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Odun Pazari


Odun Pazari
Photo Information
Copyright: gurkan akcakir (izmirli) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1568 W: 0 N: 1280] (15878)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-03-23
Categories: Architecture
Exposure: f/2.9
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-06-18 2:14
Viewed: 384
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The city of Eskisehir has a history going back thousands of years, and has been home to many civilizations, including the Hittites, Phrygians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans. So this is not only a geographical crossroads but a cultural melting pot. The old quarter of the city known as Odunpazari, and to locals as Yukari Mahalle or Hatap Pazari, is one of the districts where the Turks first settled after they began their conquest of the region in 1074. Legend relates that the first settlers chose the healthiest and airiest area to build their homes by hanging up shee'sg lungs in three places: Sarhöyük (the ancient Dorylaeion), Köprübasi, the site of thermal springs on the edge of the Porsuk River (the ancient Tembris), and Odunpazari on the hillside south of the city where there is thought to have been an earlier settlement in Roman and Byzantine times.


While the lungs in the first two areas quickly spoilt, that in Odunpazari remained fresh for days, and the choice was made.
Odunpazari consists of several neighbourhoods, of which Eskisehir had 17 in all when the 17th-century Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi visited the city. This was where the Turkish and other Moslem inhabitants lived in past centuries. The name Odunpazari means Timber Market, since wood cut in nearby forests was brought here for sale by local villagers. In late Ottoman times the Regie Administration set up by creditor nations took delivery of logs in this market for export abroad in repayment for Turkey's debts.
Today the district is still characterised by many traditional Turkish houses lining the narrow winding streets. The houses are timber-framed with the spaces between the timbers filled with adobe or brick, and some still have their original lattices and bay windowsThe rooms of the mainly two-storey houses are arranged around central spaces known as sofa according to the traditional plan, and each house is designed in conformity to its particular position on the street.


Time seems to have stood still in Odunpazari, with its tiny picturesque squares, roads leading to the mosque of each neighbourhood, and street fountains which are still in use. In fine weather women sit outside their front doors chatting as they knit or embroider, while the men spend their free time playing backgammon in the coffee houses. In the squares are bakeries and street vendors selling simit (bread rings sprinkled with sesame seeds) and poppy seed buns, and in tiny shops on the side streets craftsmen carve objects from meerschaum, which is extensively mined in the province.
Among the numerous mosques in the districts the most notable is Kursunlu Mosque with its sadirvan (fountain for ablutions) in the courtyard, and complex consisting of a posting house where travellers hired horses in the past, a public kitchen and kervansaray, rooms for medrese students and a Mevlevi dervish lodge. The mosque and its associated institutions were constructed by Mustafa Pasa, a vezir of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent in 1525. The mosque has a single leaded dome over the main space, and the portico with its six marble columns and pointed archers is roofed by five small domes. The ashlar minaret is faceted.
Strolling through this tranquil old district of Eskisehir you can easily imagine yourself transported a century back in time. Built on the hillside, some of the streets are steep, but although climbing them may be a little tiring, the interesting views which every street affords make it worth exploring on foot. When you need a rest do not hesitate to enter one of the local coffee houses, where the proprietors and customers always have a hospitable welcome for strangers, male or female. Try ordering a glass of tea and a delicious crisp simit, which seem to taste better here than anywhere else, and soon you will be refreshed for setting out again
efrosini, Marylou, ralph, Cheeta, Pixmaniaque, haberal, milas, riverfriends, scientific, rhymea has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Alba Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 577 W: 0 N: 207] (2762)
  • [2007-06-18 3:56]

Merhaba Gürkan,
You're the great specialist of colourful facades! I like the way you show bright details, beauty in its simplicity, even in poor houses that did not evoke decay, whatever their state, but on the contrary light and joy and the delight of crips simits.
Mary

Merhaba Gurkan :o)
Lovely ! I enjoy blue and yellow tones. Well seen with the cute cat on the stairs. Is the house abandoned ?
Greetings from France
Marylou :o)

hi Gürkan,
nice textures and colours, the cat is a good bonus, well done
regards
jo

  • Great 
  • fff Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 618 W: 0 N: 40] (2608)
  • [2007-06-18 10:35]

Hi Gurken great shot old and very colourful nice capture of the cat it is add alot tfs bye Shimon

Hello Gurkan,
Beautiful colors and textures. Interesting note.
Well done and TFS
(maybee you could clone out the piece of car at the left to make it perfect?)

  • Great 
  • tracer Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 748 W: 27 N: 1185] (6268)
  • [2007-06-18 12:41]

Hi Gurkhan! another colorful one from your travels. textures and colors are good. in my opinion though id remove that tail of a car on the left. TFS!

  • Great 
  • rio Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 140 W: 4 N: 66] (940)
  • [2007-06-18 14:31]

nice compostition! i like the colors of the house! the cat added more interest! well done!

rio

Merhaba Gürkan,


Very nice shot ! This decayed wall is wonderful, well composed, great colours and texture !
A nice "abstract".
Well seen and done
TFS
Best regards
Pascal

merhaba gürkan
yine ilginç ve renkli karelerden
selamlar
asım

Merhaba Gürkan,
Another good picture from you. I love the colors and the frame. Very well taken.
TFS,
Regards,
Oam

great pov gurkan..
i like so much this colors so pastel..
compo is wonderfull.. with the details of this cat, lovely..
well done
ciao
Marco

  • Great 
  • milas Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2162 W: 385 N: 2273] (24634)
  • [2007-06-18 17:01]

merhaba gürkan bey;
yine super renkli bir kare tebrikler selamlar

Hi Gurkan:
Amazing history, and great capture on this site, with many details and love the perspective...
inclusion of the cat makes it 'alive'!
David

Bonjour,
Belle composition bien équilibrée avec de belles couleurs.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

  • Great 
  • lion Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 637 W: 66 N: 25] (5706)
  • [2007-06-19 7:08]

Merhaba Gurkan :),
Excellent shot, very simple but with great details and colors. I like that little cat in that composition.
Pozdrav
Marija

Hello Gurkan,
This is an image with many fine elements!
The old wall, worn out but still fresh in colour... The window, no good anymore...
And the spice on top, the cat!
A well framed scenery with appeal!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Merhaba Gürkan Bey,
renkleri, dokusu ve kompozisyonuyla nefis bir fotoğraf. Tebrikler. Ayrıca yazdığınız not bilgilendirici. Paylaşımınız için teşekkürler.
Selamlar,
hülya

  •      
  • anjhello Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1066 W: 54 N: 284] (4550)
  • [2007-06-21 19:52]

gret composition... nice colors... great work.. well done...

tfs!


(",) smiley to come

  • Great 
  • fkokol Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 245 W: 0 N: 148] (1452)
  • [2007-07-24 14:46]

Harika bir kompzosiyon. renkler inanilmaz guzel. duvardaki detaylar ve dokuda cok hos. ellerinize saglik,

figen

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