The Red Dome by Pelin Genc

Kastellorizo (a.k.a. Megisti)  is a small Greek island a few miles away from the Turkish coast. Every time I visit Ka, the Turkish coastal town, I take a ferry to visit this small island.

On my first trip to Kastellorizo, I was on the deck of the ferry with my camera to capture photos of the island. The first thing that caught my attention was a red dome. As the ferry approached closer, I figured out that it was a mosque with a red dome. The colorful houses aligned by the bay next to the mosque were like a vibrant welcome ceremony to the visitors. They all reminded me of a beautiful painting as if they were carefully positioned by the painter.

Then I visualized how beautiful they would look with a pinkish red sunset sky and at that moment I was determined to take a sunset photo of this beautiful place. As I had to return before sunset, I made my mind up to visit the island one more time for this photo.

I also thought that the frame I visualized went along with the name of the island. Kastellorizo comes from one of its old names Castel Rosso, named by the castle on the red rocks of the island.

A few months later, I arranged another trip to the island. This time, I also organized my schedule, so I could be there at sunset. Just as I visualized, at sunset, the sky turned into a pink-red color and painted the sea with pink accents. In the background, the Turkish coast formed beautiful layers.