Marc Ruygrok's so go on sculpture. taken in amsterdam prior to boarding a klm flight to istanbul. i photographed my taxi driver immediately and obviously to avoid being driven in circles around the sultanahmet district of istanbul. ortakoy camii mosque.

so go on! ruygok's exhibited art structure -- boarding a flight to istanbul at schiphol airport -- amsterdam, holland
taxi ride from ataturk airport, istanbul to the sultanahmet district -- istanbul, turkey
ortakoy camii mosque looms over the bosphorous and transit station -- istanbul, turkey





$5 a night hostels in turkey suck.

red lit hallway of an extremely low budget youth hostel -- istanbul, turkey
two liters of coca cola light, kiosk meal -- istanbul, turkey





blue mosque, istanbul, turkey beautiful tiled ceilings

the blue mosque (sultanahmet camii) -- istanbul, turkey
blue mosque (sultanahmet camii) ceiling detail -- istanbul, turkey





the grand turkish bazaar more mosque ceilings

arched aisles of the grand bazaar (kapali carsi) -- istanbul, turkey
domed mosque ornate ceiling detail -- istanbul, turkey






medusa's head, yerebatan sarayý cistern, sunken palace the sultanahmet area of istanbul is such a maze that i could not find my hostel on any maps and used this mosque to get back most times.

upside down head replication of medusa, yerebatan sarayý, basilica cistern (underground sunken palace) -- istanbul, turkey
this small mosque broadcast its five daily calls to prayer on an oppressively loud sound system -- sultanahmet area, istanbul, turkey





cistern, istanbul babüsselâm (gate of salutations) topkapi palace

partially submerged arms at a column of the basilica cistern -- istanbul, turkey
babussade (gate of felicity) --topkapi palace, istanbul, turkey





fake prada knockoffs and louis vuitton leather goods stacked and sold at the grand bazaar overnight coach service to from ankara, to kaseryi and cappadocia, turkey

fake prada knockoffs and replica louis vuitton suitcases, handbags, backpacks, and wallets -- grand bazaar covered market (kapalicarsi), istanbul, turkey
overnight bus service to cappadocia (southern central turkey) -- somewhere near ankara, turkey





agzikarahan caravanserai camel stop, cappadocia, turkey: a typical seljuk caravanserai is a huge square or rectangular building with high walls of local stone. they are smoothly finished but devoid of decoration. supporting towers or buttresses may be in geometric shapes and the outlets for roof runoff may be stylized animal heads, but otherwise the exterior is severely plain. stone homes in yaprakhisar, cappadocia

architectural example of a seljuk agzikarahan caravanserai camel stop -- cappadocia, turkey
stone cave homes of the ihlara valley -- yaprakhisar, cappadocia, turkey





eight floors underground, derinkuyu caves kaymakli underground city, cappadocia, turkey

looking up from eight stories below ground -- derinkuyu and kayakli underground cities, nevsehir province, cappadocia, turkey





restored frescoes at st. daniel pandanossos church, ihlara valley, cappadocia, turkey rock church with painted frescoes

ancient cave dwellings with restored frescoes -- goreme open air museum (acik hava muzesi), cappadocia, turkey
other fresco examples on the ceiling of a rock church -- goreme open air museum, cappadocia, turkey





camels all i know is that this place is not where star wars was filmed. that fact was repeated endlessly.

smiling camel -- nevishir, cappadocia, turkey
random photograph at a scenic lookout in the middle of nowhere -- yaprakhisar, cappadocia



trip part I | trip part II | trip part III

related blog entries (additional photos)