A PLACE FOR SIDEWAYS TRAINS OF THOUGHT
The last time I went to Istanbul I had supper at Çiya Sofrasi, a restaurant which is by now famous (a long article about it appeared in the New Yorker and it has also been mentioned by the New York Times). It serves traditional food from distant Turkish provinces which is so different from the standard fare of Istanbul that the... Continue Reading →
(Listen to the poem here) Eminönü jumps up the staircase of its vowels in a hurry out from the Golden Horn. It's not a place to dawdle waving one's hands effetely over the slender minarets trying to uncork the sky: here all is cars and boats and bustle.Some days the wind comes gushing straight out of Russia and here turns fifteen different corners all at once, scattering the footsteps... Continue Reading →
Once in Istanbul I was eating at a cheap restaurant near Sultan Ahmet- the Blue Mosque. It was one of those times when a bomb had gone off or somebody had invaded someone somewhere, and despite this being a tourist area there was nobody but me in the place. And then a lady walked in.... Continue Reading →
by Orhan Veli (1914- 1950) - English translation by Murat Nemet-Nejat from I, Orhan Veli I am listening to Istanbul with my eyes closed First a breeze is blowing And leaves swaying Slowly on the trees; Far, far away the bells of the Water carriers ringing, I am listening to Istanbul with my eyes closed.... Continue Reading →