Turkey

Photographer's Note

Believe it or not, but this narrow dirt road is the main highway through eastern Turkey towards the Iranian border.

Here is a larger version.

But this was in 1971. Today this road is of course paved and much straighter. On my way from Van to the large city of Erzurum, where I was to spend one night before proceeding to the north coast, we stopped here for lunch. I had come here a year earlier, then on my way to Iran, and recognized it. It must have been the only place to find a meal for quite a long distance, so several buses and trucks were parked here. Among them I saw an Iranian bus bound for Tehran and a few European cars filled with young persons like myself, probably hoping to reach India, or at least Afghanistan.

I noted in my diary the excitement I felt, seeing all these cars and buses, wishing desperately to be on the way myself through central Asia.

One year later I was.

This is one of those photos where I just couldn't get the colours right. Whatever adjustments I made it always had an unpleasant hue of too much this, too much that. So here it is in timeless B&W. Originally it was an Agfacolor CT18 slide.

Fis2, ikeharel, ikeharel, bertolucci, Royaldevon, aliabazari, pierrefonds, jhm, PiotrF, mcmtanyel, ChrisJ, jean113, COSTANTINO, lucasgalodoido, alvaraalto, alvaraalto, macjake, kordinator has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (169847) 2020-01-26 0:29

Witaj Gert my nieghbour today :)
Interesting scene from daily life.
Excellent b&w picture.
Good reportage work.
Nice sunday.
Krzysztof

pajaran (115025) 2020-01-26 0:40

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled i trenutak.
Lepo mesto za odmor.
Lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Lepa crno bela fotografija i secanje.
Zelim vam lep dan za odmor, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
Nice view and a moment.
Nice place to rest.
Beautifully shown, well captured moment.
Beautiful black and white photography and memory.
Have a nice day for you, all the best.

Silvio1953 (220717) 2020-01-26 1:52

Ciao Gert, fsdcinsytimg B&W, lovely compositio with ditting persons in FG, splendid light, fine details and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

lousat (138683) 2020-01-26 1:55

Hi Gert.A sort of gastronomic oasis therefore, in a long road with no other places to eat. Nice catch, it seems that 200 years have passed, black and white accentuates this effect back in time, still a beautiful testimony from your rich archive. Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

bertolucci (14052) 2020-01-26 2:33

Hi Gert, photography really comes nto its own when it, like here, offers well crafted and aesthetically pleasing vessels into which one can pour associations and feelings. The winding road seems to signify the longing you descrbed and the first traces of upheavel which would later pull this region apart, seem to be here too. An excellent word/image combination. For a historic document, B&W was the way to go here - but that's, again, just me. Bert

Royaldevon (85674) 2020-01-26 2:33

Hello Gert,

Living in times when things change so rapidly, it's so interesting that we can monitor the changes so clearly. This unmade, dusty road shows as many animals as vehicles. Can you imagine that on a modern highway!
It looks like a very relaxed place, even with so many figures in view.
The b&w was not your first choice but it does add a further sense of history to the photograph and must rekindle your youthful memories.

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

aliabazari (21387) 2020-01-26 2:47

Hi Gert
A beautiful documentary of this journey in your youth. Beautiful shot. Good clarity and exposure. Thanks for sharing

Tue (91658) 2020-01-26 3:50

Hej Gert,
Billedet giver et godt indtryk af byen som benyttes af mange for at have nogen mad. Vejen til grænsen løber som en hvid slange gennem bakkerne i baggrunden. Der er god balance i billedet mellem bygningerne og bussen.
Lars

pierrefonds (113676) 2020-01-26 4:24

Hi Gert,

You have captured well the persons enjoying a rest period. The road is sending my eyes almost to infinity which is gicing depth to the composition. The point of view is showing the details of the bus. Have a nice day.

Pierre

jhm (211734) 2020-01-26 5:14

Hello Gert,

The bus can I see as 1971, but the picture would can are of yesterday
Nice sharp and clear pictures.
Excellent composition good presentation too.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice day,
John

rychem (72187) 2020-01-26 7:38

Today for sure an important road, and a large service area for drivers, a very nice photo from you documentary archive
regards Ryszard

GyurMaster (24682) 2020-01-26 10:08

Dear Gert,

I don't miss the colours at all, but you know my preferences anyway. I have to note that this is a well-composed photo I like the arrow shape of the road and bus on the one side and the wall on the other side. The men sitting on the table are placed just in the right place. The bg offers a lot to be observed like the other people having lunch and the animals in the bg.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

PS: Would have been the restaurant pass the examination of the Hungarian sanitary authority? :)

mesutilgim (0) 2020-01-26 10:28

Hello Gert,
Another topclass "oldie" in your gallery.
Again a perfect sample of the unique and unbeatable qality of analogue photography.
Almost half a century old but qualitywise "top of the top".
Many good and usefull notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

PiotrF (54246) 2020-01-26 12:39

Hello Gert,
Interesting picture from this place. A good picture taken half a century ago. Interesting notes.
Fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

Nicou (193806) 2020-01-26 14:36

Hello

quelle merveille et ancienne image fantastique composition avec ce bus ce banc avec les personnes d'autre personnes au pied des maison des vaches sur al route qui se promènent un autre monde d'avant superbe
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

Gerrit (62042) 2020-01-26 17:42

Hello Gert,
Good choise for black and white and a beautiful document and photo. The bus and clothes of the people give away the time too,
Thanks and regards,
Gerrit

mcmtanyel (67757) 2020-01-26 19:31

Hello Gert,
It is a challenge to convert color photos to B&W and you did it well. B&W suits the scene better, anyway. 👍🏻👍🏻
I would easily give up the 49 years' worth of material progress in Iran and Turkey for returning to the prevailing ideologies back in 1971 in those countries.
Regards,
MT

ifege (47069) 2020-01-26 21:30

Hi Gert
A very rustic one from 1971 with the basic looking cafe and probably over laden bus. A good scan.
cheers
Ian

ChrisJ (171340) 2020-01-27 6:39

Hello Gert,

It looks a little like the American wild west and even more so ignoring the 20th century van at right. Good sharpness and tonal range. Tfs!

jmdias (114360) 2020-01-27 10:56

gert

the bus looks like one I used in bolivia, with the luggage up there. nice details of the personages and the desolated landscape with those donkeys ahead.

take care

jorge

jean113 (27639) 2020-01-27 11:19

Hello Gert, as I have said before, we need to return to this site now and compare.
How times have changed. I expect that you wouldn't be seeing donkeys/mules in the road today!
It's a great shot to accompany your notes. You must be enjoying your trip into your archive of slides?
The black and white works perfectly.
Kind regards, Jean.

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-01-27 12:37

Gert, that restaurant on the road side represents the perfect place to eat, drink and have a break during the tiring journey by bus. It should be an unforgettable memory. The luggages are packed on the bus roof. I see some donkeys roaming in the bg. Fine colors, good sharpness, absorbing photo note, regards.

COSTANTINO (115605) 2020-01-27 13:29

Hello dear Gert and have a nice time
and a happy new day
I like the choice of black and white
I like the simplicity and I believe you
that this narrow street is the main
highway through Eastern Turkey
towards the Iranian border
regards
Costantino

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2020-01-27 17:09

Olá Gert,
sensacional esse registro, assim como o título de sua imagem. Gostei de ver o velho ônibus Mercedes Benz na labuta.
Belo trabalho.
Parabéns e Abraço,
Lucas

emka (157280) 2020-01-27 17:22

Hello Gert, Another interesting reportage from your journey almost 50 tears ago. I like this b&w timeless photo. Nice bus, I would love to go by such a bus. Nice place for a stop to eat something. When the journey is long, usually are breaks for eating and toilet. Pleasant atmosphere. There are some animals on the road look like a donkey. I can imagine how you were fascinated by the possibility of such a long journey through Asia.
Kind regrads MAlgo

Kind regards MAlgo

alvaraalto (42804) 2020-01-29 2:03

Hello Gert,
That the colours are missing here is perhaps an advantage.
The photo has an authentic atmosphere that I remember from old newspaper photos.
A actual image that shows what it looked like 48 years ago in this flashpoint of the present.
Excellent work
Have a nice day, groet Rob

macjake (98262) 2020-02-02 21:43

Hi Gert
it would be interesting to see this same scene today for obvious reasons, I'd like to see that road you mentioned.
reminds me of the type of post we'd see from Kasia. For me, the best part is that bus, i get the feeling it hasn't had a safety check in a long time haha. rustic landscape here, not much to it, I wonder as time passed by if they put in more stores and facilities. good one. cheers
Craig

kasianowak (17672) 2020-02-08 13:29

This photo would be captivating in b&w, colour, with strange colour cast or without... There is just something fascinating about this road disappearing into the distance. Even without reading your note, I can fee the excitement you are talking about. I know it too well! It can be generated by being in a place like the one pictured here, by reading a good travel book or even looking at some of your photos on TE!
And then, like you, I am on the way there a year or so later... :-)

willperrett (14195) 2020-02-09 12:30

Hello Gert

No wonder you couldn't get the colour right: I remember Agfacolor as being notoriously unstable, and almost 50 years on, the degradation is probably considerable. But every cloud has a silver (halide) lining, and your monochrome version is a joy. Indeed I assumed it was originally shot on b/w film. Gorgeous contrasty light and interesting documentary style. Excellent.

Kind regards

Will

kordinator (8738) 2020-03-06 6:33

Hello Gert
Nice black and white format for this daily life scene.
Another fantastic photos from your archive taken in Turkey.
Very well done.
Kind regards
Saša