james kerwin photographs vibrant hidden mosques across turkey’s most remote villages

the sanctuary: an ode to turkey’s spiritual past

James Kerwin’s The Sanctuary is a visual ode to the forgotten religious structures of Turkey’s charming historic past. Tucked away from main travel routes are remote, unexplored villages, which in in the last 20 years, have perished and evolved, with remnants of architectural heritage narrating notes of a forgotten past. First, the older, crumbling mosques were removed to make way for newer and often much grander religious spaces, then, as the economy began to falter, villagers began migrating to larger cities in pursuit of employment. In this photographic series, Kerwin set out on a journey across approximately 18 towns, visiting over 40 villages in search of these hidden gems. ‘You’ll see that each sanctuary invites you to appreciate its understated beauty while providing a window into the nation’s past. They are a poignant illustration of the richness and diversity of the Turkish culture,’ he shares.

james kerwin uncovers five-centuries old mosques

Traversing all but two of Turkey’s seven vast regions over two years, the photographer steered away from conventional travel routes on his search for these structures. Although, many of those abandoned mosques have been destroyed by the weather over time, as James Kerwin found, many still stand present throughout the country. Some of them are over 500 years old, entirely constructed of wood, or vibrantly painted, others seemed to be weathering and crumbling. Some were found destroyed by landslides, others standing strong yet repurposed by locals as storage or shops. Regardless of their condition, he found them to be rich in color and ornamentation. ‘Normally, I had no idea about the structure’s condition. And often I’d travel by plane or drive for hours only to find a wrecked structure, or worse nothing,’ he notes. The series was launched as a 20-image collection as seen here, alongside a set of on-location tutorial videos. 

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project info:

name: The Sanctuary
designer: James Kerwin

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