The man in the red shirt, a photo from Gaziantep, Southern East Anatolia

Photographer's Note

Of course this is nothing special, not even technically perfect, but it is the kind of glimpse of daily life that I personally like.

This is from Gaziantep, a large city in southeastern Turkey, just a little more than 43 years ago. The city has probably changed a lot since then but I wouldn't be surprised if there are still street markets like this, where you can buy yourself a sheep. Maybe that kind of red shirt is out of fashion. I wonder if that man remembers me, considering how he was staring at me.

This is a scan of a Kodachrome slide. It was among the many scans I made years ago but had forgotten, until I dug through my archives last week. Looking at it I get a feeling that the sheep to the right reminds me of someone, at least its rear end. Isn't it a certain president? I won't say which one that comes to my mind. It would be an insult to the sheep.

Here is a larger version.

ChrisJ, adramad, tyro, ikeharel, Cricri, jhm, alvaraalto, Fis2, Eric_vd, PiotrF, COSTANTINO, papagolf21, bukitgolfb301, macjake, snunney, gervaso, sacimar, pierrefonds, danos, mcmtanyel, cornejo, Lidka has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Nicou (193806) 2017-11-06 5:46

Hello

quelle vue et ocmpo quelle sc鈩e de rue avec ces deux homme et les moutons sueprbe compo et captage quel rendu des tons tout en nostalgie sueprbe compo et image.
Bravo et amiti�
Nciou

ChrisJ (171146) 2017-11-06 5:57

Hello Gert

We can't always have a lady in red so this guy in a red shirt is the next best thing. Gaziantep is one of the very few Turkish towns I have not been to. A lot has changed in Turkey in 40 years. Some for the better such as the infrastructure and standard of living and some for the worse such as the current despotic leader.

Sergiom (117241) 2017-11-06 6:14

Bonjour Gert,

J'ai comme l'impression que tu dois avoir beaucoup de plaisir � admirer tes archives photographiques. Tes photos n'ont pas pris une seule ride et elles racontent un beau moment de vie.

Amicalement

Serge

rychem (72187) 2017-11-06 6:58

Thats really a daily life scene, 43 years ago in many countries such "exotic" scenes could be seen around the whole Europe, now we wonder that the former life was so simple
regards Ryszard

adramad (72524) 2017-11-06 7:21

Hello Gert.
An interesting image, with the atmosphere of day to day, in that remote population of Anatolia. The two men in the foreground, could be making some deal on the sheep, the bottom with a kind of shops, everything is very rustic and authentic.
Sharpness, lighting, color, and the magnificent composition are perfect.
Well done. I like it.
You have a good day.
Very best regards.
Luis.

tyro (30513) 2017-11-06 7:46

Hello Gert,

Another of your wonderful and inspiring "daily life" shots of yesteryear giving us a perfect snapshot of life in this Turkish city not far short of half a century ago.

This is a lovely scene, very well seen and taken and also of very good quality considering that it is a scan of a colour slide. Despite what you say, that sheep on the right is quite a pretty creature and I personally would not wish to insult that poor animal's backside by agreeing to the comparison you suggest.

On the other hand, the man in the red shirt is clearly "eyeing you up" and I should be far more suspicious of him than any of those nice sheep. To me he looks like a typical "spiv" and not the sort of person from whom I'd buy a used car - or anything else, for that matter.

Excellent!

Kind Regards,

John.

pajaran (114781) 2017-11-06 8:01

Dobar dan.
Dobar rad skeniranjem slajda, lepa fotografija.
Lepo pokazano mesto i trenutak, mnogo je vremena proslo.
Zelim vam lepo popodne, sve najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela, srecno.
Paja.

Good day.
Good work by scanning slides, beautiful photos.
A nice place and a moment, a lot of time has passed.
I wish you good afternoon, all the best in the new week that started, good luck.

BennyV (34710) 2017-11-06 8:11

Favourite detail: the smiling man all the way at the back.
Gotta love these archive shots!

Tak for sharing them, Gert.

Benny

ikeharel (112391) 2017-11-06 8:18

Hello Gert,
For some reason the man in red shirt looks as the chief-dealer in this outdoor sheep market. You got a meaningful glance by him - sure he must remember...
Good evening,
Ike

Tue (91450) 2017-11-06 8:38

Hello Gert,
Haha, poor sheep, but I do see what you mean! Excellent photo of this sheep market. You captured the man in red really well, right when he was looking into the camera, although his stare would make one feel quite uneasy, I guess. The old wooden buildings form a great background as well.
Lars

Cricri (176) 2017-11-06 8:51

Hi Gert
Belle sc鈩e de vie, j'aime le regard fixe du monsieur a la cigarette et sa blouse rouge, il a une t黎e d'acteur je trouve :-)
de humour dans votre note!! bon travail des couleurs et de la nettet�
amiti駸
cricri

ktanska (44416) 2017-11-06 9:10

Hej Gert,
Quite charmig daily life view. Two of the men seem to have noticed you and your camera. Background building with no direct lines whatsoever is quite picturesque. Excellent contrasty sidelight.
KAri

jhm (211734) 2017-11-06 9:37

Hello Gert,

43 Year ago, maybe no longer live, the man with cigarette.
The quality is indeed not of the best, but the totally essence has the priority.
We learn through photography know the world.
I read the text of Chris he know much of Turkey.
Sharpness and clarity be perfect.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice evening,
John

alvaraalto (42804) 2017-11-06 9:58

Hello Gert
Great scan of a 43-year-old slide. I never have got a result like this.
The scene is even better; a fascinating scene from daily life. An absolute winner in the theme Nothing Special. But your note is the best. I知 glad you spared the reputation of the sheep.
Great performance.
Have a good evening. Groet Rob

Fis2 (169589) 2017-11-06 10:11

Witaj Gert!
Your archive is a well without bottom.
Next interesting scene from daily life.
Excellent shot, good colors and light.
Very well done.
Warm regards.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

PaulVDV (62746) 2017-11-06 10:54

Hello Gert,
As for the colourful shirt, the man looks a bit un-Turkish ...
The others are really like I remember from my visits in the early 80s.
The sheep on the right was apparently a tad jealous on the red shirt.
A very nice street scene of bygone days.
Best regards, Paul

Eric_vd (859) 2017-11-06 10:57

Hello Gert,

When looking at your image, even in the small Turkish villages, life has changed, it's great to see those nostalgic scenes again.Wonderful colors had those kodakchrome colors.

Kind regards,

Eric

lousat (138521) 2017-11-06 12:01

Hi Gert,a pic from a city that it's still possible to visit,not like many that i seen from your archive...ehehe..a very nice scene of daiy like,the quality is still good and the colors are very bright,well done. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

PiotrF (54246) 2017-11-06 13:12

Hello Gert,
Great street scene. In advertising Marlboro was also the man in the red shirt....The man who smoked cigarettes for 43 years, is dead.
Fine presentation
Regards
Piotr

COSTANTINO (115407) 2017-11-06 13:46

Hello dear Gert and have a nice time
and a happy new day
you have a real treasure of photos
yes me too I like this scene from
daily life 43 years ago!!!!!
propably this city has changed a lot
today
regards
Costantino

papagolf21 (152605) 2017-11-06 13:59

Bonsoir, cher Gert,
Ah souvenirs, souvenirs !
Heureusement, les images sont l� pour redonner de la m駑oire et 騅oquer des moments simples et parfois heureux.
Cette image de la vie quotidienne n'a rien perdu de son int駻黎 (qualit� photographique 騅idente).
Tr鑚 bonne note d'accompagnement.
Amiti駸.
Philippe

carlo62 (81265) 2017-11-06 15:02

Ciao Gert
non offendere le pecore, sono animali buoni, non lo meritano ;-)
Non so cosa sia cambiato, probabilmente tutto, o forse niente, chiss�.
Peccato non poterlo sapere, io sono molto curioso.
Saluti
Carlo

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2017-11-06 20:26

Hi dear Gert

Wow 43 years ago's shot! Still so vivid and fresh too.
I wonder this kind of market is still set up ----
Very notastlgic image as usual, from your so precious heritaze stock at all.

All the best and have a good day! Takero

macjake (98256) 2017-11-07 0:23

Hi Gert
is that James Bond? hahahaha
looks like a cool guy.
I know I say it everytime, but i can't help but wonder where is that man now...perhaps he isnt even alive - we'll never know.

I also enjoy checking out the clothing and footwear. Love the rustic buildings in the bg, they're fantastic.
It must be exciting for you to go through these photos!
cheers
Craig

Silvio1953 (220443) 2017-11-07 1:50

Ciao Gert, nice scene, excellent clarity, splendid light, fine details and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

snunney (130967) 2017-11-07 3:03

Hello Gert,
Technically, it is not quite up to par, but there are so many interesting things going on that does not matter at all. The man in the red shirt with his cigarette hanging from his mouth eyeing up the photographer has more than a passing resemblance to Stalin! Superb daily life composition. Thanks for sharing.

gervaso (28177) 2017-11-07 4:25

Hello, Gert!

It must be precisely the clothes that emphasize how old this daily life scene is, but for an old photo like this the quality is very good, including the colors! The old aspect of the house in the backgrouns is also very interesting! Wonderful job!

sacimar (38173) 2017-11-07 4:38

Hello Gert,

this is another good old photo, it would be interesting to know how this place looks 43 years later, the scene with the men and the sheep is interesting, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

jmdias (114150) 2017-11-07 4:51

gert

the man in red shirt and the other are watching you. in that time it was rare to take images in the streets as we can see nowadays.nice details to enjoy. the old stones in the base of those dirty and fragile buildings in BG looks more ancient, who know how many centuries there.

hugs

jorge

dkmurphys (79209) 2017-11-07 5:22

Hello,
I love the contrasts between the man in the suite and the simple clothing of each others. Nice street scene, quite a picturesque place that was...

Daniel

GyurMaster (24668) 2017-11-07 11:37

Dear Gert,

As you wrote, this is really far from being technically perfect, eg. the man in the red shirt is covered by another man. However this is a nice street candid and I like how you got the sight of the man in the red shirt.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

pierrefonds (113474) 2017-11-07 15:48

Hi Gert,

You have captured well a daily activity at the street market. The point of view is showing the details of the sheep at the right. The light is giving nice tints to the colors. A good comparison, have a nice day.

Pierre

danos (110407) 2017-11-08 1:20

Hello Gert,
nice the view of this daily snapshot of the village,with the man wearing the red shirt,to be the eye catching of the scene.His glance towards you with the cigarette in his mouth is very characteristic making the scene unique.

Regards,Danos

emka (157280) 2017-11-09 12:05

Hello Gert,

I like the picture very much, as all your oldies. But I usually write my critique after a few days, I like to read what the other people write. I have checked in Google some pictures from Gaziantep and now it is quite modern town, without any sheep on the street. Interesting scene with the sheep. I suppose these are fat tailed sheep, I saw similar in Syria. And Syria is not so far. The both men in the foreground look very poor. The guy in red shirt and with the cigarette look rather suspicious at you, also this head without body noticed the photographer. Funny note. President like sheep? Who could it be?
I wonder if such scenes are still possible to seein Turkish town. Still many various animals on the streets one can see everywhere in India.

Kind regrads Malgo

kasianowak (17648) 2017-11-11 8:44

I really wanted to visit Gaziantep but it was a choice between Iraqi Kurdistan and that part of Turkey. Maybe another time...
But, to partly answer your question, 40 years (and 2 months) later, there were sheep to be spotted in the main street, not even in the market but just animals that belonged to the people who live there.
Nice shot, fascinating slice of daily life.
Kasia
Ps. The sheep's bottom reminds me of that president's hair style indeed. :-)

mcmtanyel (67507) 2017-11-11 20:43

Hello Gert,
Nah, the sheep looks nothing like Erdogan. But if she did, that would be a complement to him. I wonder if the man in the red shirt is still alive. Actually, the furthest man from the camera is looking at you, too. I bet you this was close to Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bayramı in Turkish) and that is why sheep were being sold on the streets. The buildings in the background look like ruins!
Regards,
MT

cornejo (61504) 2017-11-12 11:22

Hello Gert, very good picture of this interesting scene of everyday life, very well captured in this interesting image, with good sharpness, light, color and quality. A great job perfectly done, my congratulations, my friend. Thanks for sharing this interesting work.

Good night and happy beginning of the week.
All the best from the south of Spain.
Angel.

Lidka (527) 2017-11-23 11:50

Dear Gert!
Very interesting scene and scenery.
Fine people, fine animal.
Good composition. Good take.
Very fine quality.
Congratulations.
Well done!

Ilonka1974 (10275) 2019-10-09 16:10

Hi Gert,
Interesting scene from daily life.
Great old photo.
Ilike it.
Best regards
Janusz

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-01-08 12:34

Gert, the farmers rear sheeps in the countryside around the city and they come on market day to sell them. The man with the beret seems to be the animals' owner whereas the other man with the red shirt is maybe a customer interested to buy a sheep for its meat. I like the wooden houses in the bg. Fine colors, good sharpness, interesting photo note, regards.