On the tracks of Alexander the Great Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Taurus Mountains or simply the Taurus, (Turkish Toros, also known as Ala-Dagh or Bulghar-Dagh) are a mountain range, forming the rugged southeastern rim of the Anatolian plateau, from which the Euphrates River descends into Syria.
The system extends along a curve from Lake Egridir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates River in the east. It has many peaks rising above 10,000–12,000 ft (3,000–3,700 m) in elevation. The pass that was known in Antiquity as the Cilician Gates crosses the range north of Tarsus.
Limestone has eroded to form karstic landscapes of waterfalls, underground rivers, and the largest caves of Asia.
Taurus is greek word for bull, in Astronomy a constellation (the Bull), said to represent a bull tamed by Jason, the hero of Greek mythology.

The Cilician Gates (Turkish Külek Boazi or Gulek Bogazi) form the main passage through the Taurus Mountains of southeastern Turkey.
The Cilician Gates link the low plains of Cilicia and the Mediterranean coast with the high central plateau of Anatolia. The Gates are the narrow gorge through which flows the Gökoluk River. The ancient track was a track for mule caravans, not wheeled vehicles.

The Army of the Ten Thousand, Alexander the Great, Paul of Tarsus on his way to the Galatians, and the knights of the First Crusade all passed through the Cilician Gates.

When German engineers were working on the railroad link between the shore of the Sea of Marmara opposite Constantinople and Baghdad, they were unable to follow the steep-pitched, narrow, and tightly winding ancient track through the pass. The series of viaducts and tunnels they built are among the marvels of railroad engineering. The route was opened in 1918, but the narrow-gauge working line moved Turkish troops and war material to the Mesopotamian front in the closing months of World War I.

From Wikipedia

*Scanned image*

----------------------------------------------------------------------

That image was took during the 20 hours travel by bus through the Cilian Gate to enetering in the Eastern Anatolia; Cilicia as a whole consists of two parts: the inaccessible western area of the Taurus mountains, also known as "rough Cilicia", and the eastern plains (modern Çukurova), which are dominated by the rivers Cydnus, Sarus and Pyramis and are rich in cereals. The Anti-Taurus is the region's northern border. Here, we find the Cilician gate, a pass that connects the plain with Cappadocia in the north. To the south, the Mediterranean sea is Cilicia's neighbor, and the region knew (and knows) close contacts with Cyprus. In the east the Syrian gates are the connection with Syria and Mesopotamia.

cessy, ajcsousa, fabio_ts, aloyho, sam224, alekpet, feather, huynt, devimeuxbe, saliha, Ged, john_c, igorw has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

barrufeto_77 (25619) 2005-10-11 3:49

Ciao Paolo.

A great shot! There are part of the photo which seems to be drawn. Impresive.

Congratulations, Oscar.

cessy (13647) 2005-10-11 3:55

very nice capture of this historical landscape, Paolo
excellent composition and the tones perfect the mood as it looks like from ancient time

ajcsousa (1804) 2005-10-11 3:55

Ciao Paolo,
Nice picture. I like the composition. The photo seems to be an old painting due to the soft colors. Well done
Regards, António

fabio_ts (13672) 2005-10-11 4:00

Ciao Paolo,
questo posto ha veramente un fascino particolare, sembra poterti raccontare gesta di condottieri e leggende di battaglie in tempi remoti.. bello il POV che accentua la grandezza del posto.. bel lavoro!!
grazie, Fabio.

bantonbuju (48340) 2005-10-11 4:10

hi paolo, far from any sea, isn't it? i like those paralyzingly mystic colours which you often apply to your photos, like on this one today; amazing;
have a nice day, jerzy

aloyho (6105) 2005-10-11 4:14

Hi Paolo,
What I find interesting here is the different layers of grass in the foreground, the scattered trees and the mountains. They all combined to make an extraordinary scene and atmosphere. Beautifully captured!! Have a nice day.

sam224 (5851) 2005-10-11 4:57

Ciao Paolo.. ma cosa vedo laggiù in fondo?? Delle montagne:-) Ma allora anche tu ti stacchi ogni tanto dalla costa;-)
Bella prospettiva con il campo in primo piano a condurre poi l'occhio verso lo sfondo...
Bello scatto!
Certo che hai viaggiato proprio tanto negli anni passati eh?

eco (84) 2005-10-11 5:18

Hi Paolo

I like thois place, good view,
fantastic mountains, good natural colors,
nice frame
good work, bet regards, rafal

Toparlak (0) 2005-10-11 5:29

kartpostal değerinde bir fotoğraf.
tebrikler.

jinju (14265) 2005-10-11 5:34

Hi Paolo,

this photo is like a watercolor painting. The soft light and soft focus, weak colors. I really like this look.

alekpet (4657) 2005-10-11 6:01

Hi, Paolo.

I have emotional connection with Alexander the Great. I come from Macedonia and my parents gave me his name. It is good to go on his tracks. Since it was taken from a bus, I can only say congratulations on a wonderfull poetic shot. If only the bus driver stopped...

feather (49848) 2005-10-11 6:23

As some others have noted this has a painted look, probably from the scan? The soft colours give it a pleasant moody feel.
Kath

huynt (5077) 2005-10-11 6:54

Ciao Paolo
Very nice shot. a wonderful landsacpe. Bravo for your great POV and compositiuon. Thanks

Graal (57292) 2005-10-11 7:35

Hi paolo,
it's as painted. Unusual colours and interesting place. Yes, You have a trouble with the scanned as me, but here's very nice the remembrance. Interesting note.
Rgs, Aleksander

devimeuxbe (55673) 2005-10-11 8:06

Hi Paolo
the sky is over exposed but this landcape is beautifull. I like the grass in the front
Well done
Bertrand

alcyon (0) 2005-10-11 11:13

Nice photo of an historic place.With interesting atmosphere!
Alexander the Great, the Greek who became a legend among many different nations and whose name spread all over the world,continues to fascinate.Even nations who did not exist in his era , like the Slavs, desire to be connected to him in anyway!Unfortunatelly,even with lies!
Alexandra,
A Greek with emotional and biological bond with Alexander the Great, born in true Macedonia, the historical one, which is and always was in Greece, bearing his name and trying to help the Slavs to understand that it is not a shame to be a Slav.Slavs have their own important history and culture, they do not need to usurp and falsify the history of the Greeks.
Thank you Paolo for giving me the chance to say this, with this beautiful picture of Taurus.

saliha (27) 2005-10-11 12:55

perfect view like in movie that gladiator maximus's area
Also your note so good.

Ged (391) 2005-10-11 15:45

Hi Paolo,

Lovely landscape shot.
Nice soft colours. Good POV and composition.
Useful too. Well done!

Zepi (22848) 2005-10-11 18:20

Hello Paolo,
Belle prise de vue, beau paysage !
C’est très intéressant ce rendu des couleurs un petit peu métallique !
C’est marrant, c’est le genre de PP qui se fait en principe plus sur des prises urbaines, et là, associé à ce genre de paysage, ça passe très bien
Belle recherche
Beau travail
J’aime
Merci pour le partage
A++
Sébastien

john_c (24635) 2005-10-13 12:13

Hi Paolo,
A most impressive shot with an equally impressive historical note. The scene is of a wilderness area seldom portrayed and appears almost as a painting. I like the foreground grasses, the DOF showing the distant mountains, and the pastel tones of the sky. Though a relatively simple composition, I find myself drawn to this shot; it resonates with art, history, and drama. Well seen and rendered, Paolo.
John

cimcim (3706) 2006-12-25 4:54

I like this photograph too much, the colour effect you used on this photo is exactly beautiful, it looks like old.
Adana is my hometown, I like the nature in Adana and historical places. You've taken a nice view of Adana nature with Toros Mountains, thank you so much...