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23 images Created 13 Apr 2012

View Tom Dempsey's favorite photographs of the Republic of Turkey. Turkey is a democratic, secular, western-looking, rapidly modernizing, capitalistic, NATO ally of the USA. Family values in Turkey make it a safe and friendly destination with the lowest travel costs in Europe. Explore 10,000 years of human history where East meets West. İstanbul makes a fabulous destination for a week or more.

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  • A six-foot tall head of Zeus commemorates the lofty aspirations of pre-Roman King Antiochus (64-38 BC) at Mount Nimrod (Nemrut Dagi in Turkish), near Malatya, Turkey. Earthquakes toppled the stone heads from seated bodies long ago, but Mount Nemrut National Park may restore the site. Published in Wilderness Travel 2003 Catalog of Adventures, and in Sierra Magazine, Sierra Club Outings January/February 2001. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    99TUR-47-21-Carved-rock-Zeus-head.jpg
  • Ephesus, Turkey: the Library of Celsus, built in 114 AD, was named in honor of a Roman .governor of Asia Minor (Anatolia). The nearby goddess sanctuary helped Ephesus become a prosperous port and cultural center by 600 BCE. At various times, Ephesus was controlled by Lydia (King Croesus), Persians, Hellenists (Ancient Greeks from Athens), Alexander the Great (334 BC), and eventually it became capital (population 250,000) of the Roman Province of Asia Minor. Published in the travel handbook "Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast" by Jessica Tamtürk, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2010. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. test
    99TUR-13-15_Ephesus-Library-of-Celsu...jpg
  • Silhouettes of four photographers at sunrise on Mount Nemrut, in the Republic of Turkey. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    99TUR-48-29-photographer-silhouettes.jpg
  • Sultanahmet (or Blue) Mosque interior and ceiling, was built 1609-1616 in Istanbul (?stanbul), in the present-day Republic of Turkey. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    99TUR-08-36-Blue-Mosque-interior.jpg
  • The tunnels and windows of the Castle of Uchisar (Üçhisar) were carved from a natural pinnacle of volcanic tuff (hardened ash layers) in the 15th and 16th centuries by the Byzantine army, when the region was on the frontline in wars against the Islamic Caliphate. This hill, the highest point in Cappadocia, is located between the cities of Nevsehir, Urgup and Avanos (Nev?ehir, Ürgüp in Turkish) in Nevsehir Province in the Republic of Turkey. Published in Sierra Magazine, Sierra Club Outings January/February 2001.
    99TUR-29-33_Uchisar-Castle_Cappadoci...jpg
  • Aya Sofya Museum in İstanbul, Turkey. In Greek, it's called Hagia Sofia, or Sancta Sophia in Latin, which means "Divine Wisdom." The minarets were constructed after the Islamic conquest of 1453. Emperor Justinian built the Hagia Sofia from 532 to 537 AD in Constantinople on the site of a former Hagia Sofia on the acropolis of the former Byzantium. The 102-foot diameter dome perches an amazing 180 feet above the floor (rivalling the scale of the 144-foot high and wide concrete dome of Rome's Pantheon, built earlier from 118-125 AD). An earthquake collapsed the dome after only 22 years, and it was rebuilt several times by later Byzantine emperors and Ottoman sultans. 30 million gold mosaic tiles covered the dome's interior in Byzantine times. Hagia Sofia reigned as the greatest church in Christendom for nearly 1000 years, until the Islamic conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453. A church with a larger dome, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, was not built until 1506. Hagia Sofia served as a mosque from 1453 to 1935, after which Atatürk, the father of the modern Republic of Turkey, declared it a museum. İstanbul's Hagia Sofia still stands as one of the architectural marvels of the world.
    99TUR-03-01_Hagia-Sofia-Museum-Istan...jpg
  • The Gök Medrese (Celestial or Sky-Blue Seminary) was built in 1277 AD after the fall of the Seljuks and the arrival of the Mongols, near Sivas, in the present-day Republic of Turkey. It was a hospital until 1811 and is now a museum. This view is from stop one minaret looking towards the other.
    99TURC-10-30_Sivas-Blue-Seminary_Gok...jpg
  • This 10th century Georgian Church was built during the reign of Magistros and now serves as a mosque in the town of Barhal (officially known as Altıparmak in Turkish; or Altiparmak), near Yusufeli, in the Republic of Turkey, Anatolica, Asia.
    99TUR-46-08-Altiparmak-Georgian-Chur...jpg
  • This colorful old Greek Orthodox Christian fresco ceiling is at Sumela Monastery, under restoration in this 1999 image. The 1000-year-old Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Sumela is among the most impressive sights of Turkey's Black Sea coast. The monastery, founded in AD 386, clings to a cliff above a cool evergreen forest in Altindere National Park, in the Maçka district of Trabzon Province in the modern Republic of Turkey. The Sumela Monastery (Greek: Μονή Παναγίας Σουμελά, Moní Panagías Soumelá; Turkish: Sümela Manastırı) is a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Panagia, meaning "All Holy" in Greek) at Melá Mountain (Turkish: Karadağ, which is a direct translation of the Greek name Ssou Melá, "Black Mountain") within the Pontic Mountains (Turkish: Kuzey Anadolu Dağları) range.
    99TUR-37-12mod_Sumela-Monastery-fres...jpg
  • Yeni Kale (New Castle), is a Mameluke fortress from the 13th century AD, located at Kahta Kalesi village, near Eski Kahta (also called Kocahisar) village, near the city of Adiyaman. For licensing options, please inquire.
    99TUR-50-05_Kahta-Kalesi-Adiyaman-13...jpg
  • Uchisar, Cappadocia, Turkey: eroded volcanic tuff hillside
    99TUR-29-37_eroded-tuff-Uchisar.jpg
  • Architect Sinan, who wanted to exceed the grandeur of Hagia Sofia Cathedral, built Süleymaniye Imperial Mosque on Golden Horn harbor from 1550-1557. Süleyman and his wife are buried here. In the West, he is known as Suleiman the Magnificent. In the Islamic world, he is known as the Lawgiver (in Turkish "Kanuni"; making his formal Turkish name of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman), because he completely reconstructed the Ottoman legal system. This image is from İstanbul, in the Republic of Turkey.
    99TUR-04-21_Istanbul-Suleymaniye-Mos...jpg
  • Friendly boys in Amasya, Central Turkey.
    99TUR-36-11_boys-pals-Amasya.jpg
  • Istanbul, Turkey: Rooftop dining near the Blue (Sultanahmet) Mosque. For licensing options, please inquire.
    99TUR-54-10_Blue-Mosque-dine.jpg
  • Santa Barbara Chapel in Goreme, Nevsehir Province (Nev?ehir in Turkish), a region referred to as Cappadocia by Christian tourists, in the Republic of Turkey. This early Christian cave church was carved into volcanic tuff, and the red ceiling artwork dates from about 1000 AD. Image published in the travel handbook "Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast" 2010 and "Moon Spotlight Cappadocia: Including Ankara" 2011 by Jessica Tamtürk, Avalon Travel Publishing.
    99TUR-28-18_Goreme_Santa-Barbara-Cav...jpg
  • Study this tall Greco-Roman statue of Ephesian Artemis in the Ephesus Archaeological Museum at Selçuk in the Republic of Turkey. Excavation at the site of the Artemision in 1987-88 identified the globes on her chest as tear-shaped amber beads (not breasts, nor sacrificed bull testes) which adorned her ancient wooden carved cult image (or xoanon). In Greek mythology, Artemis was Apollo's twin sister, daughter of Zeus and Leto. Cynthia, another name for Artemis, was named from her mythical birth place of Mount Cynthus on Delos Island. The Romans adopted Artemis as goddess Diana. Ephesians were devoted to goddess Cybele as early the 10th century BCE, and incorporated some of those beliefs in their worship of Artemis. Cybele was the ancient Anatolian and Phrygian mother earth goddess dating from Neolithic times. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    99TURC-03-26_Ephesian-Artemis.jpg
  • Visitors walk beneath Corinthian order columns at the Great Theatre of Ephesus, in the Republic of Turkey. Published in the travel handbook "Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast" by Jessica Tamtürk, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2010. The Great Theatre of Ephesus, the largest outdoor theatre in the ancient world, was begun during Hellenistic times (probably during the reign of Lysimachos in the third century BC), and was altered and enlarged from 41-117 AD by Roman emperors Claudius, Nero, and Trajan. The Greek builders dug out a space from Mount Pion (present-day Panayir Dagi) to fit the 30-meter (100-foot) high theater, which accommodated 25,000 people, or 10 percent of the population of Roman Ephesus at its peak. The theatre exhibited the fights of wild beasts and of men with beasts. In the 1st century AD, the Apostle Paul delivered a sermon condemning pagan worship in this theater. Subsequently, followers of the Ephesian cult of Artemis forced Paul and his followers out. Over several centuries, the Cayster River filled the harbor of Ephesus with silt, creating a malaria-infested swamp, pushing the sea 4 kilometers away and cutting off the city's commerce and wealth. By the 6th century AD, Emperor Justinian decided to build the Saint John Basilica 3 kilometers away, which effectively moved the city center to Selçuk.
    99TUR-13-29_Ephesus-Great-Theatre-co...jpg
  • Meeting a friendly Turkish family in Amasya, Central Turkey. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. For licensing options, please inquire.
    99TUR-33-34-Friendly-Turks-Carol.jpg
  • Dancers perform the Spoon Dance, which is a tradition from Konya to Silifke in the Republic of Turkey. Image published in the travel handbook "Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast" by Jessica Tamtürk, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2010.
    99TURC-09-18-Spoon-Dance-Kasik-Oyonu.jpg
  • Native orange crocus flowers bloom in an alpine pasture in the Kaçkar Mountains, Republic of Turkey. Yellow lichen covers nearby rock scree. Glacier-clad Mt. Kaçkar rises to 12,900 feet at right. The name Kaçkar may be from the Armenian word Խաչքար (pronounced Khachkar) meaning "cross stone".  Kaçkar Dağı translates to Kaçkar mountain, and the name of the range Kaçkar Dağları translates to Kaçkar mountains.
    99TUR-C13-01_Kackar_crocus-meadow.jpg
  • Meeting a friendly Turkish family in Amasya, Central Turkey. Published in Sierra Magazine, Sierra Club Outings January/February 2001.
    99TUR-33-nn-Turkish-family.jpg
  • Lycian tombs (or necropoli) from about 400 BCE can be seen by boat on the Dalyan Çay? River, above the ancient harbor city of Caunos, on the Turquoise Coast, near the town of Koycegiz, in southwest Turkey. Dalyan means "fishing weir" in Turkish. The Dalyan Delta, with a long, golden sandy beach at its mouth, is a nature conservation area and a refuge for sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and blue crabs. Image published in the travel handbook "Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast" by Jessica Tamtürk, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2010.
    99TUR-16-21-Lycian-tombs_Dalyan-Rive...jpg
  • See Mosque of the Janissaries, on the Old Harbor of Hania (Chania), on the island of Crete, in Greece, Europe. Mosque of the Janissaries was built in 1645, when Hania fell to the Turks, and is the oldest Ottoman building on Crete. GREEK HISTORY: The Greek War of Independence of 1821-1829 reclaimed Ottoman Turk holdings in the Peloponnese, Sterea Ellada, and the Cyclades & Sporades Islands, but intervention by Britain, France, and Russia would set up foreign kings to control Greece on and off for generations. With Ottoman decline in the mid-1800s, the "Megali Idea (Great Idea)" of a new Greek Empire became popular for reclaiming former Byzantine Greek lands. Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 expanded Greece to include southern Macedonia, part of Thrace, more of Epiros, North-East Aegean Islands, and union with Crete. After siding with the Allies in World War I, Greece invaded Turkey as far as Ankara. But the young General Mustafa Kemal (later called Ataturk) drove the Greeks out of Anatolia. In a stressful exchange, 1.5 million Christians left Turkey and 400,000 Muslims left Greece. Greece suffered terribly under Nazi occupation in World War II due to starvation, and death camps for half the Jews. Greece's turbulent history culminated in a 1946-1949 Civil War between monarchists and democrats, where more Greeks were killed than in World War II. Despair motivated nearly a million Greeks to seek better life in Australia (Melbourne), Canada, USA (New York & Chicago), and elsewhere. After a coup by Colonels 1967-74 and later socialist rule, Greece shifted politically rightwards by 2001. Greek standard of living rose rapidly; low interest rates expanded car ownership. Greece proudly hosted the lightly attended 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, seen on worldwide TV by 3.9 billion viewers. In 2010-12, debt crisis made Greece agree to Eurozone & IMF loan rescue with harsh austerity measures.
    01GRE-18-02_Hania-Old-Harbor_Turkish...jpg
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