Photo Of The Day: Whirling Dervishes In Sudan

Dervishes of the whirling variety are most famously associated with Turkey, where they’ve become something of a tourist attraction throughout the country. But the dervish tradition extends far beyond modern-day gawkers and Turkey’s borders. Dervishes are Sufi Muslims who lead an ascetic lifestyle. Whirling dervishes spin rhythmically in order to reach a state of religious or spiritual ecstasy, and are found in many places outside of Turkey. In fact, the whirling dervish ceremony just outside of Khartoum, Sudan, where Flickr user Mark Fischer snapped this photo, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the capital. If you’d like to see your great shots on Photo of the Day, share them with us in the Gadling Flickr pool.

Photo Of The Day: Moroccan Leather Tannery


You can smell the tanneries in Fez, Morocco, long before you can see them. The stench comes from the diluted bird excrement used to soften animal hides as they’re turned into leather. The soft leather is then dyed in these large vats by men working hours at a time on each hide in harsh summer heat. Then the hides are hung to dry on the roofs around the old quarter.

Flickr user Mark Fischer captured this image of a tannery worker in the dyeing vats from the balconies surrounding the tannery. It’s basically an assembly line at ground level, so tourists aren’t allowed in, but the smell is often enough to keep most people at bay.

Do you have a great travel photo you’d like to share? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr Pool, and we could feature it as our Photo of the Day. Or submit it via Instagram, mentioning @GadlingTravel and using the hashtag #gadling.

Photo Of The Day: Spot Of White

This interesting Photo of the Day, titled “Spot of White,” comes from Gadling Flickr pool member Mark Fischer and was captured in Bangkok’s Siam Square using a Nikon D90.

Mark captions the image:

“On Sunday, May 8th, 2011, an estimated 100,000 people attended a ceremony to give alms to 12,600 monks in front of CentralWorld in downtown Bangkok. Almsgiving is a daily event in Thailand and is a way for lay people to support the monks and to gain merit. This ceremony was organized as a symnbolic and practical gesture of support for 286 temples in Southern Thailand. Monks at those temples are unable to collect alms due to the risk of being shot and killed. The food and other items collected here will be sent to support the temples in the South.”

Want to be featured? Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as a Photo of the Day.

Tips for being featured: add a caption describing the image and (better yet) your personal experience when capturing it, details of the photography gear used and any tips you might have for others wanting to emulate your work.

Now, you can also submit photos through Instagram; just mention @GadlingTravel and use the hashtag #gadling when posting your images.

[Photo Credit Gadling Flickr pool member Mark Fischer]

Photo Of The Day: A Golden Thai Temple

Buddhist temples in Thailand are unlike any other in the world. They are intricate, colorful and laden with gold. Mark Fischer took this amazing shot of Wat Pho in Bangkok, putting the golden chedi spires in stark contrast with the night sky. There are dozens of major temples throughout Bangkok, not to mention the spectacular temples throughout the rest of Thailand, such as the amazingly pure white Wat Rong Khun.

If you have taken a great travel photo, submit it to us and it could be featured as our Photo of the Day. There are two ways to do so, either by submitting it to our Gadling Flickr Pool, like Mark did; or via Instagram, by mentioning @GadlingTravel and tagging your photo with #Gadling.

[Photo Credit: Flickr User Mark Fischer]

Photo Of The Day: Mongolian Ger

This Photo of the Day, titled “Mongolian Ger,” comes from Gadling Flickr pool member Mark Fischer who captured the image with a Nikon D90.

Mark describes the photo as “A ger, sometimes called a yurt, sits on the Steppes near Mandalgovi, Mongolia.”

A ger or yert is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by nomads in the Mongolian-Manchurian Steppes, which covers an area of 887,300 square kilometers. Mandalgovi is the capital of the Dundgovi Province of Mongolia on the border of the Gobi Desert.

Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as a Photo of the Day.

[Photo Credit- Flickr user Mark Fischer]