29.5.11

Children of the Revolution

Well you're not used to me talking about those things here, are you? But the thing is: in Greece and in other European countries something's going on. The people, enraged with the governments and bankers playing with their lives are out on the squares. Be there.
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28.5.11

Clothing tips to Istanbul

The last post of the Istanbul series will be about fashion. And for the kind of clothing that I like, the best neighborhood of Istanbul is Cihangir. I'll tell you about the shops in the order I found them, on a hot day.

Asli Jackson's store is on Bostanbaşı Caddesi. She has a fine collection of handmade pieces of clothing and accessories.

this is one of her designs. The photo comes from her website

In this shop I found a freshly painted table and some lace shirts that were absolutely stunning but not my size. I wish they did mail order.

Mozk Costume and Design is a bit further away, on Ağa Hamamı Sokak. A big shop full of vintage clothing and accessories. Since I was on the lace-craze phase (and still am, actually) I bought a black lace robe de chambre from the 70's, that I wear over black dresses. It would be a shame to hide it in a bedroom. The shop has a site
but since I've had difficulties with it, I'd recommend their facebook page

And the last shop, that wasn't in Cihangir. We found it in a rather uncommon place for original accessories: the Grand Bazaar. It's a shop called cocoon on Halicilar Caddesi no38.
We fell in love with the felt jewellery. I bought a ladybug ring and a pair of earrings taht you might see soon.


Well.Last post. I'll miss Istanbul and writing about it but, oh well. That's life

19.5.11

What you have to taste in Istanbul

Tea
Although the trip to Istanbul was crazy cheap (and we were crazy happy about that) we can't say we cheaped out on our food. We ate pies, Turkish pizza (pide), doner, meatballs, sweets, vegetarian food, everything. And we drank a few things too.
When in Istanbul you ABSOLUTELY have to taste the tea.The traditional tea is black. They bring it in a glass cup that has an hourglass shape (minus the top) and you drink it with one sugar cube(at least that's how it worked for me). But then, there are many different flavors of tea. We discovered them in the spice bazaar. Apple Tea, lemon tea, jasmine tea with the little flowers that open up in the water, mixed tea with orange, apple and other fruit and many more.
I bought a great portion of apple tea and now I can drink it back home. I also bought jasmine tea but I haven't had a chance to taste it yet.
For me, the second thing you must absolutely do is taste whatever the street sellers offer. Corn, chestnuts, koulouri (that's the Greek name, it's actually some sort of soft bread), kebap, fresh juice (they have orange juice, but also mysterious juices like pomegranate juice) and Turkish ice cream, that's made in a different way than conventional ice cream.
Last but not least,the spices. Turkish cuisine has a lot of spices that you might want to bring home and experiment on your food. The best place to buy spice is (well guess) the spice bazaar where you'll find spice you've never heard of. You'll have a lot of fun and don't forget to bargain!

13.5.11

Elegant

Elegant

Kalia and a cat, "holy" animal of Istanbut (seriously, we saw them everywhere!)

It's exhibition day!


Yet another break from the Istanbul series but this time it can't be helped: I'm having a team exhibition in Patras :D I'd tell you about this sooner,but blogger wouldn't cooperate. Anyway the Photography Festival starts today and will be there until the 22 of May and hosts pictures from the University's photography teams of Patras, Athens, Thessaloniki and Creta. I'll exhibit my back series and a family portrait. Be there!

8.5.11

I'm on my way now...

(kataramenh talaipwria)
Going back from the biggest of Prince's Islands,
Büyükada.

7.5.11

Photographer's tips to Istanbul

Going on on the series about Istanbul, I simply have to tell you about the places photographers should absolutely go. Ι don't mean places to photograph, everybody has it's own tastes on the subject (although mine is probably Fener). I mean places to find equipment.
The first place I discovered in Istanbul is Hayan Pasaji (I might be spelling it wrong, but I don't think you'd have a problem finding it) near the tram station Sirkeci, in the old town, Sultanahmet. It's a six floor building with shops c0ntaining photography equipment. The film camera shops were a minority amongst them. There was a really expensive leica shop on the second floor, another one with reasonably priced cameras but nothing that interested me and one on the third floor that was the best for me. It had Nikonos, TLR's and any kind of old camera you can imagine. I got a jupiter 8 50mm f.2 and a lomo smena for a friend. The owner was very kind, spoke some English (most of the people there don't speak a word) and offered me tea. I'd recommend him strongly.
The second place is a second hand shop I discovered on Galip Dede street (Dede means grandpa and galip is a name, according to our receptionist). It's on your left hand, when you're descending the road, a passage which has some old books and cameras on the frond. I found an old lady beside them, who conducted me to the shop inside. It had mostly Russian cameras from the 70's in very reasonable prices. I didn't get a thing but I would if I had more money and was in need of a good camera.

I saw cameras on the grand bazaar too and Cihangir but they were massively overpriced, so if you're not a bargain expert, don't even ask for the price.

I'll be back with more.

5.5.11

Ah, Istanbul!

The next series of posts will be related to the city I've been to in the last 8 days, Istanbul. My first visit to Turkey, my first visit to the borders and outside Europe(don't count Greece). An amazing experience I'd like to share with you.
So for starters, I'd recommend you looking at the work of Ara Güler.
He's a photographer that caught the spirit of Istanbul in a very attractive way. He says photography isn't an art, but he does it in a very artistic way, don't you think?
And this just isn't the end...