protest against “Sivas massacre perpetrators”

Sivas Katliamı mitingi, Kadıköy-İstanbul, Pentax k5, photos by ozgur ozkok

protest against court decisions on Sivasmassacre perpetrators.

 

Sivas Katliamı mitingi, Kadıköy-İstanbul, Pentax k5, photos by ozgur ozkok

Reading about Istanbul “Just for heart and soul…” part-2

Reading about Istanbul, part-2,   Just for heart and soul…

There are some books which have influenced my understanding of life in Turkey, its history and present, customs and spirit.

Usually I don´t buy the books at the airport, because of lack of time and concentration, but Buket Uzuner´s My name is Istanbul was a temptation I couldn´t resist. I think this is one of the most poetic books I´ve ever read. Short stories, glimpses like a kaleidoscope. Istanbul like bits of colorful glass changing patterns. In this book Istanbul, the mighty and mysterious woman, narrates her story looking back through the centuries. Very elegant and vigorous. Not possible to retell, it´s an impression.

Kasımpaşa-İstanbul, photos by Eleka Rugam-Rebane

Some years ago I had read Orhan Pamuk in Estonian. Snow was the name of his book. It was translated into Estonian shortly after Pamuk´s Nobel prize. I really tried to follow the story but at that point of time I was not ready. I believe I couldn´t understand the context, I had never been to Turkey. There were too many missing bits and pieces in this picture. 

KESK demonstration , Kadikoy-Istanbul

KESK demonstration at Kadıköy-İstanbul, pentax k10d, photos by ozgur ozkok

KESK demonstration , Kadikoy-Istanbul (22-Feb-2012)

Listen to the falling rain

istanbul, pentax k5, photos by ozgur ozkok

 

Rain

Today the rain is a woman’s hair
Falling down the face of the earth
endlessly long and very thin
Smelling of darkness

You who are cheated in love
Your heart a piece of cobblestone

sheltering from rain

Karaköy-İstanbul, pentax k5, photos by ozgur ozkok

Nusretiye Mosque

Nusretiye Camii, Nusretiye Mosque, Istanbul, Pentax K5, photos by ozgur ozkok

Saturday Mothers “protesting against the disappearances”

Saturday mothers, Cumartesi anneleri, Beyoğlu-İstanbul, pentax k5, photos by ozgur ozkok

“Saturday Mothers” protests in Beyoğlu, central Istanbul.

street cafe at Beyoğlu

Beyoğlu-İstanbul, pentax k5, photos by ozgur ozkok