Photos taken by ILCAA staff and associates are posted here once a month; most of them are taken during their field research in Asia and Africa.

(The copyright belongs to the photographers.)

Howling Wolf

The wolf is an animal seen as an ethnic symbol of the Turks. A few weeks before I took this photo, a Turkish national soccer team player made a wolf gesture — index and little fingers upright, with the other three fingers bunched together — as a goal celebration during UEFA European Football Championship. The gesture was criticized as racist and led to the player’s suspension, a severe punishment. The incident heightened the interest of some Turkish people in the wolf as a representation of their national history. This wall painting, which I found in an alley just off downtown Istanbul, seems to have been created quite some time ago. I wonder how the painting appears to the eyes of citizens passing by in the alley.

July 27, 2024
Beyoğlu, Istanbul
Photograph by Ryosuke ONO