BoBo the Original
Ms. Lovely Hair
It was a sunny, pretty hot day around 40 degrees Celcius and I was strolling down an area of the city, I normally don’t visit.
This district is roughly 30 kms to where I live and work, but I’ve heard there had been some restorations made in the area and decided to have a look.
As I told earlier in another post, this is the old city center of Ankara. Until recent years the place was a mess and was not among the places that local people visit frequently.
More than that it was Ramadan and I wasn’t sure what would I find there and whether I will feel comfortable or not.
What I saw surprised me deeply. To my astonishment everyone was drinking and smoking. I am sure there were a lot of people fasting but noone seemed to care. There were a lot of cafes and most of them have several customers enjoying their meal or soft drinks.
Usually I follow my fellow photographer’s images posted on the 100 Strangers Project with envy because I normally don’t come across with interesting people and most of the people I see look alike and dull. But Hamamönü was not like that. Sadly I couldn't find a web page in English but if you click here, you can see some images and have a better idea about how the place look like.
While searching for an English web page about the place, I found this: The World Federation of Travel Journalists and Writers (FIJET) on Monday presented Ankara's Hamamonu district with the "Golden Apple Award", considered to be the FIJET version of the Oscar award, in a ceremony held in Turkish capital of Ankara. Pretty amazing, isn't it?
There were several interesting characters around and you already had seen some of them. I definitely visit the place more frequently.
First I walked the main alleys then decided to visit the several boots selling ornaments, hand made delicacies etc.
As usual I do not have a name. I don’t know why but I always forget to ask.
She was sitting behind one of the boots, selling a wide range of fabric, cloth and scarves.
I introduced myself and after telling about the 100 Strangers Project, started asking some questions. She seemed pretty relaxed at first. After some chatting I learned that she was a little fed up with her life. She told me that she sells her goods in a couple of different places and it is not easy to move everything from place to place. She sometimes hires a stand at a fair, sometimes tries to set a stall in the street. It is not an easy lifestyle and the way she talked about her life made me think about my own life.
When I asked whether I can shoot a couple of images she became pretty shy. She told me she won’t pose, nor look at the camera and that’s the best she can do. I tried to make her talk in order to make her feel relaxed but as my efforts intensified she started to get annoyed and I decided it would be better not to push my luck.
I wish her all the best of luck with her life. Thank you very much for your participation.
This picture is #12 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Ms. Lovely Hair
It was a sunny, pretty hot day around 40 degrees Celcius and I was strolling down an area of the city, I normally don’t visit.
This district is roughly 30 kms to where I live and work, but I’ve heard there had been some restorations made in the area and decided to have a look.
As I told earlier in another post, this is the old city center of Ankara. Until recent years the place was a mess and was not among the places that local people visit frequently.
More than that it was Ramadan and I wasn’t sure what would I find there and whether I will feel comfortable or not.
What I saw surprised me deeply. To my astonishment everyone was drinking and smoking. I am sure there were a lot of people fasting but noone seemed to care. There were a lot of cafes and most of them have several customers enjoying their meal or soft drinks.
Usually I follow my fellow photographer’s images posted on the 100 Strangers Project with envy because I normally don’t come across with interesting people and most of the people I see look alike and dull. But Hamamönü was not like that. Sadly I couldn't find a web page in English but if you click here, you can see some images and have a better idea about how the place look like.
While searching for an English web page about the place, I found this: The World Federation of Travel Journalists and Writers (FIJET) on Monday presented Ankara's Hamamonu district with the "Golden Apple Award", considered to be the FIJET version of the Oscar award, in a ceremony held in Turkish capital of Ankara. Pretty amazing, isn't it?
There were several interesting characters around and you already had seen some of them. I definitely visit the place more frequently.
First I walked the main alleys then decided to visit the several boots selling ornaments, hand made delicacies etc.
As usual I do not have a name. I don’t know why but I always forget to ask.
She was sitting behind one of the boots, selling a wide range of fabric, cloth and scarves.
I introduced myself and after telling about the 100 Strangers Project, started asking some questions. She seemed pretty relaxed at first. After some chatting I learned that she was a little fed up with her life. She told me that she sells her goods in a couple of different places and it is not easy to move everything from place to place. She sometimes hires a stand at a fair, sometimes tries to set a stall in the street. It is not an easy lifestyle and the way she talked about her life made me think about my own life.
When I asked whether I can shoot a couple of images she became pretty shy. She told me she won’t pose, nor look at the camera and that’s the best she can do. I tried to make her talk in order to make her feel relaxed but as my efforts intensified she started to get annoyed and I decided it would be better not to push my luck.
I wish her all the best of luck with her life. Thank you very much for your participation.
This picture is #12 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page