Favorite week of October

The memories are still fresh. Chelsea on the Rocks, Opening Party at Ghetto, a furious S in her fancy blazer by Banu Bora, too many vodka tonics followed by a massive food poisoning –thanks to the pear & blue cheese salad I had at Urban. But when it comes to film festivals, I’ll take Filmekimi every time.

Filmekimi has always been a great opportunity to see festival favorites, latest masterpieces and international award winners. Even though I am a little disappointed by this year’s selection -blame it on London and Venice Film Festivals for raising the bar- I already have my shortlist of six films. It’s just that I was looking forward to see Tom Ford’s “A Single Man”, Jim Jarmush’s “Limits of Control” and Bahman Ghobadi’s “No One Knows about Persian Cats”.

For those cinephiles who do not want to miss the latest films of Allen, Haneke and Loach, Filmekimi tickets will be available as of October 3.

Rush of Nostalgia

It all started on Saturday when I was walking through the artures of Yüksel Arslan at santralistanbul. Tracing what has influenced his way of thinking and inspired his work, Arslan’s ever-most comprehensive retrospective exhibition made me recall people and places that have influenced me for better and worse.

Looking at his work, especially Arture Rature (1964) and Arture 175 – Circulation of the Capital (1974) which by the way should be an essential to every macroeconomics class being taught -, I couldn’t help but think of our high school days. Luckily, I had the perfect company to share my feelings of nostalgia over several bottles of wine at Tamirane.

Though, I was a fool to think that I could leave those feelings behind on the table with the check and the tip. I was grocery shopping on Monday when I saw them on the shelves; first tangerines of the season. Call me a weirdo, but they always make me remember my childhood, the time we spent in Ankara and my grandma. So, peeling one and being completely sentimental, I made myself comfortable on the sofa later that night and turned on the TV. There it was; The English Patient, not only one of my all time favorite movies, but also the movie C took me on our first date. 

Watching it for the zillionth time, I couldn’t help but think that in love there are no boundaries indeed. So, I guess it’s about time that I take that plane.

Legendary Mr. Pamuk

I’m not talking about the one with the Nobel Prize, not that he’s not legendary as well. The one I’m talking about is an Al Pacino look-alike photograph guru who owns a shop in Sirkeci. If you’re interested in photography or just in meeting interesting people, you should definitely pay a visit to Pamuk Ticaret.

It was late March when I met first him, right after I came back from Stockholm with a Holga 120 CFN. Sahabettin Pamuk not only provided me with an excellent variety of medium format films – you name it, he has it- but also taught me some new and exciting techniques to try with my new camera. It didn’t take me long to figure out the real reason why I was always saying “No, thank you. I’ll just stop by to take them” whenever Mr. Pamuk offered to have my pictures delivered once they’re developed. It’s the conversation I have with him and his lovely wife over the cup of tea they always offer.

My good, old neighborhood

My whole family being out of town, this time I didn’t get my share of the holiday spirit. No gifts to shop, no carrot cake for holiday breakfast to bake and no relatives to visit; hence, no need to rush. So, I decided to spend some quality time in the city. And when it comes to that, there is nothing better than good, old Cihangir.

Friday, dinner at Demeti with beloved friends. Listening to Ayten Alpman, while chatting with Demet Hanim –the owner- who’s again being nothing but her lovely self. It’s always a pleasure to dine at Demeti, not only because of the view and delicious food, but also because of the atmosphere that accompanies them. This time we’re having two bottles of Efe – one of each color-, grilled octopus, shrimp casserole on special recipe and sea bass en papilotte to name a few.  Despite all the raki I had, I managed to notice the refreshing touch in the décor; a new antique liquor cabinet and matching serving cart. Happy to see semolina return to the menu, we couldn’t pass on desert and called it a night with semolina, chocolate soufflé and coffee.

Saturday, breakfast at Cuppa with the newly weds. My favorite international couple just returned from their beautiful wedding in Sicily and they’ve been so kind to meet me for breakfast. Their wedding pictures and videos totally outshined Cuppa’s breakfast, even though everything was yummy to say the least.

Sunday, happy hour at Baykuş. After a two and a half hours visit to Antrepo 3 –accompanied by Holga this time- and walk through Galata and Istiklal Street, I could finally invest some time in my latest love affair; the one with Haruki Murakami and his latest novel, Norwegian Wood.

Walking back home, I’ve been thinking about S’ theory of Galata becoming the new Cihangir. Well, even though I tend to agree with her most of the time, I might have to skip on this one. As I said before, there’s nothing like the good, old Cihangir with its furry, little inhabiters. 

Pipedreams

Rushing out of the office sharp at 17:00 on Tuesday, I headed to Antrepo 3. After collecting my 11B Unlimited and Biennial Guide, I was ready to enter the world assembled by What, How and For Whom/WHW. As I only had less than 2 hours –the venue closes at 19:00- , I knew that it was going to be a prescreening this time. However, I didn’t know that I was going to be introduced to the works of an extraordinary social documentary photographer.

Being a graduate of International Relations and International Political Economy, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard and read about the Baku–Tiblisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline. Being the second longest pipeline in the world after Druzhba, BTC created a huge turmoil not only in the region but also in the global arena. Yet, the discussions I was involved never went beyond the political and socioeconomic effects of the project. Rena Effendi on the other hand, followed 1,700 km oil pipeline through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey for 6 years and collected stories. Stories of people who have been neglected, who have been experiencing the invisible effects of the project on their daily routines, hopes and dreams...

“What I witnessed in this journey is that initial promises and expectations of trickle-down wealth still remain unfulfilled. This is simply the game of power…”
Rena Effendi - http://corporate.gettyimages.com/

 “Pipedreams: A Chronicle of Lives along the Oil Pipeline” is a compilation of Rena’s work of six years. As opposed to the media coverage of the BTC Oil Pipeline, the photographs reflect the cold, naked and disturbing truth in the most aesthetic way possible. In case you’re interested in energy politics, do your self a favour and pay a visit to Antrepo 3. I guarantee you that this Baku born photographer will provide you with a different point of view.

 

All photographs are from http://corporate.gettyimages.com/

What are you having for lunch?

Despite the ridiculous amount of money you pay for the
salad you have for lunch, working in Nisantasi has it
benefits. Daily visits to Topshop & Beymen Blender,
coffee breaks at Caffé Nero and being able to see S
almost anytime of the day are to name a few. Yesterday 
instead of having lunch, I went to see the Maksut
Aşkar's "Art 4 Appetite" Exhibition at Gallery 44A. 
Founded in January 2009, the Gallery has been housing
Works of both Turkish and international artist, and 
supporting emerging artists as well.

Redefining the food/drink culture, Maksut Askar makes
one think -rather out of the box- about the concept of
eating and food. I might have skipped lunch in order to
be able to see Askar's exhibition; however, I got the
opportunity to paint my own dish -using actual food
puree- and taste the other visitors' as well. So, I
decided to make use of the sun finally shining and painted
"Sunny Monday Stew, with beet salad and mint sauce".

In case you want to have some food for thought as well,
the exhibition will be open until September 20.

Who is your rock star crush?

All those teenage years I never had a crush on any kind of celebrity. Maybe it was because I was way too preoccupied having a crush on C, whose sheer existence made it impossible for me to breathe when I was 16. It took me more than a decade to catch up with my friends and have a crush on someone famous. Apart from the considerably short fling I had with Wentworth Miller aka David Scofield, Alex Turner is my first rock star crush.

 The vocalist and lead guitarist as well as main songwriter for Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets, Alex Turner has been on the stage, on the screen and in the magazines since 2002. I’ve been repeatedly listening to “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance floor” and “My Mistakes were made for you” while googling him. Seeing him in flesh and blood –from a distance of course- didn’t help my situation either. Having the coolest stage outfit – a grey t-shirt combined with a black biker jacket-, adorable hair, the most charming accent and modest manners, this Monkey is definitely something to die for.

Ex East-Londoner Alex has followed his longtime girlfriend Alexa Chung to NYC and killed my hopes and dreams of running into him on a rainy Sunday afternoon in Brick Lane. Well, at least my rock star crush is happily coupled with my style crush.