press in Sultanahmet - the home tekke of the order was closesd for renovation at the time - in the background is Attaturk reading a daily newspaper. What better symbol of progress in 1920s Turkey? Bear in mind that it took nearly 300 years from the invention of the movable type press to the first one to start printing in Turkish - then an Arabic script - but Ataturk changed that too - to the adapted Latin they use today. Although the ritual was devoid of any spiritual content - is was mesmerising to see.

View attachment 30451

Book shop window - Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu.

So - Attaturk flanked by - on his left - 'The Guinness Book of Records' and - on the right - 'Harry Potter.' Below that 'The Turks Today' - which is actually very good. Underpinned by Coca Cola. Eighty odd years later - I'll leave you to interpret this picture as you see fit.

Thank you for looking and reading - yours - I.

@Barry Giddens @Blademonkey @Helveticum @William Dobson
Love the pictures. How the hell do you know all this interesting stuff? I'm beyond impressed. Thank you once again.
 
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