Capturing romance in sunset photo shoots on Istanbul’s Golden Horn

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Under Istanbul’s old Galata Bridge, there’s a nondescript concrete landing that juts out into the waters of the Golden Horn.

By day, it’s easy to overlook. But as evening nears, it transforms into one of the city’s most sought-after stages for romance.

Starting in spring and continuing through summer, soon-to-be wed and newlywed couples flock to this unassuming spot in Eminonu district to immortalize their nuptials in radiant, and often highly choreographed, sunset photo shoots.

The spot is so popular, a dozen brides and grooms can often be seen posing side by side, each basking in a sliver of the sunset glow. At peak hours, a traffic jam of couples forms on the stairs leading to the waterside overlook, waiting for their turn.

“There’s no place in Istanbul we haven’t visited, we both love it,” said 22-year-old Elif Yuksel, standing next to her fiance, Semih Aydin. “That’s why we wanted to be photographed somewhere we could see every corner of Istanbul.”

The setting sun casts its light just right during what’s known as “golden hour,” a coveted time for photographers and videographers who frame their shots against the backdrop of the medieval Galata Tower and the Ottoman imperial mosque, Suleymaniye, the city’s second largest.

It’s a fitting setting for newlyweds like Hasret Yilmaz Ucucu and her husband, Halil Ibrahim Ucucu, who had tied the knot shortly before their shoot.

“I went to the hairdresser and got ready there. Then my husband came and picked me up and we went to our wedding ceremony. Afterward (our photographer) brought us here with great excitement,” said the 24-year-old bride.

For many couples, the snapshots are more than keepsakes — they symbolize moments in time when love, tradition and the centuries-old city’s enduring splendor intertwine.

“I’ve been to London, I’ve been to Barcelona. There’s no place like Istanbul,” said Semih Aydin, who was taking engagement pictures with his soon-to-be wife. "Let’s take beautiful photos, let’s make beautiful memories to show our children in the future.’”

Sude Keles, left, and her husband Suat Keles pose during a photo session at Galata bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits walk along Galata bridge during a photo session, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Damla Avci, right, and her husband Mustafa Ertan pose during a photo session at Galata bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Sude Keles, left, and her husband Suat Keles pose during a photo session at Galata bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Couples wearing their wedding outfits pose during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Halil Ibrahim Ucucu, right, and his wife Hasret Yilmaz Ucucu wearing their wedding outfits pose for a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits pose during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Huri Kubra Uzun, right, and her husband Mucahid Uzun wearing their wedding outfits look at just taken photos during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits pose during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Sude Keles, top, and her husband Suat Keles pose during a photo session at Galata bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Damla Avci, right, and her husband Mustafa Ertan pose during a photo session at Galata bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Mucahit Uzun wearing his wedding suit poses during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits arrive for a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits walk along Galata bridge during a photo session, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits pose during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits pose during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

A couple wearing their wedding outfits pose during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Couples wearing their wedding outfits pose during a photo session at Galata bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.

Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.

The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.

“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.

Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.

On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.

Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”

“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”

In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.

Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.

Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.

The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”

“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.

Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.

The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.

“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.

Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.

“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.

Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”

Speaking on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact despite the Washington meeting, but she welcomed the creation of the working group.

The most important thing for Greenlanders is that they were directly represented at the meeting in the White House and that “the diplomatic dialogue has begun now,” Juno Berthelsen, a lawmaker for the pro-independence Naleraq opposition party, told AP.

A relationship with the U.S. is beneficial for Greenlanders and Americans and is “vital to the security and stability of the Arctic and the Western Alliance,” Berthelsen said. He suggested the U.S. could be involved in the creation of a coastguard for Greenland, providing funding and creating jobs for local people who can help to patrol the Arctic.

Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”

Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”

Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)

Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)