Istanbul (Turkey) Kadıköy, intersection Güneşli Bahçe Sokakk and Serasker Cadesi (map)
Friday, 9 October 2015
I have never imagined that I can look into the hearts of human beings – not even into that of those closest to me. But, contrarily, I often vividly imagine how someone lives – even if the person is utterly unknown to me. As soon as I’ve clapped eyes on someone I see the person shuffling through her/his dwelling.
The old man there has many yellowed pocketbooks in his living room; tomes that he has, however, not opened for years. Earlier, he read crime thrillers with enthusiasm; today he reads only newspapers – sitting at the kitchen table which is covered with a waxed tablecloth bearing the print of red cherries. The cupboards above the stove are stuffed with cooking utensils and crockery, but he cooks everything in the same old pan and always eats off the same plate. Since the death of his wife, the chap has routinely fallen asleep in front the television set. The young man there still lives with his parents. In his room a new computer sits on the floor – next to which lie a pair of dumb-bells, which he uses mostly to rest his feet on. On the wall hangs a map of Europe: he has drawn a heart in ink next to the town of Cologne: that is where his girlfriend lives. His mother worries. The old salesman lives in a wooden house in Üsküdar. His wife has decorated the rooms entirely with lace – which she crochets together with her girlfriends in the evenings. That is in keeping with her family tradition: she comes from the east. During this eventide he sits on a kitchen stool in the bay window and plays his saz, looking out now and then at the boats making their slow voyage along the Bosphorus. He would love to make an excursion once again – to the Black Sea.
Of course I know that everything is entirely different – in all probability. But, in my view, the pictures are so concise and detailed that the flats of the people must necessarily comply with them.
First Publication: 19-10-2015
Modifications: