Going to Turkey ..

GarynLea

GarynLea

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Gary
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... on the 29th for a fortnight to see my nephew get married.

We'll be staying in the Antalya area and just wondered if anyone had been or could advise on good places to visit whilst there. I'm more into wildlife photography but I dont mind widening my horizons with a few buildings, landscapes etc. Also are there any definate no-no's as far as photography is concerned in Turkey?

I just need to convinvce SWMBO that my camera gear has to go as hand luggage now.

Thanks in advance
 
Very nice, I was in Antalya briefly just over a month ago.

The coastline is quite pretty and you should get some nice shots there. Antalya and all the towns along the coast there are dumps architecturally apart from the mosques, which look like alien space ships trying to hide in the back streets. I didn't get any shots of them that satisfied me though.

Inland the landscape consist mainly of huge plains surrounded by mountain ranges and I expect you could get some nice scenic shots as well as great pictures of the locals working the farms, but you will need to get off the beaten track.

Turkey is great for street photography because people still live and work in plain sight. Most people are friendly - in fact you could get tired of this :), and tolerant of foreigner idiots with cameras.

If you have time you should get away and see Pamukkale, which was really the highlight of my visit. It's basically a mountain made of salt with the ruins of Heirapolis on top. The scenery is surreal and fantastic photographic material. It's about a hundred kilometres away but you can get a very acceptable hotel room with breakfast for a tenner a night so it doesn't cost much to make the detour.
 
hey, my geography aint too good and i can't for the life of me think how big turkey is but if you're anywhere near bodrum there's a really well known huge market that is brilliant for trying out candid and street photos and stuff, no-one seems to object to being photographed or even stop talking to yu long enuff to notice you're holding a camera so pretty much just enjoy to your hearts content!
one thing though, the part i visited was very religious and cautious about people not wearing something displaying the 'seeing eye' emblem so if you can pick up a pin or bracelet with one on, the locals seemed to respond more positively to chats once i was wearing one, lovely people over there in general though they can be a bit over-friendly when trying to sell you stuff!
The water taxis are cool to photograph too, especially watching finely dressed snooty peeps trying to not fall in the sea! always classic! enjoy yourself!
 
Many thanks guys, I really appreciate the tips.

Gary :)
 
Hi gary, There are statues of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in almost all Turkish towns and villages. Insulting Ataturk is an imprisonable offence http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/16/turkey.humanrights and A guide book I read some years ago suggested photographing his statue in an amusing manor, e.g. getting the other half to point at him in the pic etc, could get you into a spot of bother with the locals. Not sure if this still aplies but I decided against taking any pictures of his statues just in case.

As far as places worth visiting, Efes is pretty interesting, I realise it's mostly ruins, but you can find lots of lizards and interesting birds in those ruins, And it gives the rest of the family something interesting to do while you run around in the undergrowth looking for lizards on interesting bits of masonry.
 
Stayed at the Kremlin Palace Hotel near side if I remember rightly.. Lovely place if you take a boat trip to Antalya I am sure you will pass the Waterfalls which flow into the Sea... Very nice, The colours and people are very nice.

Visit some of the Carpet and Rug factorys you get some good images there. Plus the archeological site.

Just going to the local towns presents loads of shots...

Enjoy the Wedding and have a nice break..

Shutterman
 
Wow, my diary is gonna be full at this rate. Excellent info there Davec uk, I'll have to remember that.

Again, many thanks everyone
 
The Antalya area is pretty big, it would help if you could say exactly where you'll be based.

In Antalya the Kaleici area in the centre of the city (inside the castle walls) has some very picturesque bits. At this time of year most of the country scenery around Antalya is brown but there are a few nice bits. Head off up into the mountains to the north west of the city for some good stuff.

Most of the locals will start lining up as soon as they see a camera come out of a bag. As previously said, don't do anything disrepectful towards an Ataturk statue, you do not want to be in a Turkish jail. There is a large marina in Antalya city too.

Have fun and welcome to Turkey :wave:
 
I've been to Didyma on the west coast a couple of times (Turkish ex-girlfriend). And Turkey is without a doubt the most friendly country I've ever been to.

I agree with most of what's been said above, Ephesus is a site to see, though be prepared to sweat. And Pamukkale is pretty amazing, as far as natural phenomena go it's up there with the best.

I've never heard of trouble with photographing Kemal's statues, generally Turkey's a pretty liberal country. They've been trying their best to hang on to secularism, etc. Though I'm willing to stand corrected on that.

Soke market is an experience, but all this is a bit far west from where you're headed.

Just remember Turks and Kurds are two different peoples and you'll be fine. ;)

Teşekkür ederim.

Jamie.
 
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