June 2019 - The Jacobs Family Website

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019

Istanbul – Sultanahmet Area

The last gallery from the Turkey trip – this one is of the last two days we spent in the old historic center of Istanbul – the Sultanahmet area. Home to the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, the Cistern (and our hotel). It was a great trip for photography (and Turkish cotton towels).

Ben and Nora at our favorite lunch place - it had good food, a rooftop terrace and was right across the street from the hotel.

The view from the rooftop cafe was pretty spectacular.

Hagia Sophia seen from the Turkish Art Cafe. The tile roof building in the foreground was our hotel.

Getting measured for Turkish bathrobes in the Arasta Bazaar

Kai and Ben in the Arasta Bazaar

Getting ready to visit the Hagia Sophia first thing in the morning before the crowds set in.

Outside the Hagia Sophia

In the outer chamber before entering the main room. Gold mosiac ceiling and the wall decorations were the patterns from the cut marble.

The main door into the Hagia Sofia. Note the steps worn down from 1500 years of use.

Jacobs in the Hagia Sophia

View up at one of the passageways

Everyonoe was pretty impressed.

Caught the morning sun coming in through the windows. This one was not HDR.

Another shot of the morning sun along with the pulpit.

This column was brought from the Temple of Artimes at Ephesus. It has a thumb shape notch in it polished smooth by folks putting thier thumb in it and spinning their hand all the way around. Supposed to bring good luck...or maybe the flu.

Nora peers out of an upper story window at the Hagia Sophia

View of the tombs in the outer courtyard.

A mosaic on the upper story that was only partially destroyed and then plastered over. Now restored.

The Blue Mosque as seen from the upper Hagia Sophia. An iconic Istanbul picture. I suprised there was not a line for this particular vantage point.

Nora in the gallery of the Hagia Sophia

Corridor leaving the Hagia Sophia.

Outside now - the day is gettting hot.

A lantern shop in the Kapali Karchi (Grand Bazaar).

Kai in the old bazaar - to get the full effect you need to imagine it hot, poorly ventilated, and with lots of stale cigarette smoke

Another lantern shop picture taken in bald defiance of the no photos policy.

Passageway in the old bazaar

Somewhere down near the very center.

At the entrace to the old antique and jewelry area

Another picture of the Kapali Karshi

Last image of a lantern shop

Nora at lunch.

Kai at lunch

Crystal in the hotel barIt was not your typical hotel bar.

Crystal with the Hagia Sophia taken from the hotel

Kai and Nora get ready for sundowner milkshakes.

At the Seven Hills restaurant.

Nora at the Seven Hills restaurant

Hagia Sophia at sunset.

Kai hanging out with Mom and Dad in the hotel lounge

Modesty requried in the Blue Mosque

Jacobs family in the Blue Mosque

Nora outside the Blue Mosque. She covered her hair but still wore her "Thirsty Pagan" t-shirt.

June 24, 2019June 24, 2019

Istanbul – Bosphorus Cruise

Here is gallery 3/4. We arrived in Istanbul mid-day and after a long and sweaty cab ride to the hotel (the driver relied on Google maps which kept telling him to go down pedestrian-only streets). Crystal, being the superb trip planner that she is had arranged a cruise on the Bosphorus¹ in our own private yacht. Having dinner on the boat while we sailed up and down the Bosphorus was a real treat – we even got to see dolphins playing in front of the boat though it was too dark and precarious to get any pictures.

Crystal on the Bosphorus

Kai looking snazzy in his dress shirt.

A Turkish flag catching the setting sun.

Water birds skimming over the Bosphorus

Crystal and Nora on the cruise

Crystal catches the setting sun

Water front mosque on the Bosphorus

Waterfront mosque and buildings

Kai on the Bosphorus cruise

Crystal on the cruise

It was a warm day but the temperature dropped pretty sharply on the water and even more so after the sun went down.

Nothing much to see or do. Time to check snapchat

White marble mosque at dusk on the Bosphorus

Bosphorus hillside after dark

Passing by the old city fortifications on the Bosphorus cruise

Istanbul at night.

It got downright cold.

Kai takes advantage of the blankets the crew offered.

June 23, 2019

Southern Turkey – Priene, Miletus, and Didyma

Our last full day in southern Turkey was a road trip south to three ancient sites – Priene, Miletus, and Didyma. Priene was a favorite and was just as I remembered it from 18 years ago though back then the hills weren’t as steep or as tall. It was a huge, sprawling site with lots of amazing things to see and *we were the only people there* – at one point another couple blew through and a guard checked on us once but other than that it was just insects buzzing and refreshing breezes in the pines.

Miletus was also interesting (if you are into axiomatic proofs it is where it all began) but was mainly the ruins of the (still amazing) amphitheater. Most amphitheaters were build into hillsides to simplify the engineering but Miletus was an imposing structure coming up out of a flat plane.

The final site was the Temple of Apollo at Didyma. Not too much remained of it but in its heyday it must have been something to see. Had it not been destroyed by an earthquake it was a favored contender to make the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World list.

One interesting observation visiting sites like this is the sense of time past. Looking at an very old tree – maybe 60-80 years growing up out of the ruins of an old temple and it is easy to imagine that tree taking root after the city was abandoned. But that’s not the case. Ten times that many trees have grown, aged, fell, rotted and been replaced since these cities were thriving centers.

The ruins at Priene were my favorite. Previously a harbor city it was now quite a hike uphill to the ruins.

We saw one other couple walk through that morning. Otherwise the lizards were our only company.

The main road up to Priene

Ancient Priene city wall

Plants scrabbling for purchase on a crumbling wall

Nora takes a break on the ruins of the temple to the Egyptian gods

Crystal on the clifftop at Priene

Nora with her camera

Nora and Kai with the Mountain that shielded one side of ancient Priene

Kai in one of the amphitheater seats of honor.

The Priene amphitheater. In very good shape considering.

Crystal at the top of the amphitheater

Red poppies (I think) growing in the shade on the amphitheater

Priene poppies

Kai and Nora take their seats.

Flowers clinging to a wall in the rooms behind the amphitheater stage

Nora in the pulpit of the anicent church

Crystal takes a break in the ruins of the church. It was a hot day but it was nice in the shade of the pines and there were plenty of old pines for shade.

A camera balanced on a fallen column provided the only whole-family photo of the trip.

The ruins of the church and market. These trees are pretty old but tress just as old have grown and died multiple times since this was a thriving city.

A hissing tortoise was not happy we were on his path.

The ruins of the temple of Athena were the coolest feature of the site.

This shady and peaceful grove behind the temple was nice and cool and the only sound was the breeze in the pines.

A closeup of the bark

This is a picture taken up the trunk of one of the old pines in that grove.

The view of the countryside taken from the temple.

Ancient carving on the temple floor.

An other shot of the local farms with collapsed columns in the fore ground.

Nora in the agora.

Kai coming downt he steps from the temple with Crystal behind.

Another shot of Agora Nora.

Crystal in the old Agora.

The Jacobs family chillin in the ruins of the meat marketplace.

Heading back down - still two more sites to visit

Last shot of the Turkish farms around Priene

Kai at Miletus.

Another shot of the crumbling side of the amphitheater

A panorama of the amphitheater. Miletus was home of Thales of Miletus who is credited with the first recorded geometric proof.

Mileus was hot and, unlike Prienne, there was very little shade.

View from the top

Costal mountains in the distance.

Amphitheater steps. I just like the geometry of this shot.

Nora chasing lizards

Farmland seen from the top of the MIletus Amphitheater.

Nora at Miletus

Ben and Nora at Miletus

Crystal at Miletus

Kai takes in the view from the top.

This snail was clining under one of the arches in the amphitheater.

Another shot of the amphitheater

Ben changing lenses with Kai

The temple of Apollo at Didyma

A medusa head fallen from the temple.

Kai with the few pillars still standing.

Another shot of the temple. The entire structure would have been as tall as those two pillars still standing. Impressive by any measure.

Bought a bunch of roadside strawberries and washed them with bottled water. Delicious.

Nora at Didyma

Back at the hotel Kai and Nora went out for ice cream on their own. The ice cream stand was within view of the hotel and Dad has a nice zoom lens.

Crystal enjoys the local ambiance during our last dinner in Kusadesi

Enjoying massage chairs in the airport.

June 22, 2019June 22, 2019

Southern Turkey – Kusadesi and Ephesus

I’ve now downloaded all of the Turkey trip pictures off of the camera (there were about 1200) and I’ve narrowed them down to my favorite 150 or so. I’m going to post them up in four galleries – here is the first.

We started the trip with an overnight flight to Istanbul then a connection to Izmir where we rented a car and drove to Kusadesi which is a beach resort town close to Ephesus. This gallery has pictures of Kusadesi, Ephesus and our trip to the picturesque mountain village of Sirince.

Happy to be heading to southern Turkey.

Arriving at the hotel

Kai and Nora on the Kusadesi corniche. The sun was very bright.

Nora with her camera on the Kusadesi corniche

Sculpture in Kusadesi

Going for a walk on the Corniche

Turkish flag over Kusadesi

My lens ball was confiscated at an airport security checkpoint (apparently it could be thrown at someone) but that didn't stop me.

Ice cream hijinks. They never got old (for Nora at least)

Nora a little too exited for ice cream

Nora taking pictures in Ephesus

Crystal outside the library at Ephesus

Nora at the Ephesus library.

Kai taking a rest at the library.

Kai in the library doorway - the beautiful facade is on the other side. This is what is behind it. Fewer books than I expected.

Nora inside the Library at Ephesus.

Statue outside the Ephesus Library.

Another staute on the Library facade.

Chillin' in the shade in the library.

View up at the base of the library.

The place was pleasantly empty this early though it was still pretty hot. It sure crowded up later.

The Library at Ephesus with a cloudless blue sky.

Crystal resting on the main avenue at Ephesus. Right outside the ancient communal toilets I believe.

Nora at Ephesus

Crystal at Ephesus

Kai wishing he had brought sunglasses

A telephoto shot of the library taken from further up the hill

A plant makes a go of it on an ancient wall in Ephesus

An entire hilside was under a protective cover to protect the excavations

Walkways gave us a birds eye view of the ancient homes. Here we see that mosaic flooring ended up a better choice than carpets (in the long run anyway).

Crowds beginning to make their way down toward the library.

Ephesian arch

Ephesus at rush hour

Ephesus crowds up and everyone is trying to get a picutre with nobody else in it.

At the very top of the hill in Ephesus. By now it was getting seriously warm with no shade and we still had to walk 1.5 km to the car.

Nora with an Ephesian column.

Crystal at the Ephesian amphitheater

After Ephesus we poped up to the tiny mountain top town at Sirince. Very picturesuqe. Parking is outside of town - only walking up the steep streets.

Crsytal and Nora in one of the two old churches in the Sirince. This one was open to the public the other was not.

Inside the old church in Sirince

Crystal and Nora looking out over the Turkish hillside.

Kai outside the church in Sirince.

The whole town seemed like it was a market. We were lucky we came early. When we left late afternoon the ine of cars coming up the steep mountain road stretched for kilometers.

Ka and Nora were facsinated by the Turkish soaps. Here they are getting ready to haggle.

Sirince hillside.

Dinner in Kusadesi. Great food!

Crystal at breakfast on the rooftop.

A cruise ship was in that morning.

June 12, 2019June 12, 2019

High Dynamic Range (HDR) in Turkey

I’ve been dabbling with HDR images for several years now. The process involves taking three (or more) images at different exposure levels and then using software to blend the images together – the over-exposed image captures good detail in the shadows and the the under-exposed image captures good detail in the highlights. The end result can often be striking. The results can often be striking and, because the human eye has a much higher dynamic range than a camera it can often better approximate the detail that someone sees in reality.

Because three images are being blended, it is difficult or impossible to capture HDR images of people or moving object which is why they are typically only seen of architecture or landscapes. In the early days I used a tripod and manually adjusted the exposure. These days my camera has a bracket setting and will take 3 images at the proper exposure in quick succession.

Because of the required software post processing the results can’t be fully appreciated in the field and the images are only compiled after returning home. Here is a set of HDR images that I took on the recent trip to Turkey….enjoy!

Kusadesi Hillside with houses painted in a stunning gradient

Kusadesi hillside as seen from the corniche

Ephesus column with morning sun

The library at Ephesus - it is good to get there before the crowds.

An HDR image with people in it is a challenge because multiple photos are involved and people tend to move. Here is a rare one where everyone held still for the entire bracket.

Columns at the temple of Athena at Preiene

Athena Temple columns

An HDR shot of one of the passageways at the amphitheater at Miletos

Another shot of the passageway at the amphitheater at Miletos

Pedestrain tunnel at the amphitheater - the layout of the facility is recongizable in any modern stadium as well.

A sunset shot of the Galeta Tower durning sunset - taken from a boat on the bosphorus.

The Sulemaini mosque as seen from across the Bosphorus.

Another shot of the Galeta tower. This one caught a flight of sea birds streaking past.

Istanbul Mosque and hillsside during sunset

Another stunning mosque during sunset on the Bosphorus.

The Asian side of Istanbul with hillside homes and a couple of mosques including one with Eid celebration lights strung between the minarets.

The Hagia Sophia is made for HDR. Lots of deep colors and moody shadows.

Looking up at the central dome (blue) and a secondary dome (gold) with a Seraphim in between.

Sunlight streaking in through upper windows. The lens flare really makes this photo work.

One of the Seraphim flanking the central dome.

Another picture of the early sun coming through the upper windows.

Massive hanging laps lit the huge open space.

View of the central dome with some of the scaffholding that I think is just as old. At least is has been there since 2001 for sure.

This shot from the upper gallery really gives a sense of the massive enclosed space. Not a bad architectural feat when most of the world was living in mud huts.