C. M. Kosemen - Inspiration

The free-ranging research and inspiration blog of C.M. Kosemen. None of the content on this page belongs to me. All images have been found online or in their respective sources, and are reproduced here for non-commercial purposes. www.cmkosemen.com

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This tumblr page has been discontinued as of June 2019. The C. M. Kosemen pages have been moved to a new website, accessible at www.cmkosemen.com

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Gift matchbox of the Hadigari Bar / Nightclub in Bodrum, Turkey, from the 1990s.

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The supremely eccentric house built by Kamil Gök of Dereköy village, Bodrum, Turkey.

Kamil Gök built this structure, and also ran a store on the bottom floor before he passed away. In old age, he had discovered the artistic side of his personality, and built numerous fountains, small monuments and busts. He liked forming structures with simple materials, alternating between painted surfaces and sculpted reliefs in their decoration. These works were located mostly in Kamil Gök’s immediate neighbourhood.

Unfortunately, his son tore down this building while Kamil Gök was still alive. A modern house stands in its place instead.

Source: Tuncer Ertem, Bodrum Ev Stili ve Kültürü, Celsius, Istanbul, 2000. Photograph by Ahmet İğdirligil.

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Greater adjutant storks (Leptoptilos dubius) and friends gather around a garbage dump in India.

Source: AFP / Getty Images

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Alexandrine parakeets, Psittacula eupatria, are long-time residents in Istanbul; yet stupid urban myths persist; suggesting that they are escaped pets, or “are spreading due to climate change”.

A (possible) Alexandrine parakeet even appears on this magnificent Byzantine plate from the fifth century, depicting a horned goddess of some sort.

Source: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri Seçme Bizans Eserleri Rehberi [Select Byzantine Artifacts from the Istanbul Archaeology Museums] by Nezih Fıratlı. (1955)

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Acontias plumbeus, giant legless skink.

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This <TINY> scene from Jurassic Park stayed with me for a long time. In 1993 I was 9 years old. I knew about most "mainstream" dinosaurs, but things like "Metriacanthosaurus" were at a different, completely esoteric level of palaeontology. Its name sounded like a Mephistophelean demon. Internet was non-existent, and books were hard to reach. So I spent weeks, months, dreaming what sort of arcane, Delphic beast "Metriacanthosaurus" could have been - and dreamt that perhaps in five, ten years, Spielberg would film a JP sequel in which it would actually APPEAR.

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Ecology Lessons from the British Empire

Naive lessons in ecology from an illustrated science textbook published during the twilight of the British Empire.

“The story of how the exceptional destruction of wasps in 1934 spoilt cricket at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1935″

1. Wasps destroy the crane-flies and keep down their numbers. 2. In 1934 more wasps’ nests than usual were destroyed by weather and human agency. 3. Owing to the shortage of wasps the c r a n e - flies greatly increased in number and deposited many eggs. 4. As a result, the number of crane-fly grubs, known as leather-jackets, greatly multiplied in the soil of Lord’s Cricket Ground. The leather-jackets prey upon the roots of grass. 5. The roots being destroyed by leather-jackets, the turf was much damaged, and as a consequence cricket in the 1935 season was considerably spoilt :(

“Why the killing of the tigers in Sumatra did great damage to the island’s industry, and caused the natives to go hungry″

1. In Sumatra the tiger preys upon the wild boar, keeping down its numbers.. 2. At one time the tigers were slaughtered in very large numbers. 3. As a result the wild boars were able to multiply and wandered far in search of food. 4. They destroyed palm trees, the collecting of oil from which was a great industry. 5. For the lack of oil the industry failed, and the people became very poor :(

Source: The Popular Science Educator, edited by Charles Ray. (1936)

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A sculpture of St. Dominic covered with Italian Aesculapian snakes, Elaphe lineata, during the famous “snake festival” in Abruzzo.

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Beautiful fractal grooves on the shell of the Anatolian door snail, Albinaria anatolica.

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Preserved specimens and a life photograph of the tadpole-like head shark, Cephalurus cephalus.

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Great White Sharks in the Bosporus

Until the 1950s, Istanbul’s Bosporus strait was frequently visited by massive great white sharks, Charcharodon carcharias.

A massive specimen caught in the early 1920s, from Büyükada, a resort island just off Istanbul. Back in those years, Turkey still used the Arabic alphabet. A rough translation of the caption reads: “This shark was caught last week in Büyükada by Greek fishermen. To this day it is the biggest shark to be caught over there, its weight could surpass 1500 kg.”

This big guy was caught in Tuzla, on the Asian part of Istanbul province.

The great white sharks visited Istanbul to catch massive tuna fish, Thunnus sp. - which were also prized by local fishermen. Sometimes, sharks simply camped by seaside factories that processed the tuna to feed on their refuse.

This massive specimen was exhibited at the Taksim Artillery Barracks - currently the site of Gezi Park, popularised recently as the flashpoint of massive and controversial riots.

Harpooned sharks were occasionally left to die on nearby beaches. This picture is from the Kabataş shore; currently a hub of construction sites and inter-city boat ports.

An enormous specimen hung for display near the Galata bridge. It is a sobering thought that these sharks, the tuna fish, and the fishermen who caught them have all disappeared as the city turned into a crowded, polluted metropolis of 16 million people.

Sources: Büyük Beyaz Bilmece [The Great White Riddle] by Hakan Kabasakal. (2015) and National Geographic Turkey.

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Pchela M1, late Soviet-era drone aircraft.

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Dinosaur-like giant turtles from a future-evolution scenario.

Source: The Sauropod Dinosaurs: Life in the Age of Giants by Mark Hallett and Matt Wedel. (2016)

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Four encounters with very strangely-rendered “flying cryptids”. From top to bottom, they are: - Antonio Grimaldo’s pterosaur-like “Big Bird” from 1970s Texas. - A “Birdwoman” seen by three horny US marines, sick on heroin during the Vietnam War. - The “Tombstone Epitaph Flying Crocodile”, resembling a huge crocodilian with an extremely elongated tail and an immense pair of wings, shot by two ranchers in 1890. - The “Copiapo Giant Bird” from 1868, painted spectacularly as a semi-metallic insect-bird.

Source: Creatures From Elsewhere by Orbis Publishing. (1984)

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Marching Hittite figures from Zincirli Höyük, Central Anatolia.

Source: John Henry Haynes: A Photographer and Archaeologist in the Ottoman Empire 1881 - 1900 by Robert G. Ousterhout. (2016)

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Twin-human-headed tomb with mystical patterns in a Zaza cemetery, from the Çılga village district in Tunceli (Dersim), Turkey.

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