walking visual notes no. 1 | a new path to the bookstore
istanbul life, spring
i drew this in haste. but i wanted to pin it down, as quickly as possible, before other walks fill my head and i forget the singularity of this one. yesterday — after nearly picking up a street cat and taking him home — (another story for another time) — i decided to go do my bookstore + plant store ritual, only this time, to take a completely different path through my neighborhood to that bookstore.
the thing about istanbul is that it’s so hilly, and the hills so miniscule, that a 10 minute walk can feel like a very belabored rollarcoaster ride. i couldn’t count how many times i went up and down hills. i could barely believe that this is my neighborhood — has been my neighborhood for 4 months — and i have never set foot on those streets.
the visual notes above comprise barely 10% of it.
a list of things i saw & did
allowed my body to take me to where it wanted to go
walked down hills like falling down - as usual.
climbed up hills as if i haven’t done vigorous exercise in months
sat in a tiny park by my house watching the sun filtered through the leaves - and the air slightly cool - thinking of how this is my favorite sensation: simultaneous sun & shade, and wind.
passed a bubble tea shop filled with young turkish teenagers and decided not to wait in line, despite being curious about the importation of bubble tea… (is it trendy here?)
looked through construction plank boards at an empty lot and a vast urbanscape of density behind it: a different feeling of possibility and somehow reminded me of… the junk yard of iron man??
ordered a cold brew and drank it while walking (it felt very… frivolous and light; carefree)
bought heavy things from the plant store (eucalyptus, a large ceramic pot, 5kg of soil, plus a strawberry and mint plant and strange flowered succulent) and carried it all home (barely!) by myself.
found clarity at how much i like the juxtaposition of greenery + manmade. i want to create a room mostly consisting of plants, designed in such a way that feels integrated. like the digital + analog, side by side. or structure + chaos.
imagined buying a house like the old decript beautiful paint-peeling ones, falling apart. and the work of restoring it.