Steve McCurry and Iznik Pottery in Istanbul

Before really getting back into the start of a new academic year I took advantage of the Eid weeklong break and traveled to Istanbul for a long weekend.  Since I feel so at home in IstanbulI really just did all of my favorite things.  The weather was perfect- clear and cool enough for walking around but not too cool to relax by the pool. 

The Museum of Modern Art was hosting a photography exhibit by Steve McCurry who is the National Geographic photographer probably most famous for his cover portrait of the woman with the piercing blue eyes from Afghanistan.   Because of my love of travel and photography I was really excited to view this exhibit of his work with the last roll of Kodak kodachrome film.  When Kodak decided to stop producing kodachrome film in 2009 they bequethed the final roll off the assembly line to McCurry.  Production of kodachrome film began in 1936 and is considered an 'icon' of image technology.  He decided that all 36 exposures should tell a story.  He began shooting in New York City where he photographed Grand Central Station, Robert Di Niro, and every day life in Washington Square Park and Union Square.  He traveled to India where colors are such an important part of life.  In addition to shooting Bollywood icons he focused on the Rabari tribe in Rajasthan.  He took one exposure in Istanbul- a portrait of his friend Ara Guler, a famous Turkish photographer known as 'the eye of Istanbul.'  http://www.araguler.com.tr/  As the production of the film stopped, there was only one lab in the world where he could develop the photos: Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas.  Hence, the last three frames were taken there.  The very last frame is of a cemetery in Parsons where in front of one of the statues there are red and yellow flowers that resemble the colors of kodachrome.   It was really a moving exhibit full of brilliant color and people whose expressions told stories.  You can view
McCurry's photographs on his website and also see if The Last Roll of Kodachrome is going to be at a gallery near you!!  http://www.stevemccurry.com/main.php   

Here are some of my photos from this trip to Istanbul.

                                                          Dome of the Hagia Sofia

Mosaics in the Hagia Sofia

                                   View of Blue Mosque minerets through Hagia Sofia window

                                                  flying butresses and mineret- Hagia Sofia

View of the Galata Tower across the Golden Horn

Corn and hazelnut vender

                               fish restaurants under the bridge and subway going over the bridge

'Yalis' historic mansions of the pashas along the shores of the Bosphorus

so many containers on one ship!!

One of my purchases this trip was a piece of Iznik pottery in the Grand Bazaar.  Iznik pottery is named anfter a town in western Anatolia in Turkey where it was made.  The main development of Iznik pottery is said to have taken place during the second half of the 16th century, after the 1514 capture of the city of Tabriz by the Ottoman Sultan in the Battle of Chaldiran. The ceramic artisans of Tabriz were forcibly relocated to Iznik to practice their techniques.  The Iznik style started with blue and white arabesque patterns in the late 15th century and developed gradually into bolder and more vibrant naturalism that characterised the ceramics of the late half of the 16th century.  The bowl I bought is not an antique piece but a modern one.  And will look nice at Christmas!