11 visual memories of mediterranean turkey

I didn’t open my sketchbook at all during our roadtrip, but after returning home, I wanted to bottle our feelings and experiences into visual diary form — so I went through the digital records and memories of each day, and distilled each day into one thumbnail pen sketch.

for the vast majority of these images, I drew from memory. then I realized that this looked kind of like a comic strip — so I added speech bubbles, which I cut out and glued on top to add a bit visual dimension.

this was a fun challenge in that it’s very far from my usual moody-color-wash style, and working only from memory meant that I had to focus on compositional elements to tell a story, and evoke the feeling-essence of that day’s adventures.

I’ll write a caption for each image:

starting from the top left to bottom right. (during days 1-4, I attended a tango marathon in şirince.)

day 1, şirince: after a long day on the road, sitting in the hotel bed, deciding whether to attend the tango event I signed up for, or stay and sleep with K and L. (I left).
day 2, şirince: visiting the temple of artemis. K is disappointed in its lack of upkeep. I read an apt google review that said “quiet and lonely.”
day 3, şirince: asking K to drive us to an afternoon trip to the sea, and him sitting with a table of tango people. I’m bordering on being over-socialized, and concerned that K is bored.
day 4, şirince: we have a dramatic fight, in which I walk out into the road at night (to my tango event), and he drives along, demanding I get in the car. (later he says “check” to that classic couple fighting experience).
day 5, demre: we drive through winding seaside roads to demre, and around sunset, we’re blocked on the road by a herd of over 100 goats.
day 6, demre: we accidentally walk the lycian way, then K is scammed by phone. (umm… don’t ask).

day 7, demre: we have a really good day, to make up for the shitty day we had yesterday. we visit lycian tombs, other ancient ruins, and have dinner and dessert in kaş.

day 8, demre: on a private boat trip to visit kekova islands, Luna gets a bit lost in the sea and starts swimming towards the other boat. I chase-swim after her while K watches.

day 9, demre: the morning we leave demre, I decided to search for the secret bay by our airbnb, and meet a young couple who just woke up from their camping. they’ve walked the Lycian Way together and are saying goodbye in a few days. I take a swim while they drink their coffee.

day 10, kumluca: we drive around to visit ancient ruins, pirate’s bay, and visit another ancient ampitheatre (one of five we saw?)

day 11, kumluca to istanbul: on the long drive home, we stop in roadside breakfast restaurant, where luna goes crazy over balls while we sit in this lounger-thing. K remarks on the cleaniness of the toilets. (I later write a google review about them).

last sketch: gifts from our hosts — four pomegranates, sage, two fresh eggs

art from my soul, seeing the worldKening ZhuOctober 18, 2024road trip, visual diaries, travel diaries