Gezi spirit ‹ istanbul travelogue

Istanbullites: Uluç Özcü and his Urban Photography

Uluç Özcü is one of my favorite photographers. A ginger sweet-heart. Passionate as hell about the Gezi, photography and music. He whines so sweetly over what he cares for. Having born on the same land, we speak the same language of frustration,...

Adios 2013!

Whenever I set my foot outside in the past 2 weeks, I felt i got swept away by the wild waves of people, especially in my neighborhood, Nişantaşı, a byword for urban chic. I ran out of all of the shortcuts to my house. For the fear of being labeled...

Istanbullites: Melis Bilgin and her animated film, Tetrist

It was at Canlandıranlar Animators Festival that I came across Melis Bilgin’s animation, Tetrist. Remember Tetris, the phenomenal video game of the 90s, in which you are supposed to keep building blocks until there is no room left? Melis’ Tetrist...

The Rainbow Revolution

One day when I was on my way to the Spice Bazaar in the dolmus, colorful stairs on the right side of the road caught my attention leaving a huge smile on my face. After a moment of awe, I was asking myself if this is the city I have been trying to escape...

Resistanbul diaries # 4 Protesting a la Turca

CONFESSIONS OF A BLOGGER...Up until two months ago, I spent my life bragging about my being creative. The creativity inherent even in seemingly trivial things such as wrapping gifts or dressing the salad. I had a good eye for details, or for good bargains,...

Resistanbul diaries # 3 Food for Thought

What you see is a mist of gas, what I feel is a burn on my skin. With the rush of adrenalin, we all would like to think we have a higher threshold for any mysterious substance sprayed on us, but in the end, we all start crying, coughing or vomiting....

Resistanbul Diaries # 2 The music of the times

The breakout of protests caught us off the guard; so did our creative streak...:) It was creativity and humor that gave a boost to our morale all along. Most of these songs on #resistturkey june 2013 chart were created as a response to the violent crackdown...

#Resistanbul Diaries #1 Sleepless in Istanbul

THE CREEPY VISION I HAD...Three weeks ago; I had a nightmare. We are in a post-apocalyptic city... Abandoned buildings, dead silence in deserted streets, no soul around. We find shelter in an old, empty plant... More people pour in. A friend...

403 Forbidden

Gezi spirit