Devotion in Silence, a photo from Edirne, Marmara

Photographer's Note

Malgo's latest post of a calligraphy from Sehzade Mosque in Istanbul urged me to go and find an old photo from Edirne, long lost in forgotten folders.

The Old Mosque of Edirne (the capital of Ottoman Empire, prior to Istanbul, between 1365-1457), has one of the world's most impressive internal wall decorations as for an Islamic temple.

It has giant calligraphies on each walls, some depicting the name of the prophet, some depicting the tugra (signature of the sultan). The outer wall has a giant "Allah" calligraph, and has been many times photographed by important photographers. Though, photos showing the equally impressive interior are lacking.

williewhistler, daddo, delpeoples, SnapRJW, Angshu, KristinsCamera trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

No_One (4) 2013-11-19 7:28

Hi Deniz,
This is really beautiful. Once again, the image has such a vibrant 3D feeling to, I don’t know how you achieve this, but it looks incredible. The light coming into the scene is truly heavenly and the calligraphy stands out superbly against the textures of the walls. The man taking a quiet moment here adds the perfect amount of life and context to the scene. Love this, thanks for spending the time to find this in your archive.
All the best
Noel

holmertz (102760) 2013-11-19 7:29

Hello Deniz,
The relative simplicity of this mosque seems unusual and is very impressive. I have seldom seen such bare walls, only featuring exquisite calligraphy, in any major mosque. Such a humble interior rather strengthens the atmosphere. The photo is very nicely cropped but if the man had placed himself one or two metres further back he would had been perfectly situated a third from the left :-).
Kind regards,
Gert

drmsaeedi (137) 2013-11-19 7:52

A very magnificent artistry
Great historic honor

lousat (139308) 2013-11-19 8:02

Hi Deniz,what a atmosphere into this pic! Magnificent capture,i can hear the silence and i can see the beautiful decoration of mosquee in the best exposure and whit great details too.Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

williewhistler (16606) 2013-11-19 10:54

Hello Deniz,
despite the difficult interior light you have the details of the calligraphy perfectly.
It`s a really interesting location with many details to enjoy viewing.
Regards Les.

dale54 (17768) 2013-11-19 12:10

deniz hello..wonderful shot,great angle for this,like the detail through out..tfs. dale

boa (8039) 2013-11-19 13:16 [Comment]

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emka (158204) 2013-11-19 14:25

Hi,

The callighraphies in Ulu were not so impressive but similar. I like the huge tughra. This sign with mirror symmetry is also interesting. And why this man prays in front of it? And not near mihrab? Nice shot, the presence of this man gives it special atmosphere. I am glad that I inspired you to look at your archive :).

rgds M.

daddo (28748) 2013-11-19 14:41

Selam Deniz. The aesthetics of the calligraphy should be obvious even to those unfamiliar with Arabic script. I do like the majestic sweep of the turga on the far wall.Nicely balanced composition and rich colours. I suppose these days you probably would have used a Cokin gradual grey filter to get more details on the windows, but then I do like the light on the wall as is. Regards. Klaudio.

adidas5nb (5743) 2013-11-19 18:56

nice presentation here.like the ambiance and the solace here.beautiful calligraphy here indeed.
regards
dwaipayan

Mics (1020) 2013-11-19 21:37

Hello Deniz,
This photo is very nicely composed. The way you angled your subject made this an impressive shot.:-) Thanks for sharing!
Mics

dekanski (9365) 2013-11-20 2:17

Very nice, can really feel the atmosphere of the place of worship!

ZFS

Saša

delpeoples (60342) 2013-11-20 3:25

Merhaba dear Deniz

Wow. I'm an addict for Islamic architecture and this calligraphy is so impressive. As is your photo. The lone man praying to God, looks so small in contrast to the huge writing, what looks like endless carpet and the imposing size of the mosque. Eye-popping colours and excellent definition, particularly in respect of the textures on the wall. I love this and would love to create a Theme on calligraphy.

Thanks for sharing, have a great day
Lisa

siudzi (34141) 2013-11-20 12:21

Hi Deniz,
Truly special, full of magic and silence scene! Like it a lot! You had a fantastic sense of the moment and visual impact of this wonderful interior. Very well done! Bravo!

Best,
Gosia

zoomer (6) 2013-11-20 17:20

Hi,just wonderful!This calligraphy is of timeless beauty and your composition is excellent.Best regards Wolf.

CLODO (45116) 2013-11-21 2:14

Hi Deniz

it's the kind of picture I am looking for, an interaction of a human presence and a scene, giving us some feeling, here described by your well choosen title.
Warm regards
CLODO

eldancer1 (36343) 2013-11-21 7:37

Very nice capture of this sacred moment. I like wide composition giving it plenty of space around the gentleman. Good lighting and nice details. Well done, tfs.

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2013-11-21 20:27

hi deniz, your last photo is nice but I think it is great. A thought provocating composition. Like the man in the frame... Like the letters written in wall. A superb composition using the availald light cleverly. Superb work. Really like it. Tfs.
S

SnapRJW (31631) 2013-11-22 2:10

Hi Deniz - The calligraphy with its distinctive lines and sweeping curves is a wonderful aspect of this shot and my eyes bounce back and forth between both 'layers' of the shot. I love the way this is composed with the corner of the closest wall centrally placed and the worshiper standing exactly on the margin. A simple colourway and strong compositional lines make this a real 'winner' for me. Warm regards Rosemary

resat1972 (7586) 2013-11-22 11:10

merhaba

çok etkileyici
çok beğendim
selamlar

Reşat

oss (425) 2013-11-28 9:23

Hello Deniz
I am in awe for this shot. The devout figure, the massive but elegant calligraphs, the carpet colour, the great light. Totally amazing what you did here. You are a great photographer.
Kind regards.
Tony

halikarnas (8842) 2013-12-02 9:30

Deniz Bey,
Bu duvar yazılarına hayranım.Zaten yazılan harfler soyut resim gibi.
Netlik mükemmel.
Tebrikler.
Ataman

Angshu (56760) 2013-12-02 21:13

Hi Deniz
Brings back memories...rushing in!
What a wonderful feeling it was...with the sight of the massive & magnificent calligraphy on the walls...not to say the Tughra (on the left) which, to me, is one of the most fascinating piece of artistic depiction.
The colours look a bit muted...liked the B&W post you shared in the thread with Gert
Best Regards
Angshu

KristinsCamera (2384) 2013-12-09 15:41

Lacking interior photos no longer, thanks to your talented eye.
What a stunning space.
You've done justice to everything ~ the old stone architecture, the stunning calligraphy, and the atmosphere of devotion. You've even picked up a repetition of the carpet colors in the arch about the windows. Beautiful and respectful.