islam | Michael Hoffman Photography

Posted

May 29, 2015

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Architecture, Backpacking, cat, Cathedral, church, cyprus, discover, featured, gothic, islam, Island, mosque, sea, streetphotography, Travel

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Discovering Cyprus

The last time Cyprus was featured was about a divided island. Though the political situation is complicated, I recommend visiting both parts of the island. So, I won’t differentiate between the Turkish and the Greek parts in the following gallery. Pictures 5, 6, and 7 need some background: After the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, former Gothic Cathedrals were converted into Mosques. Interestingly, some were not destroyed, and only minor changes were made (like the destruction of angel figures due to the ban on images in Islam). The altar was displaced within the church so the believers could pray in the direction of Mekka. According to Ottoman traditions, the former Cathedrals had carpets, and the inner church was painted white. Though inside as well as outside, you still see the Christian heritage. The clean and bright style of Islamic religious decoration combined with the dark and gothic severe style makes for a thoroughly fascinating combination.

Posted

May 24, 2015

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Turkey

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bazar, bospurus, cat, Cultures, discover, featured, grandbazar, islam, istanbul, lamps, maramara, minaret, photography, Sky, streetphotography, sunset, türkiye, Travel, turkey, turkish

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A Sea of Minarets – Istanbul in 2015 Pt I.

From historical to contemporary times, the city of Istanbul has always been a meeting point of culture, marking the border between Europe and the Islamic world. In geographical terms, the border is clearly defined; it is the Bosporus Strait. But not just since the opening of the first Metro line beneath the Bosporus – the Marmaray in 2013 – the cultural borders are not so clear anymore. While some districts like Galata are defined by modern shops, nightclubs, and skating kids with headphones, others are way more traditional and religious. Despite the stark contrasts, there are no apparent tensions. Also, Istanbul welcomes travelers, receiving guests with open arms. Just beware of the merchants in the Grand Basar and do not believe every fairy story they tell, regardless of the oriental charm of the bargainer.

Posted

April 21, 2014

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Usbekistan

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Architecture, asia, central asia, featured, islam, oriental, photography, samarkand, Travel, usbekistan, uzbekistan

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The Silk Road: At the Crossroads of Cultures

Samarkand is one of the oldest settlements of mankind. Situated at a central position on the trading route between Asia and Europe as well as between the Orient civilization of the south and the Nomad tribes of the far north, it developed into a place of prosperity and a melting point of different cultures. They came as tradesman and conquerors, as refugees and preachers. Their traces can still be seen in the vivid faces of the inhabitants of this marvelous city. Also, Samarkand is a profoundly religious place with Islamic architecture dominating the central part of the town, primarily impressive madrases (religious schools) and mosques with gorgeous blue cupolas. It is the mixture of people and graceful architecture, so different from Western Europe, that makes the city fascinating and alluring to the traveler. Truly another world worth visiting.

Previous entries in the series: Buxoro, The Enchanted City, The Desert City of Xiva

Posted

April 19, 2014

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Usbekistan

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Architecture, asia, blue, car, central asia, featured, islam, life, photography, Religion, silk road, Travel, usbekistan

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The Silk Road: Buxoro, The Enchanted City

Further to the west lies another majestic city along the Silk Road: Buxoro or Bukhara. While Xiva is a beautiful but somewhat enclosed desert city in Buxoro, the connection to the world outside of Central Asia can be felt. Influences from Persia and India can be seen here (just look at the first picture). The connecting element to other cities along the Silk Road is the blue cupolas, the symbols or landmarks of Uzbekistan. Oh, and of course, the Soviet cars (picture three). I like how the color of many of them still resembles an older kind of (groaning) vehicle 😉 And in case you wonder, the title of an “Enchanted City” was given to Buxoro by the diplomat Fitzroy Maclean, who worked as a diplomat in the British Embassy in Moscow and visited Central Asia in 1938. Later, he called the city “enchanted” and compared the architecture to the beauty of the Italian Renaissance. Indeed, the mosaics and structures (mostly religious buildings) are a stunning sight.

Posted

April 10, 2014

Category

Usbekistan

Tags

Architecture, chiwa, desert, featured, islam, life, photography, silk road, Travel, usbekistan, xiva

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The Silk Road: The Desert City of Xiva

Unlike the last photography series, which I displayed here a couple months after the initial trip, I’d like to have it more immediate this time. So, I just returned from a fantastic journey to Uzbekistan in Central Asia. It is the modern state where many sights of the ancient Silk Road, being the major trading route between China and Europe for more than a century, happen to be. As I was there for work purposes, my time for photography was very limited to a couple of hours a day, so I didn’t have the time to wait for the perfect setup very often but instead tried to capture the beauty and immediacy of the reality in front of me as I saw it at the moment. Our first destination was the city of Xiva (or Chiwa or Khiva) in the Western part of Uzbekistan. It is close to the Amujaria River within the fertile oasis of Chorasm, between the deserts of Kysylkum (Red Sand) and Karakum (Black Sand). As the photography displayed here shows, I think walking through the city felt like being transported not only within space but also within time to a mysterious, oriental place of merchants, beggars, and camels (or Soviet cars) like it already used to be for centuries. In case you wonder, the vast turquoise tower is the landmark of Xiva. It was supposed to be the largest minaret in the Islamic world, but the construction was abandoned midway through. So it was decided to garnish the unfinished structure with beautiful ornaments, at this moment showing the wealth of the oasis city.