Our Man In Damascus is now Our Man in Istanbul – John Wreford

Our good friend and celebrated photographer John Wreford has extricated himself from Damascus for the time being, no doubt he will return, but for the moment he is now officially our man in Istanbul. You can see his most recent images here

©All Images John Wreford

Photo essay: The soon to be lost city in Anatolia by John Wreford

It is nice to know that our man in Damascus, John Wreford is still able to produce work and get it out to his clients. Recent conversations with John have highlighted the desperate problems of Syria and the restrictions on movement have meant his opportunity to photograph in Syria during these very dangerous times have been limited so this photo essay of his from Turkey is welcome.

“God spoke to Noah commanding him to save his family, build an Ark and take the animals – the flood was coming, Earth needed to be cleansed. The well-known story is related in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and finding the Ark and proving the story true an eternal quest.

Noah reputedly hailed from Mesopotamia, and the last resting place of the Ark is still thought to be in the region of Ararat in Turkish Anatolia, so it’s with some irony that a few hundred kilometres to the south all the talk is of impending flood waters that will drown towns and villages along the Tigris basin, the ancient town of Hasankeyf being the most prominent.

“This time the Turkish government is the one preparing to open the floodgates; the southeast Anatolian project (GAP) is an ambitious plan to develop the infrastructure of the impoverished region utilizing the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers via a series of dams and hydroelectric plants. Needless to say there has to be casualties and it looks like Hasankeyf is going down with all its treasure”……..MORE

© John Wreford

John Wreford Photographer Damascus

In the 30 years that The Photographers Workshop has existed we have been lucky enough to meet many wonderful photographers, skillful, artistic professional photographers. For perhaps more than 20 years John Wreford has been a friend and colleague whose work we have greatly admired. In the recent times he has been based in Damascus and lives there with a house in the old city. Using this as a base he has traveled widely through the middle east and taken the opportunity to work for a number of the worlds great magazines and newspapers and to add to his stock of intelligent intimate, mature images. He is a man with great vision and empathy for his subjects. Do go and have a look at his excellent site here is the link

Galatasaray Football fans celebrate winning the Turksih domestic league, Galata Istanbul. ©John Wreford

Samia a Turkish transgender sex worker at home in Istanbul ©John Wreford

A Turkish boy plays on an abandoned car in the run down Fener neighborhood of Istanbul. ©John Wreford

The Maidens Tower at sunset, Uskudar on the Asian shore of Istanbul. ©John Wreford

Young Turkish Couple, Taksim Istanbul ©John Wreford

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, National hero regarded as founder of modern Turkey ©John Wreford

Do go and have a look at the rest of his pictures here

Istanbul, Memory of Orhan Pamuk

http://www.photographyserved.com/gallery/Istanbul-Memory-of-Orhan-Pamuk/525400

By: dennis ziliotto