Imposing Celcus, a photo from Izmir, Aegean

Photographer's Note

Ever since its facade was reconstructed, the Celsus library of Ephesus has become one of the best known classic monuments in Turkey. It is to be seen on postcards, on prospects and posters of tourism firms, even on the Turkish bank note of 20 million lira. The hundreds of thousands of tourists who yearly visit Ephesus and, walking down the Embolus from the agora, see the magnificent artefact from afar, know it best. From the point where the marble road turns north to the theatre, the visitor has only to walk a few more metres to reach a little square, the west side of which is comprised by the library. In its glory days, between 12,000 and 15,000 scrolls were housed in this grand building and it was the third richest library in ancient times after the Alexandra and Pergamum.

Designed by the Roman architect Vitruoya, the library was built in memory of Celsus Polemeanus, who was a Roman senator, General Governor of the Province of Asia, and a great lover of books. Celsus' son, Julius Aquila, began the construction in 110 AD. The library was completed by Julius Aquila's successors in 135 AD.

The Library of Celsus was remarkable not only for its size and its beauty, but also for its clever and efficient design. The library's marble facade rises with nine steps to 17 m height, with a width of 21 m. The facade of the library has two-stories, with Corinthian style columns on the ground floor and three entrances to the building. There are three windows openings in the upper story. They used an optical trick that the columns at the sides of the facade are shorter than those at the center, giving the illusion of the building being greater in size.

The external walls of the building, to the southern, western and northern side, were plain and made of bricks, based on foundations from architectural parts previously used in other buildings. The remnant of one of these walls can be seen on the right. Also you may observe the wall which runs into the pitcture from the lower frame...from where I was stood as I took this shot; This is the wall of the public toilet of Ephesus.

Royaldevon, danos, besnard, asajernigan, macjake, pierrefonds, holmertz, ourania, PaulVDV, jjcordier, papagolf21, COSTANTINO, rychem, Didi, stego, maria-v1981, adores, mkamionka trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

lousat (139298) 2014-08-13 1:54

Hi Anghsu,i been there 5 years ago and it's very nice to watch again this spectacular building,the symbol of Ephesus caught in a great way,i like your point of view and the magnificent contrast and brightness,a lot of people inside as usual...ehehe...have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

shreya2000 (2815) 2014-08-13 2:30

Dear Sir,

The light is very hard on this picture. I think this is taken around 1Noon. The sky colour is very strange comparing the foreground light on this picture.

Anywat the ruins are nicely taken by you. One thing is that we can see such type of building in and around Delhi also.

Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
joginder

Royaldevon (85932) 2014-08-13 2:39

Hello Angshu,

I have always maintained that it quite difficult to make ruins look exciting to people who have not shared the experience but, you have done a great job of including us in this shot. The person, far left, becomes our guide and we can follow the other tourists into the ruins where there is a lot to see. You have composed the scene really well, given us sharp details to peruse and, as a person who loves history, I long to be there!

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

danos (110407) 2014-08-13 2:47

Hi Angshu,
very nice presentatio of this famous reconstructed library of Celsus in Ephesus,with the lot of tourists to be there enjoying the archeological site.Excelelnt the light and the colour management as the beauty of the place as reminded to me the place,that visited four years ago.

Regards,Danos

besnard (59196) 2014-08-13 2:50

Bonjour Angshuman
Une belle photo de ce superbe site. Je vois qu'il y a toujours autant de monde. Lorsque je suis passée par là il faisait une chaleur écrasante. Ton image me rappelle de bons souvenirs.
Amitiés et bonne journée.
Nicole

asajernigan (21427) 2014-08-13 3:26

Hello Angshuman,
This is a great shot of these fantastic ruins. The deep blue sky provides a great backdrop for the scene. The people add a sense of scale for the shot. The lighting and colors are great and the photo has good sharpness and DOF.
TFS,
Asa

macjake (98456) 2014-08-13 4:15

Hi Anghsu
I know I say it everytime, but i can't help myself...If only we had a time machine so we could travel back to see how this looked in its PRIME.

Same goes for all these pieces of architecture in Italy, Tunisia, Turkey etc...

first of all, i really like the frame you chose, its quite smart looking.

secondly, the colors and lighting are spot on.
and even without clouds buffering/filling the sky it still looks great in this harsh lighting.

fine photo, certainly captured my attention.
cheers
craig

pierrefonds (114494) 2014-08-13 4:45

Hi Angshuman,

The presence of the people has an effect of scale. The point of view is showing the details of the ruins. The quality of the light is enhancing the beauty of the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Sergiom (117241) 2014-08-13 6:15

Bonjour Angshuman

J'ai posté la même photo dernièrement mais sous un angle légèrement différent. J'aime beaucoup celui-ci avec une lumière de toute beauté qui fait ressortir les beautés de l'endroit. J'aime bien les palmiers au haut de la photo.

Amicalement

Serge

holmertz (102732) 2014-08-13 6:48

Hello Angshuman,
This photo has an abundance of fine details of great cultural and human interest. The sharpness and colours are magnificent. It certainly benefits the composition to have people included in most places, but I fear their number may have been very close to the limit where the place could feel crowded. But that is what tourism is like today. The famous places draw huge (and sometimes noisy) crowds. On the other hand it is usually possible to walk away just a short distance to find a peaceful corner all for yourelf.
Kind regards,
Gert

ourania (51103) 2014-08-13 7:04

Hello Angshuman,
I've been to this fascinating place and really loved the visit. Your point of view and composition are very interesting, you kept a good distance from the visitors and included so many details and textures for the viewer to enjoy before their glance rests on the remains of the famous library. The quality of the light is wonderful, excellent colours and clarity make the scene so vivid. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a lovely day,
Ourania

siudzi (34141) 2014-08-13 11:59

Hello Angshuman,
You have visited a really special place. So sad that these are only ruins of these impressive constructions. Well seen and composed from a well selected POV. TFS!

Best wishes,
Gosia

PaulVDV (62944) 2014-08-13 13:51

Hello Angshu,
Splendid presentation of the library of Ephesus shown in a much wider area.
The picture is wonderfully detailed. There's really a lot to look at.
Excellent sharpness, clarity and composition.
Best regards, Paul

abmdsudi (95869) 2014-08-13 21:42

Namaste Angshu
Was there sixteen years ago (sadly all the neg are full of fungus hard-impossible to salvage) its an amazing place and the magnificent ruins so expertly shot, I love the colourful people around adding the extra spice to the lively shot and they give it a good sense of scale and depth, Even from this pov there's wealth of good detail to savour and many different shades of delicate colours in the elegant stonework, etc, especially the pillars. A graceful image efficiently exposed indeed and there's a sense of cool shade away from the heat of the day too. Thanks for the `history lesson'. It always helps to put this type of shot into context and finally the deep blue sky sets this 7th Wonder off to perfection - Turkish Delight Indeed :))
Warm regards

jjcordier (79299) 2014-08-13 23:13

Angshuman
Excellente photo de ces très belles ruines d'Ephèse remarquablement éclairées. Bon cadrage.
Amicalement
JJ

papagolf21 (152607) 2014-08-13 23:29

Bonjour, cher Angshu,
Cadre magnifique pour les passionnés d'Histoire et d'architecture. Merci de nous faire profiter de ce merveilleux spectacle ainsi que de la note d'accompagnement très riche.
Amitiés.
Philippe

emka (158198) 2014-08-13 23:42

Hi dear Angshu,

A lot of people and it is nothing strange in it, it is one of the most beautiful and famous places on the Turkish coast. The ruins survived almost two thousands years, how it will be after the mass tourism? we see the people go everywhere. Well known from postcards, this is quite creative picture with the walls in foreground. marvelous composition, fantastic colours and sharpness. magnificent place and its presetation here.

WArm regrads MAlgo

Nicou (193806) 2014-08-14 2:45

Hello

quelle vue sur cette ancienne bibliothèque sueprbe cpatage et image quelle colonnes et architecture présentaiton parfait splendide.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

COSTANTINO (116542) 2014-08-14 4:20

Hello dear friend
thanks for sharing with us this interesting
postcard from Celsus library of Ephesus
this classical shot brought to me meories
from my last visit to Ephesus a few years
ago you are right that here we have
a classical monument and the third
richest library in ancient times
after the Alexandra and Pergamum
you have composed this scenery
almost perfectly
regards
from Samos island
Costantino

pajaran (115941) 2014-08-14 5:19

Dobar dan, popodne.
Interesantan tekst o staroj biblioteci sa opisom, lep pogled na rusevine i trenutak sa turistima ...
Dobar trenutak snimka i kontrast, lepo pokazana stara arhitektura.
Lepa stara arhitektura.
Lepo popodne i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good afternoon, this afternoon.
An interesting article about an old library with a description, a nice view of ruins the moment with tourists ...
Good time recording and contrast nicely demonstrated the old architecture.
Beautiful old architecture.
Nice afternoon and all the best.
Paja.

Fis2 (170807) 2014-08-14 6:34

Witaj Angshu!
A very interesting place.
Wondeful ruins.
I love it!
Good POV and composition.
Superb colors and sharpness.
Have a nice evening
Krzysztof

rychem (72187) 2014-08-14 21:03

Imposing ruins, ideed, excellent quality of the photo, great sharpness and details, compliments
Ryszard

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2014-08-15 6:05

Hello Angshu,
That's really an impressive antique monument and I love the blue sky so much which gives a nice contrast
best wishes,
Achim

Didi (61589) 2014-08-15 7:52

Salam Angshu
Vey nice area with old ruins
Very good sharp picture in a very good lights ambiance
Well done
Kind regards

Graal (103040) 2014-08-15 10:13

Hello Angshuman,
interesting old monumental ruins in Turkey. Good presentation. Fine POV, composition and saturated colors. I like it.
Have a nice WE.
Aleksander

stego (24132) 2014-08-15 10:44

Hi Angshu,

A great POV of that Antiquity landmark, with good colours and amazing sharpness. Maybe the sky is wee dark, making a little unrealistic, but that is just a detail. I admire how you managed to avoid that the persons didn't spoil the accomplished compo.

Regards, TFS, José.

resat1972 (7586) 2014-08-15 13:10

merhaba

güzel bir açıdan çok güzel bir foto
selamlar

Reşat

maria-v1981 (10966) 2014-08-16 4:24

Hello Angshu,
The shot is well composed, clear and sharp. Seeing a picture like this I feel veneration for such ancient architectural wonders. Your note is very informative and the fact that you include the turists adds a lot in the picture. Well done!!!
Greetings,
Maria

adores (46979) 2014-08-18 17:13

Hi Angshuman!
Seems this place is overcrowded any time of the year now. I remember how many tourists I found and how hot it was there, in August, around 20 years ago. Anyway, it's a magnificent place and you found a great pov. I like the part of the wall in foreground and that library is really worth to be shown. A good shot, with very nice colours!

mkamionka (74481) 2014-08-21 8:55

Hi Angshu,
spectacular presentation of this famous place. Sadly I did not have a chance to see it. In the past tours were going for two days to see Pamukkale and Ephesus and at the time I was there they did only Pamukkale so being so close I did not go there. I admire your work here. Having those thousands of tourists around it is hard to distance yourself from them -you did a fantastic job the plenty of people do not disturb and all but add a lot of life and color here. Great well polarized light with vivid colors in spite of rough ruins around, dark blue sky and some vegetation add nice touch. Excellent quality as always in your works,
M

Waylim (25436) 2014-08-25 23:21

Hello Angshuman.

Beautiful shot of the ruins, you have wonderful light with beautiful blue sky. So many I see are in the cloudy days. The few tourist give the sense of liveliness but not overly crowded. Your POV is also very good with some foreground element to adds depth.

Excellent color and well manage light.

Way

Photo Information

Copyright: Angshuman Chatterjee (Angshu) (56760)
Genre: Lieux
Medium: Couleur
Date Taken: 2013-05-25
Categories: Architecture
Camera: Canon 400D (Digital Rebel XTi), Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC MACRO, RAW, Marumi 72mm PL-CIR
Exposition: f/16, 1/50 secondes
More Photo Info: view
Versions: version originale
Carnet de voyage: Turkish Delight
Date Submitted: 2014-08-13 1:49