Silk Road: Kyz Kala Photo

Photographer’s Note

Travels on the Silk Road:
Because of the current events in Turkmenistan I put some pictures of this country on TE.
Under the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan the oasis of Merv (today Mery or Mary) in Turkmenistan became the center of a giant empire, reaching from Afghanistan to Egypt. A stellar observatorium and library with hundred thousands of books must have existed. But after the onslaught of Jenghis Khan's son Tuluy and his troups in 1221 it was all over. Today the ruins of ancient Merv and its predecessor, Margiana, can be seen strewn over a surface of 40 km2. The new settlement inside Merv is called Bairam Ali. The picture shows the 7th century Kyz Kala (built during the Sassanid empire). The clay colums had the function of physically resisting a direct assault but also to impress the viewer by breaking the harsh sunlight.
The slide was scanned, the pic treated for contrast and shade brightening, sharpened. Enjoy.

i9l2y1m8a8t3, magiqa, colibri, atus, demneh, ahmet54, linask trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

jfigiel (165) 2006-12-29 5:14

Magical place! Great picture. I like work of shadows. Interesting note.

atus (15476) 2006-12-29 5:43

Hello Dietrich,
well captured shot of this magical and peaceful place. Well managed harsh light and good perspective of the Kala. It is always nice to see shots from this country, because there are not many on the net.
Tfs and best wishes!
Attila

ahmet54 (2247) 2007-01-27 9:23

Hallo Dietrich,
interessantes Bilddokument von der Seidenstraße. Außerdem hast du das Bild als Geburtstagsgeschenk für mich gepostet. Aufgrund des Sonnenlichts und um die verschattete Fassade aufzuhellen ist das Bild insgesamt etwas blass geraten. Die Körnung bekommt man mit NeatImage ganz gut weg. Ich habe einen Workshop gemacht. Ich hoffe es gefällt dir.
Gruß,
Roland

[workshop] [compare]

ViktorVaughn (1517) 2007-03-19 20:25

Interesting photo here. The quality is good from a scan. The shadows look nice against the walls. I would have liked to see another object here to get an idea of scale, as I am unaware of just how big this structure is.

TFS

Leo71538 (438) 2007-08-22 0:07

Good capture. I've photographed a real Sassanid silk. See it here:
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Iran/photo682622.htm

magiqa (1264) 2007-12-01 8:03

Very good photo if this for me well known view. I was there recently.

i9l2y1m8a8t3 (241) 2007-12-02 18:06

amazing structure, it's a big WOW, although the photo's not of high quality and not framwed well, still an intersting photo!! TFS!
BTW, your Travels on the silk road theme is very interesting!!!!! a great theme!!!! Congrats! all the best!