Autumn Ward

In 2008 dancer Autumn Ward commissioned a piece from me for a dance she was choreographing. I was happy to hear from her this week to tell me that the piece is now available for viewing on Youtube. See it here:

Turkish Whistling Language

As I was reviewing videos from my time in Turkey, I found this little treasure. . . I remember in my introductory linguistics class learning about a unique dialect of Turkish centered around Kuşköy, Giresun where the sounds of Turkish are expressed in coded whistle sounds. As an avid whistler myself, I was excited to meet people who were actually familiar with this language, a family on vacation from Girseun to Batumi, Georgia. Here is a video of him welcoming me in whistled Turkish, followed by an English news story on Kuşköy and the whistling language.

Mirror Mirror

Istanbul

Urfa

Hemşin

Georgia

A Year in Turkey: Highlights

As I look back on my year living in Istanbul I decided to make a list of happenings that stick out as particularly special. I was going to make a ranked list, but all these things are special in their own ways that don't surpass the others.

Daniela and Jeremy with famous singer "Ciguli"

• Hearing Music: I came to Istanbul seeking music and I couldn't be more delighted with the results. I had the opportunity to hear so many amazing musicians live who I wouldn't have otherwise discovered. Two performances that really stand out  were one by the band "Lüleburgaz Trockyablues"as well as one by "Niyaz." Trockyablues is a band from the Bulgarian border of Turkey, a fact that is readily apparent in their music  which mainly consists of Turkish Roman tunes with an intricate Bulgarian sense of harmony that you normally wouldn't find in Turkish music. Niyaz is a Sufi band based out of the West Coast of the United States headed up by an Iranian singer named Azam Ali. I think they are the only band I've ever heard that successfully combines electronic elements with 'traditional' acoustic instruments in a way that is mutually supportive. So many bands do this in a way where the electronic and acoustic elements exist in two simultaneously occurring but separate aural worlds, but I thought Niyaz successfully combined the two. Without a doubt, the 2 jaw-dropping  highlights of the concert were personal solos by Afghan tabla player Salar Nader, and Jordanian-Palestinian oud player\vocalist Naser Musa. 

• Playing Music: I found that it took me a few months to find musicians to play with and extending my stay by 6 months really ended up paying off in that sense. I had a huge amount of fun and learned so much by playing Bulgarian-style accordion in Ivır Zıvır. This compounded when we made the decision to hit the streets and busk on İstiklal Cd. Simultaneously, I played in another band, "Çoban's"  and through my friends had a few opportunities to play alongside some really fantastic local musicians in impromptu nights in the park. One night that stands out was a totally unplanned party in Galata Square with a good hundred people dancing, drinking, playing instruments, and singing along: here's a video. 

Photo by J. Burleigh Morton

Read on for the full list...

Seating Raid

Today I read a good description of what is going on in Beyoğlu on the great blog Istanbul Eats. The municipality has confiscated all street-side seating without warning, something that surprised me upon returning from my travels. As I was sitting having a tea at my street's "Börekci" the Zabita, a kind of civil police, came in a big parade down the street with a few journalists trailing them to document the event. They looked at me and gruffly ordered me to stand up and then violently toppled the table where I had been sitting and threw it in the back of a truck in a manner more reminiscent of a dramatic child pornography warehouse raid than that subtable for a café. I was left, startled, clutching my tea standing on the street as confused as everyone else around me.

Later in the week I saw cafe owners clinging to the back of Zabita trucks refusing to abandon their tables. Istanbul's cafe culture is entirely outdoor and the raid has made a huge, and negative, impact on the city. I've heard several rumors about the reasoning behind it. The first is a secret religious agenda to block drinking from the streets during Ramadan. The second is that the prime minister was recently in Istanbul and made an offhand comment about a crowded street and that the municipality is subsequently reacting.

It's important to realize that although this is really hurting bar owners, like Bade who is mentioned in the article, it has a broader impact. There is a whole economy around Beyoğlu's sidewalk bars and many people depend on it for their income by selling snacks, souvenirs, napkins, or playing music for people drinking. 

Read the Istanbul Eats article about it here.

Svaneti: The heart of the Caucasus

The final part of my trip to Georgia brought me to Svaneti, a remote area in the Caucasus and an important center of Georgian culture.  It is also widely declared as the most beautiful mountains in Georgia, a statement that I'd have to agree with and also one with a lot of weight since Georgia's landscape has nothing but beautiful mountains. The region is quite isolated, which is one major element that has preserved the pristine landscape there. 

The road to Svaneti has been in the process of being paved for nearly a year or two now, a topic of much discussion and also conflict in my mind. While Svaneti is becoming increasingly touristy every year since the government cracked down on banditry there, the people who make it to Svaneti are still quite a self-selected bunch who are willing to brave the incredibly long and uncomfortable process of getting there in order to appreciate what the region has to offer geographically and culturally. When the road is completed that will all change as Mestia will subsequently be accessible to busses and the tourists who frequent them. While tourism is the only major source of revenue to build Svaneti's economy and provide the financial support people there could really use through long winters,  I fear the road and what it will bring will significantly change Svaneti's cultural and geographical landscape.

(More Photos after the break...)

Panoramic Photography of the Caucasus

Near Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia.

Hat Stand, Georgian Military Highway.

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia.

Above Mestia, Svaneti, Georgia.

Enguri River, Svaneti, Georgia

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia.

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Outside Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia.