Photographer's Note
At the height of summer 1970 I made my first journey outside Europe. In temperatures often reaching well above 40° C I spent five weeks travelling through the Middle East.
This picture is from Mosul in northern Iraq, showing the famous leaning 12th century minaret of the Nur al-Din mosque. Most of the mosque was destroyed in 1942. According to what I have figured out from the internet the minaret is still standing, in spite of the ongoing war.
This picture was taken with a very simple camera, I don't even remember what kind, and scanned from a slide. It's the oldest photo I have posted on TE so far.
Critiques | Translate
mikolaj_kawa
(0) 2008-02-17 1:47
Hello Gert! Wonderful towers. Very sophisticated geometry. Good perspective. Amazing POV. Nice effect. Good luck!
nirvana73
(0) 2008-02-17 1:59
Hello Gert
i so happy
this minaret still standing
beatiful building and texture
great atmosphere
walking men became bonus for this shot
thanks for sharing
best regards
Ozhan
Ramy
(773) 2008-02-17 2:33
Hello Gert,
This is like a piece of art rediscovered, I very much enjoy photographs that are older than I am. Its a part of history and should be taken care of. Do you have more photographs of Iraq? I would be more than glad to see it!
Regards, Ramy.
saxo042
(38078) 2008-02-17 9:20
Hej Gert,
This shows that mankind were able to build leaning towers long before Pisa! A fine and erect symbol of those days. The sky is a bit grainy but that´s only a small remark.
Hälsningar
Gunnar
SteveH
(8220) 2008-02-18 18:32 [Comment]
yas777 (367) 2008-02-24 1:29 [Comment]
serp2000
(47063) 2013-08-11 8:58
Good evening, Gert,
First of all, this is interesting register of the past.
But it reminded me one old legend: "It is not curved. It is straight, but it bows in front of the magnificence of Your Majesty". I think you know that story of Louis XIV and J.P.Chenet ;)
Best wishes,
Serghei
jmdias
(116287) 2016-03-12 6:16
gert
transformed in sepia it could make us to think it was took one hundred years ago. very nice framing using well the shapes of the minarets and these personages. very nice old one.
hugs
jorge
emka
(158644) 2016-12-13 4:23
Hello Gert, You posted a bit improved version of this picture as Workshop, I jumped at the original. Interesting photo from your trip to Iraq 46 years ago. You felt brave to make photos of the people now only the bravest can just be there.
I looked in Google to read something about these minarets. According to local tradition (which resolutely ignores chronology), the minaret gained its tilt after the Prophet Muhammad passed overhead while ascending to heaven. The minaret bowed itself in reverence but could only regain its balance after its top joint had been kinked in the opposite direction. According to local Christian tradition, however, the mosque's tilt was due to its bowing towards the tomb of the Virgin Mary, reputedly located near Arbil.
Both the mosque and its madrasa were dismantled and reassembled in 1942 in a restoration programme undertaken by the Iraqi government. The minaret has remained unrestored, although attempts were made in 1981 by an Italian firm to stabilise it. However, the bombing of Mosul during the Iran–Iraq War broke underground pipes and caused leaks under the minaret that further undermined it. The lean has worsened by another 40 centimetres since then.The structure was targeted by ISIS militants who occupied Mosul on June 10, 2014 and previously destroyed the Tomb of Jonah. However residents of Mosul incensed with the destruction of their cultural sites protected the mosque by forming a human chain and forming a resistance against ISIS. See
http://media-3.web.britannica.com/eb-media/94/37694-004-83E9BB8E.jpg
Regards MAlgo
PaulVDV
(63402) 2017-06-22 15:13
Hello Gert,
Today IS blew up this mosque along with its famous minaret.
The leaning minaret has never fallen. A human decision is the cause of its end. After 9 centuries this entire cultural heritage has been destroyed by IS.
I read something interesting about it: In July 2014 IS fighters tried to destroy the minaret, saying the structure contradicted their fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. Mosul residents converged on the area, however, and formed a human chain to protect it.
The destruction of this mosque, however, is just one fact in a long series of cultural sites that IS has ravaged in the Middle East.
Best regards, Paul
Silvio1953
(222721) 2021-04-14 23:47
Ciao Gert, great view of leaning minaret, nice scene with walking couple in FG, excellent clarity, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio
pajaran
(116885) 2022-04-02 0:52
Pozdrav.
Lep pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Lepo mesto i stara arhitektura, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama, kontrastom i uhvacenim trenutkom sa prolaznicima.
Lepi minareti.
Dobar rad, lepa fotografija.
lepo secanje.
Zelim vam lep dan, sve najbolje za vikend.
Paja
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Gert Holmertz (holmertz)
(103510)
- Genre: ·ç¾°
- Medium: ²ÊÉ«
- Date Taken: 1970-07-00
- Categories: ÈÕ³£Éú»î, Architecture, Ruins
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Date Submitted: 2008-02-17 1:28
- Favorites: 1 [view]