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ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF THE EVENT

The idea of the event was to collect images of forts and fortifications from my archive, make some additional photos on the subject, and then create and conduct a two-hour public multimedia program for the 6th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

I knew that there were countless fortifications in the world. Almost always people in different parts of the world live in a state of war.

Fortifications are also great sites for documentary photography. This is exactly what I wanted to say at my event.

A program was created using photos, videos and infographics from five collections: two of them contain photos from foreign countries (Turkey, India) and the other three include photos from Russia (St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod region).

I will tell you about the photos of each of these collections later.

SELJUK FORTIFICATION IN TURKEY

Alanya Fortification is a medieval fortification in the city of Alanya in southern Turkey. Most of it was built in the 13th century. The fortification is located on a rocky peninsula 250 meters high near the Mediterranean Sea.

I was in Alanya in November 2014. It was a tourist trip with my wife, Raisa, we stayed in Turkey for 11 days.

Alanya is an ancient city, it starts its history from the II century BC. Today it is a major tourist city, hosting tourists mainly from Europe, especially from the Scandinavian countries. Of course, tourists from Russia also spend their vacations here.

In the 13th century, the Seljuks conquered Kalonoros (that was the name of the peninsula near which the city is located) and renamed the city to Alaye in honor of the Seljuk sultan Ala ad-Din Kay-Kubad. During the reign of Kay-Kubad, the city reached full flowering. At that time, a significant part of the new fortification (which has survived to this day), a shipyard and several mosques were built. Alaye became a major commercial and military port.

In my photos, you can see some parts of the fortification, the residence of the Seljuk Sultan.

The fortification is quite well preserved, and today it is a museum that is visited by many tourists every day.

What impressed me?

Firstly, you can admire the views of the enchanting Mediterranean Sea from the high walls of the fortification. You can imagine people living here and soldiers being on guard, admiring the local beauties.

Secondly, the fortification museum is “intertwined” with countless private houses and cottages. And when you drive along the road, you do not understand, if you are in a private residential area or the territory of a museum. It is great!

Sultan Ala ad-Din Kay-Kubad, during the construction of his Muslim fortification, left a small Orthodox chapel, which was built during the period when the city was under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. This chapel today requires restoration.

THE PRATAPGAD FORT IN INDIA

The Pratapgad Fort is located in the mountainous settlement of Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra) in India.

I visited this place in November 2015.

India has a rich military history and is a home to over 100 forts and fortifications.

The mountain settlement of Mahabaleshwar is located 250 km southeast of Mumbai and is the most visited mountain resort of Maharashtra. The resort is a large plateau with an area of about 150 sq.km. It is located at an altitude of about 1,500 meters above sea level. The population is about 18 thousand people. There are many long beautiful roads on the plateau, where you can walk or ride a horse. Mahabaleshwar is famous for its honey, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, beans, lettuce, and carrots.