Favorite Things - Photography #2

Today I practiced using manual mode and my flash, learning some interesting things about shadows and reflections and backgrounds as I did.

My photos are of some of my favorite things from our recent travels.

First is my 'Matryoshka Doll' or Russian stacking doll.  George bought this for me on our Black Sea Cruise.  The reason he bought it was that I was seasick in our cabin and it was the last night that the Russian things would be for sale.  I sent him to the shops, which are not his favorite area on a cruise ship, to buy one for me.  I think he did a great job.  She's a beauty!

Then there is my "Vodka Holder" which isn't a real necessity in the Lewis household!  I just thought she was beautiful with such intricate details!  The funny thing is that just after we got home, my visiting teacher brought me a gift of homemade vanilla extract.  Do you know how you make vanilla extract?  You soak vanilla beans in vodka!  I had the perfect place to keep the little bottle until it ripened into delicious vanilla extract!

 

And from a different part of the world - a carved fisherman, boat, and fish trap from Inle Lake in Burma.  A little boy followed our group around for an hour or more trying to sell this little memento.  We all kept trying to get him to go away with many polite "No thank yous." Finally, just as we were getting on the boat to leave, I took pity on his sad little face and bought it for a whole $1.  Now it is one of my favorite keepsakes from that trip!

 

While in Zanzibar I looked at this Masai mask for days in the hotel shop knowing I wanted it but not being sure whether I wanted it badly enough to spend the money.  Finally as we were leaving I decided that I did want it, only to discover that the store was closed.   Luckily I mentioned this to the receptionist as we were checking out and, guess what, they opened the store just for me.  Now I love the memories it brings back!

 

Last, again from Africa, my Zulu basket.  Supposedly these baskets are so sturdy that they can hold liquid. George and I do know that it is sturdy enough to survive the trip from South Africa to the USA in our checked baggage.   We stuffed it with our dirty clothes and put it in our largest bag.  A perfect fit!   Such fun memories of traveling the world!

 

Black Sea #16 - Istanbul

Welcome to Istanbul! Now that is a moustache!  A Turkish band playing lively music welcomed us as we got off the ship.

Istanbul - Constantinople!  The crossroads between east and west, between Europe and Asia.  The center of Christianity for over 1000 years.  It served as the capital of four empires: the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire and the Ottoman Empire.  It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times. Then the  Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold.

Hagia Sophia on the right and the Blue Mosque on the left

Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century AD.  The name means, "Holy Wisdom".   In 1453 after hundreds of years as the dominate cathedral of Christianity, the Islamic call to prayer was heard for the first time within her walls.  In that year the Byzantine Empire ended with Constantinople falling to the armies of Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire.  Amazingly Sultan Mehmed stopped his soldiers from destroying the mosaic icons.Any kind of depiction of the human form is forbidden in Islam. For almost 500 years Hagia Sophia was a mosque but in 1934 became a secular museum.

I especially loved seeing the icon of the Virgin Mary with Jesus on her lap surrounded on both sides with Islamic letters that spell out "Allah" and "Mohammed". 

Brothers - John and George with Hagia Sophia in the background.

The Sultanahmet Mosque, commonly known as the 'Blue Mosque'.

This mosque was built from 1609 to 1616 and stands just across a park from Hagia Sophia.

Mosque's traditionally have one, two or four minarets.  The six minarets of the Blue Mosque make it very unique.  The story is that this was a misunderstanding. The Sultan asked his architect to make gold (altin) minarets which his architect understood as six (alti) minarets. Don't know if that is true but it does make a good story.  Even better, supposedly there was so much controversy that this new mosque had more minarets than the Haram Mosque in Mecca, which is the holiest in the Islamic world, that the Sultan had to send his architect to Mecca to add a seventh minaret to the Haram Mosque! 

You might wonder why this obviously white building is called the "Blue Mosque".  Well when you go inside that becomes clear!

20,000 blue tiles line the ceiling and walls!

We were there on a sunny day and the light was brilliant as it shone through the 260 windows and reflected and sparkled off the tiles!

The central dome is designed to lift all eyes heavenward.  All the photographers in the group certainly gazed heavenward!

They even had blue head scarfs for all us heathens!

Black Sea #15 - Katherine

One of the many wonderful things about our recent travel adventures is sharing them with George's brother John and his wife Katherine.  

I heard someone described as a person who 'scatters sunshine'.  That phrase describes Katherine perfectly. During a free afternoon in Sinop, Turkey the men headed back to the ship while we went exploring and climbed to the top of the guard tower we had been walking by all day.

We both love photography.  This afternoon we were out taking photos of the sunset.

I'm so glad we get to travel with someone who adds fun and laughter to each trip!  Katherine truly scatters sunshine wherever we are in the world!

Black Sea #14 Sumela Monastery

See that monastery carved into the steep rock cliffs?  Sumela Monastery was started in AD 386 by two monks who had found a Madonna figure supposedly carved by St. Luke.

Getting inside the buildings required a hike and a climb up some very steep stairs.

But the effort was rewarded as we entered into the monastery.

When Turkey was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, one Sultan granted protection to this monastery as a reward from curing him from an illness. Subsequent sultans extended the privileges.  Unfortunately there has been recent vandalism.

You can see an Islamic influence in some of the niches and decorations.

The frescoes date from the beginning of the 18th century.

 This one is considered very unusual because it shows Mary on her death bed.  Normally she is seen ascending directly to heaven.

Definitely a highlight day on our trip!

Black Sea #13 - A Taste of Turkey

Since we spent the majority of this trip on a cruise ship, we didn't really eat a lot of unusual food, a lot of GOOD food, but nothing too interesting.

Here are a couple of of exceptions:

Traditional Turkish ice-cream.  No it isn't like gelato.  It is made of goat's milk.  Feeling as I do about goat's milk I didn't want to try it but since our local tour guide was giving each of us a cone as a treat, I couldn't refuse without seeming like a snotty American.  I got lemon flavored which I thought had the best chance of being OK.  The first several bites were not bad but then that goat milk taste overpowered the lemon and seemed to coat my mouth.  I had the self control to not just spit it out but I did discreetly walk over and throw it in the trash.

Now here is something I did like...love in fact!  Anything with potato has to be good!

Take a potato on a stick and cut into spirals.  He was so busy cutting these that he wouldn't take time to pose for a photo.  This is an action shot!  I have a slightly bigger machine that makes apple spirals.

The potato spins around and comes out  in pretty little spirals still on a stick.

Then it is deep fat fried....

And you have fresh french fries or potato chips on a stick! Delicious!

You could also buy fresh cooked ears of corn.  Not exactly a place for someone on a low fat/ low carb diet!  But as you can see, we were happy people!

I sometimes think I should go on a 'Breads of the World' tour.  I know there are wine tours, why not bread tours?  Every place has its own type of bread and I've never tried one I didn't like.  Didn't get to try these but I bet they are good.

And finally don't you wish your local McDonalds delivered?

Black Sea #12 - The Dogs of Sochi

Remember all the news about the 'dogs of Sochi' in the days leading up to the Olympics?

The city had plans to destroy all the stray dogs in the Olympic Village.  Local animal rights groups got wind of this and started rounding up dogs and putting them in temporary shelters hoping that this story would get media attention.  

And it did!  Athletes and newcasters began adopting dogs. Animal rights groups from around the world got involved and many of the stray dogs of Sochi were saved.  This silver medalist took home an entire family of puppies!

  I can tell you though that there are still lots of stray dogs in Sochi.  A lot of them are very cute!  

Of course this warning sign might cause second thoughts about taking home a dog.  I was never sure if it referred to dogs or wolves!

The ones we saw looked perfectly lovable, very far from a snarling menace!

Black Sea #10 - Olympics

When you hear Sochi, Russia do you think about the 2014 Winter Olympics?

I certainly do!

Black Sea #9 - Stalin

Joseph Stalin - Dictator or great leader?  To most Americans there is not much of a debate on the answer to that question but our local tour guide in Sochi said that Russians are divided.  While some think he was a powerful, effective  leader,  others believe he was ruthless dictator. 

Although we were not able to go to Yalta on this cruise thanks to all the turmoil in the Ukraine, Michael Wilcox did give a very interesting lecture about the Yalta Conference after World War II. 

It was held in Yalta because Stalin did not like to fly.  Churchill and Roosevelt came to him. At this conference these three men determined the destiny of Eastern Europe for the next 50 years.

Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill - Three powerful men with three different personalities and outlooks on life! Roosevelt had that good old American optimism and it was very evident in his dealings with Stalin.  

"If we give Stalin what he wants now and don't ask for too much, then we will be able to work with him in the future."

Churchill was much more of a realist.  He knew that the real danger in Europe was Russian aggression and communism.  Roosevelt was more concerned about British Imperialism. 

Stalin was an opportunist whose attitude was that Russia would do what they wanted and that they would do it with the Allies consent. And that is exactly what happened! Eastern European history since the end of WWII validates Churchill's concerns.

Within a few months of the Yalta Conference Franklin Roosevelt was dead.  Churchill was voted out of office.  Only Stalin remained in power and he kept power until 1953.

Two 'take-aways' from Michael Wilcox's lecture on the Yalta Conference:

1. The world does need American optimism but it had better be tempered with Churchill realism.
2. We each need to make the world a better place in wherever we are and in whatever way we can.

Black Sea #8 - A Walk in the Woods

A nice little hike in a Bulgarian forrest!

Katherine and I became mushroom foragers....although we were foraging for good photos, not dinner!

 I think that eating these bright colored beauties wouldn't be such a good idea! Could prove to be a 'last meal'! But I do love the colors!

These look a bit more 'normal' and like the are edible.

But I still didn't dare take them back to the chef on the cruise ship!  

We saw some with interesting patterns.

And some with interesting shapes.

This one illustrates the popular name for mushrooms - a toad stool! Notice how flat it is on top.

It is too corny to say, "There was a fungus among us."