David Bathgate / Corbis Images
Crossroads of western and Islamic worlds, Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, stands with 12.8 million people as reflection of both. In a country that is 98 percent Muslim, it is in this country’s cultural, economic and financial center, that differences in belief and lifestyle – modern and traditional – are brought most poignantly to light.
David Bathgate / Corbis Images
Chic bars, sidewalk cafes and high-fashion boutiques dot Nisantasi, Istanbul’s most westernized sector. At the opposite end of the city’s demographic spectrum stand the ultra-conservative neighborhoods surrounding Fatih Mosque. Here headscarves replace Valentino designs for women, traditional attire and beards supplant business suits for men. The difference in mindsets is marked.
David Bathgate / Corbis Images
Asked whether he sees a trend in his city’s direction as far as religious expression is concerned, an established restaurateur in the historic district of Sultanahmet responded in the affirmative.
“The most visible indicator is the increased number of headscarves, particularly among younger women,” he said. “Fashion could be part of it, but my sense as a Muslim is that it runs deeper than that,” he said. “On some level it’s worrying.”
David Bathgate / Corbis Images
A candidate for full European Union membership in the next decade or so, Turkey remains controversial for many present EU member countries too. A secular republic since its founding by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the current government has its own critics. Voices both subtle and not have accused it on occasion of being “overly Islamic.” Suffice it to say that the blend of religion and non-religion in a country so lifestyle-different isn’t easy. And when brought to focus in a metropolitan center so large and dynamic as that of Istanbul, the mix in many ways, isn’t an easy mix at all.
David Bathgate / Corbis Images
David Bathgate teaches “Photojournalism – Telling the Story with a Camera,” online and interactively at The Compelling Image.
Gina had each participant hand-write their personal story of financial frustration on a piece of paper and each was attached to its respective portrait, photographed against a red, white and blue background. Culmination of the project saw this collective work exhibited at the Center as an 11-foot by 19-foot (more than 3- by 9- meter) American Flag. The work recently earned Gina Orange County’s (California, U.S.A.) “Best Of” honors.
