13th Istanbul Biennial

13th Istanbul Biennial realised under the title “Mom, am I barbarian?”. The curator of  13th Istanbul Biennial is Funda Erdemci. Admission to the the 13th Istanbul Biennial will be free of charge. Biennial will held at Antrepo no.3, Galata Greek Primary School, ARTER, SALT Beyoğlu and 5533 from 14 September to 20 October.

13th Istanbul Biennial

Anne, ben barbar mıyım?

Mom, am I barbarian?

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. 

to seek for love

Hagia Sophia Museum and Sultanahmet Square, Ayasofya Müzesi ve Sultanahmet Meydanı, İstanbul-Türkiye, pentax k10d, photos by ozgur ozkok

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. Mevlana Rumi

I started looking for you

Hagia Sophia and Sultanahmet Square, Ayasofya müzesi ve Sultanahmet meydanı, Istanbul-Turkiye, pentax k10d, photos by ozgur ozkok

The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.
Mevlana Rumi

Ayasofya Muzesi

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Sultanahmet Square and Hagia Sophia Museum

Sultanahmet Meydanı ve Ayasofya Müzesi, Sultanahmet Square and Hagia Sophia Museum, pentax k10d, Istanbul , by ozgur ozkok

Be crumbled. So wild flowers will come up where you are. You have been stony for too many years. Try something different. Surrender. Mevlana Rumi

The ghosts of Hagia Sophia “Ayasofya muzesi”

Ayasofya Muzesi, Hagia Sophia Museum, pentax kx , Istanbul by ozgur ozkok

some frames from Hagia Sophia museum

Ayasofya Muzesi, Hagia Sophia Museum, pentax kx , Istanbul by ozgur ozkok

Secret Places

Secret places

Istanbul is full of special places I haven´t discovered yet. Mysterious places that are not easy to find if you don´t know or recognize the cues. Keeping your valuable cue in your mind you stroll along the streets in search of the secret destination and then you suddenly stumble upon it. Istanbul is welcoming even if it comes to secret places.

Istanbul, by Eleka Rugam-Rebane

Secret places should remain secret, isn´t it? Still, I´d like to share one of my secret places where you can experience Istanbul 3 in 1. You might wonder what kind of place is that … It is the botanical garden of the University of Istanbul (http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/fen/en/botanik-bahcesi.php). Just across the street from Süleymaniye camii.

Istanbul, by Eleka Rugam-Rebane

What is the meaning of wind for fire “Beyazid Mosque”

Beyazid Camii, Istanbul, pentax kx, by ozgur ozkok

What is the meaning of wind for fire,so separation is same as for love;both deflated little love an increase the big love.

Sirkeci Railway Museum

Railway Museum, Demiryolu Müzesi, Sirkeci-Istanbul, pentax k10d

Railway Museum, Demiryolu Müzesi, Sirkeci-Istanbul, pentax k10d