Shrine of Jalaluddin Rumi, a photo from Konya, Central Anatolia

Photographer's Note

Rumi was the founder of what is commonly known as the whirling dervishes and this building was their monastery (it has served other purposes too such as a mosque). It contains the tombs of Mevlana (Rumi) and is still a holy place even though it is now considered a museum.

The famous dancing of the Dervishes is very spiritual and the dance for religious reasons is outlawed in Turkey; however, it is performed now by trained dancers for tourists and cultural vultures. It reminds me a bit of the situation in Tibet. I know of monasteries hidden in the hills of Scotland of Tibetans that fled and also of followers of Mevlana (and thus Dervish dancing) in the South of England.

This image was taken at sunrise looking over the market area. While some may find the solar heating system in the way a distraction, I feel it adds a sense of depth to the image.

digi-mom, notrap heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

ahmetgedikli (25609) 2007-02-24 5:18

Hi Dan,
Very beautiful composition and great sky! Excellent silhouettes! Well done!
Have a good weekend.
Ahmet

skellywag (887) 2007-02-24 5:33

This is stunning, the silhouettes give depth and the sky is lovely. Ineresting hisory too. Regards, Jean

suhan (3552) 2007-02-24 5:42

wonderful cadrage, composition, colours and silhouttes...
very well done
tfs-regards
merve-suleyman

mesutilgim (0) 2007-02-24 6:31

Hello Dan,
Grat capture , full of emotions and nice technique.
The only thing which disturbed me was the water haeater and the tv antenna. I made a workshop and posted it;hope you'll like it.
TFS
and happy week end
MESUT ILGIM

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pady (4800) 2007-02-27 15:22

Very nice depth in this image, because the silhouettes have several different blacks.
I like this composition.
Cheers
Pierre-André

BobTrips (1857) 2007-03-24 23:48

You caught a good sky but I think the best shot would have been to get yourself up with the water heater and with a wide lens.

While I agree that including the water heater, etc. adds depth, it also takes away the potential timeless nature of the shot.

Probably makes a good photo documentary about how modern technology is intruding on our history.

I posted a workshop in which I selected and lightened the dark foreground area. I think it makes it less obvious.

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notrap (7812) 2007-03-31 17:57

Hello Dan,
Good picture and intresting note! I´ve seen pictures of the dances, but I did not know it is performed only as folkloristic event in Turkey.
I don´t think the water heater is too distracting, but in my opinion it does not give any depth either. (Can there be depth in a picture the consists of a silhouette and a sunrise?)
I had a look at the workshops, and now I`m eager to do it better than Mesut Ilgim, I want to show that it is possible to remove the water heater without leaving traces.
Wether it´s necessary or not - I´m not sure.
Should a photographer pretend that there are no antennas or other modern things? Does a holy place not go well together with a water heater?
I don´t want to decide that.
Regards,
Elvira

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