{"id":26414,"date":"2010-11-21T10:32:51","date_gmt":"2010-11-21T08:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=26414"},"modified":"2014-01-05T22:37:36","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T20:37:36","slug":"photogenic-istanbul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/11\/21\/photogenic-istanbul\/","title":{"rendered":"Photogenic Istanbul"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may be a diehard photographer whether you come to Istanbul for pleasure or on business. But time is still money no matter how you look at it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u0130zzet Kehribar, Merih Ako\u011ful, Arif A\u015f\u00e7\u0131, \u0130brahim Zaman and Timurta\u015f Onan are all professional photographers who have been photographing the city for years. We asked them about the tricks of the trade. The sights you can\u2019t leave without recording, the best itinerary for a week-long stay, the hidden corners that nobody knows, the best times for capturing the major landmarks\u2026
\nIf a Photographer is Skilled and Curious \u2013 \u0130zzet Kehribar Those who come to Istanbul for a couple days have little choice but to stick to the classic itinerary: Topkap\u0131 Palace, the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, Yerebatan Cistern\u2026 They take one day. That leaves the morning of the second day for the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar and the Emin\u00f6n\u00fc area and the afternoon for Ortak\u00f6y. And in the evening the Galata Tower and the sunset.<\/p>\n

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\nBeing here for a week changes everything. You can tour the above sights to your heart\u2019s content and then explore other areas, like Ey\u00fcb and its environs, Balat and the Greek School area, Kariye at Edirnekap\u0131, and \u00c7ar\u015famba (and don\u2019t miss the remarkable mosaics in the chapel next to Fethiye Mosque). I especially recommend the little ferryboats that depart from jetties along the Golden Horn and go to \u00dcsk\u00fcdar (best on a sunny morning). One morning should be set aside for Kuzguncuk and Beylerbeyi, with lunch at one of the restaurants next to Beylerbeyi ferry landing. Take a Bosphorus cruise, keeping in mind that the European side gets the morning sun and the Asian side the afternoon sun. And then a day on the islands.
\nIn Beyo\u011flu it\u2019s a good idea to stroll from T\u00fcnel up to Taksim, ducking into the side streets along the way, and have a bite either at the \u00c7i\u00e7ek Pazar\u0131 (Flower Market) or on Cezayir Sokak. The best time for taking pictures is at evening when the lights start to come on. There aren\u2019t many places left that nobody knows, but if a photographer is skilled and curious, he can get some fabulous shots in the back streets of Tarlaba\u015f\u0131 or of the old houses along the train track at Samatya.
\nEveryone Seeks His Own Adventure \u2013 Arif A\u015f\u00e7\u0131
\nFor a photography buff who\u2019s come to Istanbul for two days, the best shots, apart form the Hagia Sophia and Sultanahmet Square, would be sunset from the Galata Bridge and the Historic Peninsula. The fish sandwich vendors on the Emin\u00f6n\u00fc side of the Galata Brdige and the Karak\u00f6y fishmongers at Per\u015fembe Pazar\u0131 should definitely be photographed too. At a certain hour of the evening, the fishermen deposit their fish waste in crates right next to the bridge as crying gulls by the thousands hang in the air overhead. Cats keep watch with the gulls over the fishmongers\u2019 tarpaulins. You have to be in the neighborhood of the Galata Bridge at evening to capture these images, which are not available anywhere else in the world.
\nIf you have a week, then you can add Beyaz\u0131t Square, the Secondhand Book Bazaar and, next to it, the Grand Bazaar, the slope leading down from Mahmutpa\u015fa to Tahtakale, and Fener, Balat, Ey\u00fcp and Ayvansaray on the shores of the Golden Horn. \u00dcsk\u00fcdar Square, mosque, market and ferry landing are well worth a day, including a meal, and Be\u015fikta\u015f, Ortak\u00f6y, Arnavutk\u00f6y, Bebek and Rumelihisar as far as \u0130stinye Bay are worth another. A Bosphorus cruise is de rigueur. There is a ferry departing from Emin\u00f6n\u00fc every morning at 10:35. It gets to Anadolu Kava\u011f\u0131 in an hour and a half and starts back after lunch. The route from Karak\u00f6y to Kuledibi (below the Galata Tower), the Galip Dede Slope down to T\u00fcnel and \u0130stiklal Caddesi up to Taksim Square, including a meal at Bal\u0131k Pazar\u0131 (Fish Market), is worth a day as well. And if you have one more day, Fatih Mosque, S\u00fcleymaniye and Zeyrek (including the Kariye Museum) make a fabulous strolling tour. There are some upscale restaurants near Kariye, but my own preference is for Turkish white bean stew (don\u2019t forget the pickles and pilaf) in front of S\u00fcleymaniye.<\/span>
\nFor the human aspect, my recommendations are as follows: the area with the mussels vendors and the boat repairmen at Rumeli Kava\u011f\u0131, the fishermen\u2019s cafes at Menek\u015fe Station on the Sirkeci-Halkal\u0131 suburban train line, the courtyards-cum-workshops near B\u00fcy\u00fck Valide Han, and the entire area along the city walls from Yedikule to Ayvansaray.
\nCapturing The Unexpected \u2013 Merih Ako\u011ful
\nBesides straddling two continents, Istanbul also harbors an indescribable m\u00e9lange. Wherever you go, it\u2019s possible to get incredible shots at unexpected moments. And being in those places in the different seasons and at different times of day means getting unusual photographs as well.
\nThe first itinerary I\u2019m going to recommend is the route that runs through Yenikap\u0131, Kumkap\u0131, Sultanahmet, Ca\u011falo\u011flu, Emin\u00f6n\u00fc, the Galata Bridge, Karak\u00f6y, Sal\u0131pazar\u0131 and Be\u015fiktas all the way up to Rumeli Kava\u011f\u0131. The Golden Horn area through Karak\u00f6y, Galata, Beyo\u011flu and \u0130stiklal Caddesi to Taksim is another ideal itinerary for taking photos. And both these routes can be done on foot without using any transportation.
\nPhotographing The Istanbul Skyline \u2013 \u0130brahim Zaman
\nFor the skyline, Moda, Harem, \u00dcsk\u00fcdar, Anadolu Hisar\u0131, the Golden Horn, Pierre Loti, Ulus Park, the Technical University Social Facilities over Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Ortak\u00f6y, the Khedive Palace, Galata Bridge, Tepeba\u015f\u0131 and Emin\u00f6n\u00fc Bridge\u2026 Any time from sunrise to 11 a.m. and between 3 and 6 in the afternoon is good for normal shots in these areas; for shots of the skyline, 6 to 8:30 in the evening is preferable. Moda, Harem, \u00dcsk\u00fcdar, the Khedive\u2019s Palace (views of the European side and the historic peninsula from its courtyard) all give excellent results. Some other places that few people are aware of are the Wednesday market at Ye\u015filk\u00f6y, Tuesday market at Kad\u0131k\u00f6y and Beyaz\u0131t flea market.
\nThe Aphrodisiac Route \u2013 Timurta\u015f Onan<\/span>
\nSome simply must-photograph places in Istanbul include the Historic Peninsula, the Golden Horn, and Beyo\u011flu, or Pera, as it used to be known. The M\u0131s\u0131r Apartment Building, Tokatl\u0131yan Han, Narmanl\u0131 Yurdu, Hazopulo Arcade, St. Antoine Church and the Suriye Pasaj are some important venues chock full of memory. With the historic tram that operates between Taksim and T\u00fcnel in the foreground and the urban fabric of Beyo\u011flu in the background, these are images any tourist would want to take home. At the lower end of Beyo\u011flu, the area between the Galata Tower, Azapkap\u0131 and Tophane with its wonderful architecture (Do\u011fan Apartment Building and the Greek, Georgian and Armenian churches) are worth photographing. And you can go up the Galata Tower in the early morning hours or just before sunset for views of the Istanbul panorama.
\nThe Historic Peninsula and the Golden Horn are a phenomenon in their own right. The boats on the Golden Horn with Galata in the background yield beautiful views at first light. And in the Fener-Balat area with its multicultural diversity of architecture ou can also capture the neighborhood life of the Turkish people who have migrated to the city from Anatolia. Besides the touristic sights on the Historic Peninsula, there are the back streets. Vefa, for example, and the surrounding area. And quarters like Samatya and Kad\u0131rga are a gold mine for those seeking stories. With their seagulls, their people catching fish, their people just gazing spellbound at Istanbul, and their historical backdrop and general layout, the Galata and Unkapan\u0131 bridges, at dusk especially, are views no photographer would want to miss.
\nWith its waterfront mansions and pavilions, tea gardens and boats, the Bosphorus offers magnificent landscape shots. My favorite thing is to get chummy with the boatmen at Beylerbeyi and \u00c7engelk\u00f6y and take their pictures, or to park myself at one of the little ferry landings and shoot the human landscape with the sea and the historical texture as backdrop. Morning\u2019s first light and sundown are ideal here for landscape photographers. And shoots made from the hills of Ortak\u00f6y or Beykoz give especially good views with the Bosphorus Bridge. And of course the Maiden\u2019s Tower should not be forgotten when it comes to sunsets.
\nAs for the aphrodisiac route, that means crossing the Unkapan\u0131 bridge and, starting from Zeyrek Mosque and environs, strolling through Cibali, Fener and Balat all the way to Ey\u00fcp. Human interest stories, landscapes, documentary shots\u2026 All are possible any time of day.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.lovingturkey.com\/photogenic-istanbul-2.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may be a diehard photographer whether you come to Istanbul for pleasure or on business. But time is still money no matter how you look at it. \u0130zzet Kehribar, Merih Ako\u011ful, Arif A\u015f\u00e7\u0131, \u0130brahim Zaman and Timurta\u015f Onan are all professional photographers who have been photographing the city for years. We asked them about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":26415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[102],"class_list":["post-26414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-istanbul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}