Plus, adventures in Andorra
|  | Saturday, July 9, 2022 | | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPHS BY SABIHA ÇIMEN
| | By Whitney Johnson, Director of Visual and Immersive Experiences
Inspired by her own experiences, photographer Sabiha Çimen documented Quran schools across Turkey, hoping “to create a nuanced look at a rarely seen and often misunderstood segment of society,” she says.
As a young girl, Sabiha and her twin sister attended one of these schools in their hometown of Istanbul. Years later, after becoming a photographer, Sabiha felt compelled to return—this time with her Hasselblad camera in hand.
“Sabiha was able to blend in, reconnecting with her own memories,” photo editor Julie Hau told me. “She sheds a light on the hearts and minds of these young girls.”
While all the girls focus on the same task of memorizing every page of the Quran, the images reveal a more nuanced narrative. Through vignettes of daily life—pranks and daydreams, whispered secrets and shared failures—we see young girls searching for, and finding, their individuality. (Pictured above, a student named Zeynep and a classmate on a study break.)
Read the full story here and keep scrolling for additional images.
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| Class trip: Students on an outing that they organized to an Istanbul amusement park.
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| Schoolyard shenanigans: Aslıhan and a friend have fun with a gorilla mask. Afterward the two ran through the hallways to prank their schoolmates.
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| Sisterhood: At a school picnic in Istanbul, a plane soars over a group of students who, with headscarves billowing in the wind, look as though they are ready to fly.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY BRYAN SCHUTMAAT | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY JAIME ROJO
| | Adventures in Andorra: Many have never heard of the tiny European mountain country of Andorra. Most who do visit are European outdoor lovers attracted to Andorra’s forested valleys and sparkling lakes, Nat Geo editor Brooke Sabin reports. Brooke volunteered with nonprofit Earthwatch to assist with research there. “I wonder how a country that’s so old and so beautiful can be so far off Americans’ travel radar,” she writes. Click here to see photos of Andorra and learn how you can be a citizen scientist abroad. (Pictured above, Nat Geo Explorer Jaime Rojo captures a male capercaillie roaming the woods of Andorra.)
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| Passion for pickleball: With 4.8 million players in the U.S., pickleball has rapidly become one of the nation’s hottest sports. Senior adults are getting in on the game, a mash-up of table tennis, racquetball, and badminton. The Sun City, Arizona Pickleball Club has grown by more than 200 members since January. Currently, in this 55 and older community, there are three players in their 90s and 23 members in their 80s. Jim Rabbot (pictured above in the background alongside Frank Johnson), 90, plays three times a week. “Most people my age are sitting in a nursing home,” he told Kendrick Brinson. See more photos from America’s oldest active retirement community.
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 | | The secret to taking good photographs is taking a lot of photographs. | | | | Jeffrey Kerby | | Ecologist, photographer, Nat Geo Explorer | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPH BY JIM RICHARDSON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
| | Sunflowers and smoke: In the photo above, a beekeeper in Ames, Iowa, sprays smoke to quell bees while working among a crop of sunflowers. The photo was taken as part of a story on the preservation of heirloom seeds for the July 2011 issue of National Geographic. True to their name, the vibrant flower painted by the likes of Anthony van Dyck and Vincent Van Gogh, greets the sun each morning by turning east to take in its rays.
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This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Monica Williams, Heather Kim, and David Beard. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alec Egamov, and Rita Spinks also contributed this week. Have a story idea or feedback? Drop us a line. Thanks for reading!
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