Upon landing in Istanbul this morning, I wasn't looking forward to going to Ak Merkez or Istanbul's consumerist culture hotspots; I purposely wanted to submerge into the deep abyss of Istanbul's rich Ottoman history. It is for this reason that I packed my camera, hopped in the car, and cruised around the city around sunset. The city was wrapped in colorful banners for the upcoming municipal elections. For those and Istanbul's sunset skyline, I used color photography to reflect the modernism. For Sinan's brilliant gothic architecture, black and white photography would only suffice. I wished to capture my memories, through my eyes. Why B&W...well because these monuments belong to another era, I wished to place them in their respective epoch.
I want to preserve their ancientness. What I couldn't resist shooting in color was the sunset by the Sulmaniye mosque as the sun was subsiding by its side.
Also, it was worth the stop on the fly over for a glimpse of the fishers conglomerating in the cold over their passion of fishing.
Upon reaching my destination of the Egyptian Bazaar, I entered into a plethora of exoticism with the spice markets, mosaic lanterns, jewelry sellers. It was just like being in Khan El Khalili with people shouting even in Egyptian Arabic. This exactly what I wanted to do upon my arrival. This is just the beginning of my discovery of backstreet Istanbul...
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