Bitola's Ottoman Heritage, a photo from Bitola, West

Photographer's Note

‘Bitola's Ottoman Heritage’

The Ottoman presence of 500 years in North Macedonia (from the end of the 14th century to the beginning the 20th century) has left clear traces in the country.

During that period a large number of buildings were erected, profane as well as sacred in nature.
The construction of Ottoman buildings reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries with a large number of
mosques, baths, covered bazaars, inns, serais, …
Their architecture captures the imagination of western visitors.

More information on: https://www.academia.edu/1934192/Macedonian_Cultural_Heritage_OTTOMAN_MONUMENTS

At the end of Širok Sokak, the main pedestrian street you will find Magnolia Square where I took my main photo and 2 of the 4 photos in the WS.

The equestrian statue in the center is obviously not Ottoman.
It’s a statue of King Philip II, the founder of the ancient Macedonian city of Heraclea which was the forerunner of the present-day city of Bitola.

To the right of the statue you see the Yeni Mosque (or New Mosque). See photo in the WS.
It was built in 1558-1559. Today it houses an art gallery.

A little further away on the left of the statue you see the Ishak Çelebi Mosque. A photo will follow next time.
This is the largest mosque in Bitola. It was built in 1506 and was named after its founder, Judge Ishak Çelebi.

ikeharel, NickVu, Fis2, holmertz, Royaldevon, pierrefonds, jhm, COSTANTINO, jemaflor, pajaran, ChrisJ, adramad, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ikeharel (112397) 2022-01-24 0:38

Hello Paul,
Despite the low light prevailing, managed a good sight of the monument and the minarets prominently up from the near by domes.
Found the place on Magnolia Square at 41.03, 21.335 on the Google-Map.
Have a nice new week,
Ike

Fis2 (169679) 2022-01-24 0:42

Witaj Paul!
A very curious set of photos.
Pictures make impression.
Good frames, colors and sharpness.
This square is interesting, I like monument.
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

holmertz (101956) 2022-01-24 1:04

Hello Paul,
Five interesting photos from the central area of Bitola, all showing the strong impact made by the Ottoman rulers. Regardless of what else they may have done, they had some great architects and were good builders.
The main photo is well composed to include two mosques, a fountain, a large statue and also a few persons in the street. The light seems to have been complicated, forcing you to some processing of the colours. Maybe you had a more favourable angle in the photo of the 'Shik super diskont', where no processing was needed.
Best regards,
Gert

Silvio1953 (220553) 2022-01-24 1:14

Ciao Paul, lovely composition with beautiful monument in FG, wonderful colors, splendid light, excellent clarity and fine details, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (85606) 2022-01-24 4:01

Hello Paul,

Your main photograph is nicely composed and shows an excellent display of the buildings you wished to describe. I'm not sure why, maybe there was a problem with the light, but the photograph seems to suggest a lot of pp. The similar scene in the w/s suggests the same pp work. However, the other photographs show both interesting aspects of the Ottoman buildings with more natural photography.
It was a tough decision for you. This is the best scene but not necessarily the best photograph.

I hope you are not offended.
Kind regards,
Bev :-)

pierrefonds (113552) 2022-01-24 4:47

Bonjour Paul,

L'étendue de la place donne de la profondeur à la composition. La prise de vue permet de voir les détails de la statue, des Mosquées et des minarets. La lumière met en valeur les couleurs de l'image. Bonne journée.

Pierre

mkamionka (73316) 2022-01-24 7:50

Hi Paul,
Fantastic view, very elegant square with the impressive monument and two mosques.
Polish people always refer to 100 years under Russian/Prussian and Austrian rule but I suppose after 500 years occupation it is not surprised that some nations decided to switch to Islam. This region's history is so complicated indeed. Clouds add a further dynamic touch here. The processing was great however I think stronger contrasts would make it more eye catching.
Excellent work,
M

jhm (211734) 2022-01-24 8:39

Goedenavond Paul,

Een heel mooie foto maar ik denk dat u het contrast iets willen naar beneden halen, en dit geeft het klein beetje wazig beeld.
Het valt niet overdreven op maar toekomst gericht een advies.
Nochtans is alles mooi aanwezig, en is het mooi gevuld zoals een goede foto moet zijn.
Ook uw toegevoegde foto zijn het bekijken waard.
Goed reportage werk, bedankt.

Prettige avond verder,
John

lousat (138585) 2022-01-24 12:36

Hi Paul,more symbols of ottoman era still remains in Bitola as i can see, a very rich post with 5 pics well done as usual, i prefere the close up of mosque in the WS showing so well the minaret and the red decorations like fake bricks. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

ifege (46891) 2022-01-24 21:06

Hi Paul
A good photo of the town centre with its 2 prominent old mosques. Very ottoman except for the statue.
cheers
Ian

COSTANTINO (115499) 2022-01-24 22:49

Hello dear friend
have a nice day and a happy evening today
impressive capture perfectly executed
giving us details of this landscape
an interesting square which draws
our attention
regards
Costantino

jemaflor (146258) 2022-01-24 23:13

Salut Paul,
Bien cadré et et composée cette vue avec tous les éléments qui la composent, intéressant vue de cette ville, bon rendu de la lumière et des teintes, intéressant WS aussi.

emka (157280) 2022-01-25 0:13

Hello Paul, Indeed, it looks like taken somewhere in Turkey. beautiful mosques with big domes and pencil-like minarets. Also nice fountain. Fantastic composition.

Best regards MAlgo

Tue (91536) 2022-01-25 11:11

Hallo Paul,
Een mooi gezicht op de stad met de twee bijna identieke moskeeën die elk hun eigen koepel en hoge minaret hebben. De voorgrond met het ruiterstandbeeld en de fonteinen biedt ook genoeg te zien. Mooi werk.
Lars

pajaran (114867) 2022-01-25 23:31

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Lep trg sa spomenikom i arhitektura u pozadini, dobro poakzano sa lepim bojama, kontrastom, perspektivom i uhvacenim trenutkom sa oblacima koji dolaze i najavljuju promenu vremena.
Dobar rad sa fotografijom u radionici.
Lep deo grada.

Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje.
Paja

jmdias (114240) 2022-01-26 10:45

paul

excellent general view of the area with the beautiful monument in FG and the two big mosques in ottoman style very evident, in some aspects this architecture was based in the old orthodox churches.
TFS

take care

jorge

ChrisJ (171194) 2022-01-29 3:58

Hello Paul,

I like the 2 mosques with their single minarets both on the left hand side. Good sharpness and I spent a couple of days in this town. This is a familiar viewpoint for me. The equestrian statue adds a focal point. Tfs!

adramad (72536) 2022-01-30 10:46

Hi Paul.
This city seems to offer a notable interest for tourism, judging both by this fantastic composition, and by the other WS photos, everything looks very sharp and clean, great sky with those clouds that give a dramatic touch.
Very nice color, in some tones, very attractive.
Optimum management of luminosity and magnificent sharpness.
Very well done. My congratulations.
All the best and have a good start of the week.
Luis.

mcmtanyel (67611) 2022-02-09 19:58

Hello Paul,
I like your composition. The mosques look well preserved.
Regards,
MT