A Long Walk Around Ankara

On Saturday, my friend Josh, and I, who is also into photography, walked all over Ankara trying to capture the many different sides of this city we live in. We wandered around the poorer, older parts, as well as the more modern, richer sections. It is a city of stark contrasts.











I especially love wandering around Ulus and Hirar, the ancient parts of the city. I love the meandering alleyways, buildings about to collapse, dirty children playing in the street, pieces of ancient Roman columns recycled as building materials. I don't know why decrepit falling apart things are so beautiful to me, but they are.
















We were even fortunate enough to capture a protest followed by riot police. The policeman looking at me in the last photo was not very happy with our documenting the event. I've never been that close to riot police before, and it was exciting. We couldn't understand the Turkish that the protesters were shouting, but we're sure it was about the conflict between the political party that wants to amend Turkish law so women CAN wear headscarves in universities and the secular party that wants to uphold the founding father, Ataturk's, vision of religion-free public institutions.