Serjilla Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

"Copyright © – Attila Szili.
The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved."

Serjilla (سيرجيلة‎) is one of the best preserved of the Dead Cities in northwestern Syria. It is located in the Jebel Riha, approx. 80 km southwest from Aleppo, very close to the ruins of the "dead city" of Al-Bara.
The settlement arose in a natural basin and prospered from cultivating of grapes and olives. Like most other of the Dead Cities, Serjilla was abandoned in the 7th century when the Arabs conquered the region and discontinued merchant routes between Antioch and Apamea. It has been deserted for almost 1500 years, but its stone buildings remain sharp-edged and the surrounding area is carpeted in short grass. In many ways it looks as if the villagers have only just left.
It also has the greatest number of semi-complete buildings.

dip, Fransx, gokanlam, lestans, PixelTerror, leo61, papagolf21, PaulVDV, bostankorkulugu, holmertz, Gerrit, stego, Clementi, grigand, parbo, Bruno40, John_F_Kennedy, paura has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dip (12402) 2009-05-16 10:46

Hi Attila,
good to see again a photo of you :)
It's a beautiful image of this interesting place,nice and interesting details,
very good also the inclusion of the man in the picture,he gives life to the dead city...
Greetings,
Dimitris.

Fransx (1453) 2009-05-16 10:52

Hi Attila,
A nice composition beautifully set with the man in the right position!
Fabulous stone colors of the ruins surrounded by a nicely rocky ground.
Adequate subtle lighting and accurate focusing.
Well done.
Regards,

Francis Xavier

gokanlam (6399) 2009-05-16 11:06

the man is on the right place in the composition.. and the place has different atmosphere, dead city is the correct name for the place.. like red on the man's head..
best wishes,
rela

lestans (15373) 2009-05-16 11:08

Ecco dove sei finito!!
Posto molto interessante, e ottima immagine, arrichita dal personaggio
Livia

PixelTerror (85994) 2009-05-16 11:20

Szia Attila
Always on the road I see...
This image gives the feeling of a very remote place, and it's even surprising to see a person here, but that animates well the scene.
Have a nice day JY

leo61 (42704) 2009-05-16 11:22

Hi Attila!
A country I want to visit,too some day.
Because of the ancient architecture, landscapes and culture.Love the colors and contrast here and the composition with this man walking upwards.
Regards,leo

papagolf21 (55860) 2009-05-16 11:35

Bonsoir, cher Attila,
Un jour ici, un jour là, tu parcours le monde en nous faisant la gentillesse de nous exposer de merveilleuses vues.
Ici, encore, le spectacle est de qualité. J'apprécie comme il se doit tout l'intérêt du sujet.
Un grand merci de ce grand partage.
Amitiés.
Philippe

PaulVDV (5028) 2009-05-16 11:41

Hello Attila,
A good composition and a nice presentation of this ruin in a landscape of rocks and stones. Regarding the time when it was built, this ruin is preserved very well.
Beautiful also with the path behind the building and with the man on the foreground.
Best regards, Paul

gilou530 (34617) 2009-05-16 12:29

salut attila
un pays que l'on ne voit pas souvent sur TE, un cadrage parfait d'école avec le personnage qui respecte la régle des 2/3, de belles couleurs également
amitiés
gilbert

bostankorkulugu (33326) 2009-05-16 13:05

a good presentation of these ruins with the man walking by... glad to see you around attila... cheers... korkut

holmertz (9208) 2009-05-16 13:07

Hello Attila,
A very interesting note to accompany this fine photo. The history of Syria and the monuments remaining are astonishing. The rocky terrain suits the ancient building perfectly. The man walking up the hill gives life to the well balanced composition. He looks like he's the last villager who just left...
Regards,
Gert

Gerrit (35393) 2009-05-16 13:51

Hi Attila,
wonderful place with a fantastic well preserved ruin of a very ancient church.
The inclusion of the man walking provides coloeur locale.
Regards, Gerrit

stego (22312) 2009-05-16 20:21

Hi Attila,

It's good to see you posting again!

By coincidence, it's the second photo of yours I find today, as my last post went to the gallery where this one was alone for more than 2 years.

I like very much the compo, the colours and, of course the view, here. It has an atmosphere of really old times, which the presence of the man enhances instead of spoiling.

Regards,
José

Clementi (42759) 2009-05-16 23:22

Ciao Attila,
ben ritrovato, un bel posto decisamente, il personaggio da vita alla scena ottimo lavoro
Giorgio

grigand (12460) 2009-05-17 7:27

Ciao Attila,
Che piacere rivedere le tue immagini, stavolta di un posto che conosco, stupenda la compo.
ciao
andrea
PS: l'Armenia mi è piaciuta moltissimo !

parbo (10936) 2009-05-17 13:11

Hello Attila,

I'm glad you posted after long break. I think you were there at perfect time for capturing fantastic mix of green, soil and rocky textures on ground while ancient facade adding great value with your model, especially with his traditional wore. Congratulations. Have a nice new week.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

vincz (19037) 2009-05-17 14:06

Glad to see you back with images from yet a different part of the worls. Amazing atmosphere with this man walking in front of these ruins in a very green environment. Very exotic.

akg (128) 2009-05-19 20:39

If the man was not there, I would think of this as a Van Gogh painting! Wonderful!
abhijit.

Bruno40 (6440) 2009-05-24 23:37

Hi Attila,
Several months without seeing your posts here.
This is a very interesting photo, well composed with the human figure in one corner, and the main ruin not so centered. Good details in the stones, well exposed.
A good work
cheers
Jorge

paura (37682) 2009-08-11 4:02

Attila,
Very nice composition here, friend. The pp is also excellent. Well done!

regards

Paulo

jalab_temen (1939) 2009-08-27 5:45

Atus, elkepeszto helyeket fotoztal mar, megis nekem ez az egyik legerdekesebb. Sugarzik a kepbol egy igen eros feszultseg. Az elhagyott varos fojtott atmoszferajat erositi az eg nelkuli kompozicio a termeszet vagy az ember altal valamikor lerakott mind hasonlobba valo kovek. Ugyanakkor a bal sarokban ballago ember meg a haz melletti terulet apoltsaga megis sejteti, hogy van itt elet.
Jo, hogy feltetted a TE-re!

Photo Information

Copyright: Attila Szili (atus) (15452)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-05-04
Categories: Ruins
Camera: Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED AF-S VR, Hoya 72mm SuperHMC Pro 1 UV
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/200 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-05-16 10:36