Oh Berlin

You are very nice and I wish I could live in you.

Romance rejects

I'm starting work on a personal project about romance, beginning with some test shots today to get a sense of the tone I want to strike for the rest of the images. These are (I am pretty sure) rejects so I'm just going to go ahead and share them here for prettiness. 

Istanbul, part III - a portrait

After visiting several sightseeing musts in one day, I was exiting the markets, dusty, hot and tired, when a man stopped me to tell me about his carpets. Even once I told him I had no money (nor, as he suggested, a rich father) he invited me in for tea and a little rest. The Turkish tradition of hospitality is a very strong one and completely overrides any English reticence. So I had a little glass of sugary black tea and a little chat, and rested my feet in the cool of his shop and it was very welcome. I've lost the card he gave me but if you're visiting, it's to the left if you're facing the entrance nearest the Süleymaniye Mosque. Tell him the redheaded woman who reminded him of his Austrian ex-wife sent you ;)

Istanbul, part II - Taksim Night and Day

Taksim Square was the centre of last year's occupation of the city. Now not much trace of that time remains, except maybe in the excessive numbers of riot police who gathered nearby on Saturday night (complete with armoured police vehicles equipped with water cannons). It has returned once again to a place for tourists to visit, especially around the statue commemorating the foundation of the Turkish Republic; in the evening it's the place to take part in what Italians would call the passeggiata, the hour when people can stroll about, drink tea and coffee, and let the kids run around. Bright spotlights turn it into a stage where everything feels like part of an essential drama.

My friend George.

Istanbul, part I

Last week I dropped into Istanbul for a few days, visiting a friend who is living there and out of general curiosity. Are you ready for a lot of photos? About 700 of them are tiles. Here they come..

I once wrote a poem about this blue but it's too bad to share.

Pals

Uh-oh

Raki leads to lols.

The Blue Mosque. Everything in Istanbul made me feel a little like I was in an episode of Game of Thrones.

Uuuuggghhh so much beauty.

Seriously stop being so beautiful.

No, I said stop it.

Maybe when you see it every day you get blasé about it.

But I don't know how.

Tourist selfie.

After a stroll around Topkapi Palace (above) I also visited the Ayasofya or Hagia Sophia (below).

Greek graffiti?

Despite the crowds, it was one of the most beautiful and moving places I've ever been.

After all that sightseeing you need baklawa.

And lots of it. 

The inside of the Blue Mosque. 

Turkey's an adaptable sort of place, as evidenced by these enterprising calligraphers on the way to the markets. #yonce

The markets are bonkers

And so to an evening in Beyoğlu. Playing backgammon and drinking beer outside under vines, not bad if you ask me. Then finding a local haunt for a great view and pickled cucumbers.

The next day, a proper Turkish breakfast of cheese, eggs, bread, coffee, sausage and a delicious mix of tahini and molasses set me up for a ferry ride to the Asian side, and a wander around the gallery district.

A top time was had! Thanks for treating me so well Istanbul.