Walk with Me in Turkey

My “Walk with Me in Turkey” eBook came out today after 1.5 years of working on it.  I started by doing photo essays for “Digital Journal” of places I visited and photographed in Turkey (thanks so much to Editor David Silverberg).  One of my photo essays, “Faces of Turkey” even won an award.  Thanks to my friend and editor Jeremy Gotwals of Holon Publishing, who helped design the eBook’s cover using one of my photos, my book is now available in Kindle format.  If you don’t have a Kindle reader, you can download a free one for your computer, smart phone, or tablet.  For only $2.99 you can see the beautiful, historic places of Turkey, read about their culture and food, and enjoy my adventure stories!  What a lot of work (sigh).  Hope I find some readers 🙂

Here’s the official book summary:

Walk with me through ancient temples, churches, castles, mosques, and palaces of Turkey where I spent 2.5 years teaching English and exploring that beautiful country.  I learned the language and culture and even married into a Turkish family.  Stand with me at the spot where key battles defended the land from invaders and where Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, was buried.  See archeology opportunities with Greek and Roman columns and tunnels directly at your feet.  Tour Istanbul, a city built on 7 hills and divided by a waterway that separates Europe from Asia.  Get caught in the rain by the Black Sea, feast on shish kabob in Kocaeli, dance the horon at a Turkish wedding, explore Kar Tepe’s mountain forest, and swim in the Mediterranean Sea.  With my vivid photos and stories, you’ll feel as though you walked in Turkey with me.

***************************

Since it costs so much to print so many color photos, my book will probably remain in electronic format (with links to other Internet sites for more information).  Let me know if you enjoy it!  Find it here.

Istanbul Lamps Shining through Glass on a Rainy Day

My Turkish husband and I were wandering through Istanbul, near Galata Tower, on a rainy spring day.  We saw this lamp shop, a bright spot against the gray.  Traditional Turkish lamps hung gracefully behind the shop’s window and spilled their rainbow lights onto the rainy sidewalk.  This is one of my favorite photos of the fairy-tale land of Turkey, and I invite you to walk with me there.

Istanbul’s Ayasofya

Hagia Sophia (“Ayasofya” in Turkish) was dedicated as a Christian church in 360 A.D. Famous for its Byzantine dome, it was the world’s largest cathedral for 1000 years and the focus of the Greek Orthodox Church. It contained holy relics, colorful mosaics, and painted icons (portraits of angels and saints) on silver walls. In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (the former name of Istanbul). He ordered Ayasofya (which was still the largest building in the world) to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, and icons were removed, and the mosaics were plastered over. Islamic features such as four tall minarets were added. Ayasofya was used as a mosque until 1931 when the Republic of Turkey, under the secular democratic leadership of Mustafa Kemel Ataturk, ordered it to be made into a museum.

Since then, millions of Christians have come from around the world to admire Ayasofya’s arches, windows, stone carvings, and tile mosaics that highlight Jesus, Mary, and even Byzantine leaders (each with an amazing story to accompany the art). Most Istanbul tours are organized around a visit to Ayasofya, and every day tourist buses can be seen around the historical landmark while tourists stroll along with their cameras. You can even take a virtual tour online.

We can see patterns in Ayasofya’s architecture and mosaics just as we can see patterns in the stars above us and in nature all around our world.  We can even see patterns in history and in human behavior.  See more photos of Ayasofya and read about what’s happening there now:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/349934

My Life is a Mirror

Can you find me in this picture, standing next to my Turkish husband in Istanbul and taking a photo of a mirror gallery we found in Taksim?  Sometimes my life feels like layers of glass backed by silver–a mirror to reflect life here in Turkey.

I’ve always loved taking photos through glass and into mirrors.  Here is a shot of me taking my own portrait in a gilded mirror at the Greenpark Hotel on Kar Tepe mountain in Kocaeli.

Sometimes glass is so clear that you can barely see it.  The treasures it protects appear to be close, as if you could reach out and touch them with your hand.  But they are shielded from us, like a dream, a faint desire, an absent child.  I took this photo of my favorite wedding shop in Izmit, Kocaeli where I have lived for two years.

Glass works two ways (unlike a mirror), and sometimes people look back at us through it, as in this gown shop in Izmit where the customers inside wonder what I am doing outside with my camera.  How is your life like glass or a mirror?  What do you see–or reflect?  Do you capture images in pictures or in words?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary (Woman)

A Muslim woman sits alone, reading, by the beautiful white marble walls of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Everyday Life 2

Crowds wander by a beautiful old pink building in Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey.  Notice the “nazar” blue good luck charms for sale at the foreground.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Everyday Life

Child Rides Tram in Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey

I took a ride on the tram (like a trolley car on tracks) that goes through the busy Taksim district of Istanbul, Turkey. This local boy, with some friends, rode on the back for free–a kind of Turkish Joyride. Taksim is amazing, with old buildings and trendy shops. Come visit me in Turkey!

My First Poetic Thoughts of Turkey

The bridge in Izmit, toward the Marmara Sea

My first few months in Turkey, I was amazed and overwhelmed by all I found here.  I lived in Izmit, Kocaeli, in the northwest, not far from Istanbul.  Enjoy my impressions with matching photos.  From my new book, “Fire and Ice”:

After my class is over, I walk up the bridge that rises over the old, mysterious mosque with mossy stones, a minaret, and golden crescent moon.  I stare down at walls enclosing gardens, smell the sweet, sweet scent of jasmine, and hear the song of Call to Prayer.  I look ahead toward the towering bridge where colors change in twilight.  Red is for the Golden Gate of San Francisco, and blue is like the curving arc across the San Diego Bay.  Clouds fill the sky above me, and sudden rain pours down, mixed with sunlight slanting through in rays like blessings on the land.

Oh, God, you know I need the reality of rain . . .

I hurry to meet friends at another rooftop café.  I want to sit with them and watch the sun set.  They greet me like I am a princess, standing up and pulling out my chair.  Immediately they offer chai and a meal of spiced meatballs served with rice and vegetables.

I love this café culture.  We can sit for hours together on this balcony that overlooks the Marmara Sea.  The hills that edge the other side are brilliant green, with emerald slopes reaching down toward red-roofed houses that line the sea bank.  The highest mountain is like Lake Arrowhead, a lookout on its peak above the pine trees.  I stir my chai and lean my head upon the table, listening to the drone of voices and distant Turkish music.

Boazichi Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey

This bridge and view from Boazichi University in Istanbul, Turkey reminds me of the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. Which city do you like best?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Movement (3)

My students walk through the old Hydarpasha Trail Station in Istanbul. All our lives, we walk through buildings and in and out of things that move (like trains).

Read about my ongoing adventures in my new book, “Fire and Ice”:

http://www.lonnawilliams.com/books.html