A most delightful afternoon was spent having tea at the Çırağan this afternoon in celebration of my middle sister's birthday. Tea and dainty sandwiches, macarons and baklavas, a pen and a Moleskine.
What more could a girl like me want?
On the way back, I noticed this little building in the Osmanbey area which turns out to be the Istanbul Atatürk Museum. I Googled it and discovered that the museum was a building that Atatürk and his mother once lived in, and that many secret meetings were held there before he left to begin the war of Independence. The museum houses a collection of his personal items as well as some photographs. I'm looking forward to visiting the museum next week and writing a post about this important man.
Yesterday I was thinking about the renaming of Constantinople to Istanbul in 1930, and remembered a funny story. My great-grandfather was a famous Danish parachutist and stuntman in the 20s and early 30s. He did all sorts of crazy things like jumping off the Eiffel Tower, riding motorcycles off cliffs, playing tennis on airplane wings— while on tour, he had some free time and decided to take a train to Constantinople, a city he longed to visit. When he tried to buy the ticket, the ticket man emphatically said "No. Stamboul." My great-grandad explained that he didn't want to go to "Stamboul," he wanted to go to Constantinople. I forget which country he was in— I believe there was a language barrier to add to the confusion. After a lot of back and forth, he finally got so fed up he decided to go elsewhere. He never got to see Constantinople or Stamboul.
And now for something completely different:
This was the only real drawing I could get done during the Dolmabahçe tour.
I was sad I couldn't do more, but as I mentioned in the previous post, the only way you can see Dolmabahçe is with a guided tour. I drew it in what felt like two and a half minutes, then darkened some areas while out in the garden.
Here's a little preview of what I'm working on for Moleskine Exchange 64, the sequential art exchange:
3 comments:
Harika, with my trip to Istanbul in the near future, I am taking notes of everything you have to say about your daily outings. You should take a job as a tour guide. I love all of your work; photos, blog, and especially the sketches. P.S. I am using the same books and CDs to learn the language...thanks
I love your blog! I have officially bookmarked it, your photographs, and sketches are all so amazing!! Ahh and of course, I love how organized it is :)
-Olga
Thanks so much redrock and Olga :)
So glad you are enjoying the blog!
Post a Comment