Eurasia Mega Trip 2026 - Day Nineteen - Alanya Photo Workshop

It is getting harder and harder for Wife and I to arrange photography workshops when we travel. The rise in the Instagram driven world of personal travel has caused those doing photography to morph. There is little money to be made in teaching photography. There is tons of money to be made bringing people around to 'Instagramable' photo locations or even taking pictures for the clients so they can post them. I was able to work through our Airbnb host and find a professional photographer, Vadim, who was willing to work with us to create an actual working/teaching session. 

We found out he's actually never done this. Yes, he's done the Instagram driven type of touring, but not real teaching. But he was definitely enthusiastic about it, looking at what Wife and I had put on our blogs, getting information from me, organizing a program, and even sending us some homework ahead of time.  

We started our day at 8:15am and finished getting back at 3:15pm. In between, there was tons of driving around the center of Alanya, and climbing the prominent hill that has the cities most notable landmark, its castle. We spent many hours walking in pretty hot weather but working on our photography. 

Note: There is a ton of stuff related to our day and to the fascinating history of Alanya and its 'castle'. We took a lot of 'non-photo workshop' pictures too. However, both Wife and I feel the posts would be to busy and jumbled up trying to combine the two subjects. So we're both going to segregate the photography component and then do a separate post on Alanya and the castle. 

There were a few significant lessons (or maybe I should say teaching points) that the session focused on. 

1. The first had to do with my actual handling of the camera. He is the first person who showed me the physical way I was working with the camera was causing instability which led to lack of clarity in the individual shots.
2. He had me focusing intensely on making sure that I had my base horizontal line truly flat and not crooked. While we were shooting, I didn't quite get it, but when I looked at the pictures afterwards, I could really see the difference. 
3. Lastly, Vadim's composition esthetic focuses on having a strong central point of focus (he would repeat 'Centrum' over and over.

He took the whole shoot seriously and was constantly watching what we were doing and making corrections. He also wanted me to be taking many shots of the same thing...like 6 to 12...so I ended up with 421 pictures! More than I have ever taken in my life. Of course, because there were so many duplicates, most were simply trashed. Here are the final ones I kept. Tomorrow, we'll go into the fascinating place that is Alanya. 

Eurasia Mega Trip 2026 - Days Seventeen And Eighteen - An Ode To Çay

On Wednesday and Thursday, we mostly rested while getting our bearings on what this town of Mahmutlar is. We did some walks. Wife did take some pictures but I was more interested in seeing what was available for 'living' while we are here. 

It turns out we have two supermarkets, three greengrocers, two butcher shops, 1 bakery, and one fish market within two blocks in either direction of where we exit our building complex. There are also a varied choice of restaurants. On Tuesday and Saturday, there are large markets that are about 15 to 20 minutes walk. The apartment kitchen is reasonably well equipped (at least by vacation rental property standards!). I have been doing a lot of cooking as a result.

However, one of the great revelations for me has been...

Çay  

(Tea) 

 

I have never been a tea drinker. There have been some periods of time where I got into a habit of having tea in the afternoon. But never for any extended periods. But at this apartment, there is no coffee making apparatus other than a small Turkish coffee pan (I love Turkish coffee, but not as a breakfast/morning beverage. I like American style coffee I can consume over long periods of time). However there was this:

 

 

 

 A HUMONGOUS BAG OF LOOSE TEA

A Kilogram of the stuff (2.2. Pounds)

 

That's a lot of tea

 

 

 

 I've always liked Turkish Çay. I decided I would use what was at hand for the three weeks we are here. I have become hooked. At least temporarily. There is tea making apparatus available.

 

 Tea kettle with tea brewing pot. Loose leaves in their proper container

 

 

 

Put the container with the leaves in the brewing pot and pour water over them.

 

 

 

 Your master pot of tea will now start brewing, keeping hot from the water boiler below.

 

 

 

 To make a cup of traditional Turkish tea in its traditional serving cup, you pour some of the master in then dilute it with hot water to the strength you desire.

 

İşte bu kadar! 

(Et Voilá in Turkish)

Enjoying a lovely cup of Turkish Çay on your balcony watching the Mediterranean Sea

 

 

 

  

Eurasia Mega Trip 2026 - Day Sixteen - Starting To Explore Mahmultar

With a couple of good nights' sleep, and proper nourishment, we are ready to let the away team get out and really explore what this new community is going to be. 

I had to go to a particular bank to get Euros (not the currency of Turkiye) for a tour we have coming up on Friday. That meant exploring a different part of the town. Mahmutlar is actually a community in Alanya. But it was only incorporated into Alanya 13 years ago. And in many ways it acts as a separate community. It has a substantial expat community and is a popular tourist destination. However, as this is still summer (i.e. plenty hot) it is pretty quiet in that respect. 

We are smack dab in the center of the commercial area. That means most services in terms of shopping, restaurants, et al. are very convenient. The city is also flat for the most part and has sidewalks which is a real requirement for us. 

We did our first wander the waterfront sunset photo walk tonight.

 But first...our first shot of local avian activity

 

 Along the waterfront

 

 

 Espouses Fotograficus Turc Series

She searches

 

 She settles on her shot

 

 Aim

 

 Fire

 

 We conclude with a sunset sequence

 

A cat sequence of one

Clearly the mistress of all she sees. 

 

 Leaving the beach and heading for home