Arti i nuserimit

copyright: Michel Setboun
Photo label : Albanian Wedding 1981- Shkoder

Mbase mund te jeni habitur nga titulli i ketij posti por une per vete perhere kam menduar se ne Shqiperi se paku ka egzistuar diçka e tille. Ky fenomen ka qene shume me i theksuar dhe ne permasa legjendare gjate kohes se monizmit sidomos.Epo doemos sepse keto kane qene mitet e atehershme. Kur nuk kishte paparazzi dhe revista roze apo revista vipash qe njerezit te shtynin kohen dhe te ngopnin kureshtjen e tyre. Do te flitej disa dite,jave mbase dhe muaj rrjesht nje dasem ne Shqiperi.Çdo detaj i saj do te endej ne re thashethemnajash te pambarimta. Por sidomos nuset do te pertypeshin dhe percilleshin mire e mire ne qiellza sidomos te grarise te fisit e lagjes.

Duke qene keshtu nuk kemi se si ti fajesojme te ngratat vajza per stresin qe i karakterizonte.Atyre i duhej te "nuseronin".
Dhe te nuserosh nuk eshte e lehte.Nuk domethene vetem te veshesh fustanin e nuses , te tualetosesh e te rrish.

Nuserimi fillon pikesepari ne qendrimin e nuseve.Nese do te kishte diçka qe me bente per te qeshur dhe per te ndjere keqardhje do te qe ai pozicioni i veçante dhe gjysem i ngrire , si i shkaktuar nga ndonje paralize e pergjithshme .Kjo e fundit shoqerohej dhe me nje buzeqeshje dramatike.Kjo buzqeshje me ngjante me nje pjese pikture ku qene derdhur me shumice tonelata arabeske,histerie dhe ankthi.

Po, po ankthi duke menduar me stres menyren sesi po paraqitej.
Nuset nuk para kercenin shume , ato duhet te ishin shembelltyre e fisnikerise dhe elegances per tere fisin.Jo per gje po fisi vete shkerrmoqej e leshohej per qejf te vet.
Nuk thonin kot " nje martohet , njeqind terbohen":))

Pastaj vinte momenti qe nusja dilte nga shtepia dhe pergatitej te shkonte ne nje shtepi tjeter, ne ate te bashkeshortit.
Arsyeja qe e kam vene kete foto eshte per te treguar dhe me mire histerine e momentit.
Asnjehere nuk i kam kuptuar te qarat e stazhonuara te nuseve.Sy te perskuqur, trupa qe dridhen,fytyra te meitura.

Me kujtohet nje fjale e urte turke qe shkon shume me kete rast: Nuk e dua , por sidoqofte ma fut ne xhep:))
E pra ku qendronte arsyeja e nje keputjeje te tille nderkohe qe po martoheshin vete me deshiren e tyre?

Kjo qe thoni juve , ishte pjesa e fundit e aktit te nuserimit dhe mbase dhe me e veshtira sepse ishte dhe me tragjikja:)
Ishte si nderi i nuses, namuzi i saj dhe virtyti i fundit qe do te shpaloste ne fund te kesaj ceremonie, simbol shpatullfryres dhe shitmendes i shoqerise shqiptare.

Pas disa kujisjeve te thekura nusja nisej dhe akti "solemn" shoqerohej ne menyre shume te vrazhde dhe aspak delikate me femije-lubi , potenciale per te thyer xhamat e makines teksa mundoheshin te kapnin karamelet apo leket e vogla .

Nuk e di se çfare mendimi keni juve per nuserimin dhe dasmat e dikurshme , por une per vete perveç disa kujtimesh te bukura nga dasmat e fisit , mund te them se me pelqen me shume origjinaliteti qe ka ne dasmat ne ditet e sotme.

per kuriozitet hapa nje sondazh qe do ta gjeni ne krah te djathte.pres pergjigjet tuaja ne kete teme:)

My "flea market" compilation;)

I guess I'm a vintage/retro lover.

And not only in terms of fashion.I do really need to turn back to "old school" days time by time.
It makes me feel better and see life in warmer tones.

I'll try (don't promise though) to post here as often as possible my vintage/retro escapes and suggestions in different aspects.

Here we go:
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© Eni Turkeshi Photography

1.Fashion : Lace it's one of the cutest things that have even been created i think.It reminds me of grandma all the time.Get yourself a cute dress,shirt from the flea market or if you're lucky enough to find s.t from your grandma's or mom's coffer,grab it immediately:)
Here's an example:
http://ciderantiques.blogspot.com/2008/08/friday-flea-market-and-dress-form-party.html

2.Food - Sugar Canes.Don't you miss them? I do:) Especially the apple sugar canes.Have one today and feel yourself like a kid again:)

3.Play- Do you remember the game "state-city-film etc" we used to play a lot when we were kids?I love this game , i find it one of the best games and one of the most informative ones as well.I still enjoy playing it.

4.Music - Billie Holiday (Dream a little dream of me)

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5.Film - Wild Strawberries a.k.a Smultronstället (Ingmar Bergman ,1957) .Black& White
Nominee of Oscars 1959

Is a great film about human behaviour and attitude , regrets and loneliness, past and present,reality and dream; perfectly shown through lyrical scenes.The main actor Victor Sjöström ,steals the play with his stunning and unfortunately last screen performace.A must see!


This is this weeks compilation.Hope you'll enjoy.To be continued...

Ngjyrat dhe nenkuptimet e tyre

© Eni Turkeshi Photography

Ngjyrat sot me teper se kurre kane zene nje vend te rendesishem ne prezantimin e koncepteve dhe profilit te kompanive.

Sigurisht qe edhe perpara forca e tyre ka qene perdorur , por sot jane kthyer vertet ne pjese te puzzle-it komercial te nje firme.
Dhe nuk ka si te jete ndryshe pasi ato ndikojne drejtperdrejt ne psikologjine dhe ndjesite e klientave vizitues si dhe te punonjesve te firmes.

Ngjyra e kuqe psh perdoret shume neper dyqanet fast-food dhe restorante sepse dihet sepse hap oreksin.Por duhet menduar 2 here para se te perdoret ne nje zyre pasi eshte dhe nje ngjyre qe shkakton acarim!

Ngjyra e verdhe eshte nje ngjyre qe bie ne sy por per shkak te simbolit te saj "kalimtar", nuk shihet si shume e keshillueshme perdorimi i saj neper zyrat dhe logot e fimave qe ofrojne sherbime afatgjata , si psh bankat apo kompani te tjera investuese.
Megjithse ketu ngjyra e mustardes , mjaft ne mode kjo kete vit, mund te themi se ben dallim pasi ka filluar te perdoret sidomos ne vendet apo zyrat me karakter retro.

Ngjyra e gjelber perfaqeson qetesine , shpresen ,gjallerine dhe si e tille perdoret shpesh ne ambjente zyrash dhe bankash.

Ngjyra blu perfaqeson qetesine .Po ashtu dihet se largon oreksin ndaj personat qe bejne diete keshillohen te hajne duke perdorur ene me ngjyre blu.Po ashtu ne asnje restorant nuk mund ta shihni ndonje mur me ngjyre te tille , perveç ndonje restoranti te hapur enkas per personat ne diete nuk e di;)

Ngjyra gri perfaqeson dinjitetin dhe sqimen .Eshte nje ngjyre fisnike qe perdoret per te rritur forcen dominante.

Ngjyra e zeze perfaqeson luksin , diçka te forte , veshtire te arritshme si dhe klasime .Eshte vene re te perdoret neper firma te dekorimit te brendshem dhe neper firma mobiljesh.Po ashtu perfaqeson edhe zine ndaj nuk eshte e favorshme te perdoret gjithandej

Ngjyra e bardhe perfaqeson pastertine,higjenen, pafajesine ndaj dhe nuk eshte fare çudi qe e shohim shpesh neper produktet shtepiake.

Para se ta mbyll kete shkrim, dua te them dhe nja dy fjale rreth parashikimit te trendeve te ngjyrave per vitin ne vijim:
Kombinimet e lejlase me jeshilen ,ngjyrat e reres dhe detit,po ashtu dhe ngjyrat primare si dhe e verdha e thelle do te rastisen dukshem kudo.

What to do when bored:D

I found out this cool site at fb ..Take a look and make some funny nostalgic images of yourself:)
Page link: www.yearbookyourself.com

Lunatic Escapes

© Eni Turkeshi Photography

There are some days in life , when you just feel very strange, very odd and unearthly.
You don't feel to belong to nowhere or nothing.
You are feeling kinda alien.

Your vision and the way of thinking seems different as well.
Your perception reaches different dimensions.You start to see different shapes & notice other vibrations.
Everything seems like floating in.
That is how I feel in some days.
It seems the brain is trying to balance what it perceives and what it sees.And since these visions don't get together at a mutual point , it looks like a sharp image is not possible to be visualized ,so it comes out blurry .

The fun thing about it is ; this phase happens very silently and secretly , nobody notices this except of you.
You still talk,act "normally", while you see things in another way.
I do enjoy this a lot.It helps you to escape from some things that get on your nerves , or just to get rid of anything that gets you annoyed or you are just too lazy to follow.

My stereotype:) thanks Elais!

Take the What High School Stereotype Are You? quiz.

Hehe I do admit I had times I was feeling this way.But I didn't really care.I was just too lazy to hang on with people I disliked.Well as a matter of fact , I'm acting the same way now too;)
And I find this smart and like the best way to get rid of everything /everybody that gets on my nerves.
How about you guys?

The passenger

© Eni Turkeshi Photography

I am the passenger
And I ride and I ride I ride
through the citys backside
I see the stars come out of the sky
Yeah, theyre bright in a hollow sky
You know it looks so good tonight
I am the passenger
I stay under glass
I look through my window so bright
I see the stars come out tonight
I see the bright and hollow sky
Over the citys a rip in the sky
And everything looks good tonight
Singin la la la la la-la-la la La la la la la-la-la la La la la la la-la-la la la-la
Get into the car
Well be the passenger
Well ride through the city tonight
See the citys ripped insides
Well see the bright and hollow sky
Well see the stars that shine so bright
The sky was made for us tonight
Oh the passenger
How how he rides
Oh the passenger
He rides and he rides
He looks through his window What does he see?
He sees the bright and hollow sky
He see the stars come out tonight
He sees the citys ripped backsides
He sees the winding ocean drive
And everything was made for you and me
All of it was made for you and me cause it just belongs to you and me
So lets take a ride and see whats mine
Singing... Oh, the passenger
He rides and he rides
He sees things from under glass
He looks through his windows eye
He sees the things he knows are his
He sees the bright and hollow sky
He sees the city asleep at night
He sees the stars are out tonight
And all of it is yours and mine
And all of it is yours and mine
Oh, lets ride and ride and ride and ride...
Singing...

Billboard dinamik

Jeta ne ditet e sotme eshte kthyer ne nje parade gjigande komerciale.
Ne nje billboard dinamik.

Reklamat e varura ne kete billboard jane fragmentet e saj , teksa imazhet e zbukuruara dhe shpresedhenese , te shumeditura e te para ne reklamat rendom ndryshojne sipas rastit.
Kryesisht kane te bejne me vlerat,zakonet, ndjesite e jetes.

Sa me shume polemika te shkaktojne,sa me shume mendje te trazojne,sa me shume perdellim dhe emocione te permbajne aq me mire per to sigurisht.Aq me shume vlere dhe fuqi , aq me shume kredi do te fitoje produkti i reklamuar.Aq me shume do te rritet probabiliteti qe te kthehet ne nje mit.
Rendesia e produkteve ne kohet tona ka marre dimesione te çuditshme.Ato jane tashme dhe me te rendesishme se jeta vete.

Me kalimin e koherave, zhvillimin e teknologjise dhe permiresimin e mireqenies , sigurisht qe dhe njerezit , edhe deshirat e tyre per luks jane sofistikuar.
Nuk eshte me aq e lehte tashme te ndjellesh çudi e kersheri apo te bukosesh babezine e pergjithshme ndaj luksit e madheshtise.
Çdokush eshte kaq thelle i zhytur ne kerkimin e gjese unike , qe e sheh si te denje vetem per veten e vet.Pasi te jesh unik ne ditet e sotme nuk eshte vetem arsye krenarie por edhe fitim statusi.

Duke qene keshtu edhe reklamimi i çdo lloj sherbimi nuk ka sesi te mos jete me i rafinuar, i paqendrueshem,i ndryshueshem.Si rrjedhoje duket se fusha ku kjo tregti nuk do te ngelet asnje here ne balte eshte jeta vete!
Ku tjeter valle do te mund te gjendet me shume lekundshmeri e rrjedhshmeri sesa ne jeten e elementet baze themeluese te saj?
Ne te tera keto reklama synimi baze eshte jeta ideale , e bukur dhe pa andralla e arritur sigurisht fale ketyre produkteve ne fjale.

Por ne fakt jeta s'eshte tjeter veçse subjekti shtyes , njekohesisht dhe elementi mashtrues apo efekti trullues e symbylles i qellimit komercial.
Ironia dhe ajo qe te pezmaton eshte se synohet gjoja per idealen e jetes nderkohe qe ne te vertete kjo jete dhe çdo element i saj qe e ben ate te rendesishme dhe te pazevendesueshme perdhosen dhe digjen keqazi nen zjarrin komercial.

Nje i semure i pashprese me kancer , i cili eshte duke ndjekur kuren kemoterapike , merr nga i njejti spital nje sms per sherbime spa-je ku eshte nenvizuar me shkronja kapitale se ofrohet 10% ulje ne raste rregjistrimesh kohegjata !
Nje te paralizuari i vijne sms nga nje kurs tangoje , teksa nje anoreksike dyndet me sms sherbimesh perrallore humbjesh ne peshe!

Te tera keto te mesipermet jane bere sigurisht ne menyre te paqellimte "ku rafsha mos u vrafsha" ne kerkim te potencialit te klientave sado i ulet qofte ky per tu arritur.
Duke kerkuar me ngulm te ngecet diku , te gjeje nje te krisur ku te struket , me çfaredo lloj çmimi pa marre parasysh efektet anesore apo ato te mevonshme.
Jeta eshte kthyer ne nje trampoline , ne nje skllave te deshirave tona te konsumimit!
Mbase ka ardhur koha qe ta ndalojme kete sadopak duke kontrolluar se pari egot tona dhe me tej çmendurine e konsumit te pakontrolluar dhe te kerkimit te se ideales boshe..

Sepse jeta eshte gjetiu!

p.s: ne video eshte fragment nga filmi "rekuiem per nje enderr" i Darren Aronofsky film ne te cilin paraqitet shume bukur katastrofa e krijuar prej manise se siperpermendur.eshte nje film i mrekullueshem qe jua rekomandoj megjithse ma do mendja se shumica juaj e keni pare pasi ka disa vite qe ka dale dhe ka fituar shume çmime ne festivale te ndryshme.

Bee Girl-Be a girl

© Eni Turkeshi Photography

PEARL JAM LYRICS

"Bee Girl"
Bee girl, you're gonna die.
You don't wanna be famous, you wanna be shy.
Do your dances alone in your room.
Becoming a star will become your doom.
Bee Girl, be a girl. [x2]
You know time is long, and life is short.
Begin to live while you still can.
Believe in nothing, believe me,
Those who can be trusted can change their mind.
When the anxious is the present, unwrap your gifts, take your time.
Everything you imagine needn't be stuck in your mind.
Bee Girl, be a girl... [x2]

source: www.azlyrics.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pearl Jam-Bee Girl

P.S: Each monday i'll try to bring here my photos that have been inspired by songs,books,movies etc...Hope you'll enjoy;)

All we need is love

©Eni Turkeshi “Sincere,naive love is the door to a peaceful heart” themed photo

One day as I was walking at the city, I stumbled upon this old door. With a bad writing , it was writen "i love you" in turkish.
Yet this was so beautiful in my eyes, I could imagine the person writing with his trembling hands.

I was truly touched.It was like I was hearing a poem , being mumbled by some hidden pilgrim lovers.
These words; aren't them so beautiful?
So simple & true.
These are words all of us want to hear .Nothing else matters when we hear them for real.
Nothing has any importance.
No more ambitions ,no more complexes ,no more intrigues.
And you suddenly feel like you were the richest person in the world.
Well as a matter of fact you are!
Because when you are aware of it , you become uninterested ,unaffected of every feeling that harms you, that gnaws your nerves.
This is wealth!So just enjoy it and rejoice as long as you'll be blessed with it!

Tribute to Migjeni

'Millosh Gjergj Nikolla' (October 13, 1911 - August 26, 1938) (aka Miđoni/Migjeni, Miloš Đoka Nikolić) was born in Shkodër, Albania . He would become one of the leading figures in Albanian literature.

Migjeni attended elementary school in Shkodër at the Serbian language school there and later at St. John's Orthodox Seminary in Bitola (Bitolj/Manastir), then Kingdom of Serbia (now Republic of Macedonia). There he studied Russian, French Greek and Latin and read literature written in those languages. On his return to Albania, he gave up his intended career as a priest to become a school teacher in Vraka, a Serb village a few miles from Shkodër. He began writing verse and prose sketches in Albanian. Having contracted tuberculosis, which was then endemic in Albania, he went for treatment to Turin in northern Italy where his sister Olga was studying mathematics. After some time in a sanatorium there, he was transferred to the Waldensian Hospital in Torre Pellice where he died at the age of twenty-six.

During the 1930s, the position of the Serb minority deteriorated as Serb schools were closed down by King Zog. Thus, the author had to Albanize his name and chose the nom-de-plume Mi-Gje-Ni in order to preserve his heritage. The acrostic was formed by the first two letters each of his first name, patronymic (the Serbian equivalent 'đ/ђ' of Albanian 'gj' is one letter) and last name.

His slender volume of verse (thirty-five poems) entitled Vargjet e Lira (Free Verse) was printed by Gutenberg Press in Tiranë in 1936, but was banned by the authorities. The second edition, published in 1944, was missing two old poems Parathanja e parathanjeve (Preface of prefaces) and Blasfemi (Blasphemy) that were deemed offensive, but it did include eight new ones. The main theme of Migjeni was misery and suffering, a reflection of the life he saw and lived.
source: http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Millosh_Gjergj_Nikolla/








Autumn on parade

Autumn in nature and autumn in our faces.
The sultry breeze enfeebles, the glowering sun
Oppresses the ailing spirit in our breasts,
Shrivels the life trembling among the twigs of a poplar.
The yellow colours twirl in the final dance,
(A frantic desire of leaves dying one by one).
Our joys, passions, our ultimate desires
Fall and are trampled in the autumn mud.

An oak tree, reflected in the tears of heaven,
Tosses and bleeds in gigantic passion.
"To live! I want to live!" - it fights for breath,
Piercing the storm with cries of grief.

The horizon, drowned in fog, joins in
The lamentation. In prayer dejected fruit trees
Fold imploring branches - but in vain, they know.
Tomorrow they will die... Is there nowhere hope?

The eye is saddened. Saddened, too, the heart
At the hour of death, when silent fall the veins
And from the grave to the highest heavens soar
Despairing cries of long-unheeded pain.

Autumn in nature and autumn in our faces.
Moan, desires, offspring of poverty,
Groan in lamentation, bewail the corpses,
That adorn this autumn among the withered branches.

Great Translation by Robert Elsie

Pushimet ideale

 

E shtyre nga mikja ime Tena, vendosa te shkruaj rreth idese sime per pushimet ideale,teme qe me pare nuk e kisha menduar me thene te drejten.
Ne fakt mendoj se nuk ka diçka te caktuar per kete gje.
Kur them kete nenkuptoj dhe faktin se çdo gje eshte aq e shumellojshme, me shume alternativa, deri diku e arritshme saqe duam s'duam edhe mendjet dhe preferencat tona pesojne te njejtat ndryshime duke ndjekur sigurisht rastet me te favorshme.
Rastet me te favorshme dhe qe jane bere shume te modes kohet e fundit jane pushimet neper vende turistike ku çdo gje eshte e perfshire brenda nje çmimi pakete.

A me terheqin mua te tilla lloj pushimesh? Jooo
Nuk me pelqen idea e planifikimit perfekt te çdo levizjeje times ne pushime.
Dua diçka me spontane.
Nuk eshte ndonje gje shume e paarrtishme ajo qe dua.Nuk eshte diçka shume e egzagjeruar.
Si rrjedhoje e semundjes (fotomania) qe me ka kapur qysh prej 2 vjetesh ne menyre te pasherueshme;) per mua pushimet ideale jane vendet qe se pari do te gjeja nje prehje shpirterore dhe me tej nje begati vizuale.
Ne fakt kjo puna e begatise vizuale , ka lidhje me teper me hapjen e dyerve te mia te perceptimit dhe shikimit,ndaj ky term ketu eshte relativ.
E shoh se nuk po flas shume hapur.Ja po shpjegohem me me kokrra;)

Disa gjera i kam te qarta ne mendje sa i perket pushimeve:

1.Do doja te mos kisha fare probleme me vizat dhe te mund te vizitoja çdo vend.Nese do te mundja, do te vizitoja sakaq Evropen dhe shume vendje ne Lindjen e Larget.(ne fakt shume vende te Lindjes se Larget nuk jane dhe aq problematike tek vizat ,por Evropa po).
2.Do preferoja vende te fresketa dhe jo me shume diell.3.Nuk me pelqen te ngulem shume ne nje vend.Mbase udhetimi me tren (vdes per trenat) apo nje mjet tjeter me terheq tej mase.
4.Nuk dua te eksploroj vetem vende por edhe njerez gjate pushimeve.Madje ata me teper se çdo gje.Vertet qe eshte shume e kenaqshme te mesosh kultura te reja ,por e bukura eshte ti shohesh per se afermi keto kultura,rite dhe zakone dhe jo vetem sa per kulture te pergjithshme.Se po te besh vetem kete te fundit, i bie sikur te hash vetem qershine siper tortes dhe jo te tere torten;)
5.Nja 3 here ne vit ,ose se paku 2 duhen marre pushime 1-2 javore.Mendoj se eshte me e kendshme ti marresh keshtu sesa te tera pernjehere.Kjo te jep dhe mundesi e shkas per te pare dhe vizituar me shume vende ,apo per te pasur eksperienca dhe perjetime te ndryshme,sepse fundja nuk dalim perhere me udhetime sa here kemi pushime,por se paku edhe kur nuk largohemi nga vendi qe jetojme mund ti krijojme vetes mundesi te ndryshme per argetim,meditim apo çfare gjeje tjeter mund te kerkojme nga pushimet.
6.Sido,kudo dhe kurdo te behen keto pushime,rendesi ka qe te te shkepusin vertet nga rutina e perditshme.





Siç e shihni s'e kam krijuar ende paketen "all included" per llojin e pushimeve te mia ideale.Edhe ajo eshte e ndryshueshme, e lekundshme si çdo gje tjeter qe na rrethon.Por pikat e mesiperme ju japin disa idera rreth perzgjdhjeve te mundshme te pushimeve qe une dua.
Nderkohe mund te them me bindje se pushimet qe kalova ne Kapadokja dhe Mardin (per te cilat do ju flas me gjere ne ditet ne vijim) , kaluan shume bukur sepse i plotesuan pak a shume kriteret e mesiperme;)Po per juve miq ,si eshte ideja e pushimeve ideale?Pres komentimet tuaja.
Pushime te mbara atyre qe jane duke i shijuar nderkohe;)

Colorful Albania cities

Each time I visit my country , I'm amazed by the very differently designed and dyed colorful buildings,doors,windows.
Special urban geometry elements catch my eye all the time.
Tirana and many other Albanian cities , are very colorful and a real treasure for color and texture freaks like me:)
I'm surprised to find many different and never seen goodies in my small Tirana.It's so very exciting!
What's more eye-catching, is seeing old buildings,doors or other objects , dyed in very minimalistic or modern styles!All of it looks so surreal!
I'm sure that one of the reasons that I look forward to visit my country is capturing these weird,one of a kind gems:)

Stairway to heaven

this is a late tribute to my friend , Sarah who passed away 5 months ago.i just learned about it and i'm so sad to hear.
I had noticed her absence , but always thought she was in one of her trips taking her cool photos:(
So i was devastated to read this:(
I thought to make a tribute to her with such a photo of mine as she loved everything about colors and textures!She had a great approaching eye and heart!
Rest in peace dear Sarah.You won't be forgotten!

for more infos and to have a look at her lovely photos you may check her blog too:
http://sarahunderhillphotography.blogspot.com/

istanbul's old,narrow,secret streets

 

photo (c) Eni Turkeshi

 If there's a thing I loveeeeeeeee about Istanbul , a detail that makes me addicted to thic city and I miss whenever I'm not there are the old,narrow,hidden streets of this big city.
They are always gravid with surprises.

In one of them you can find a cozy cafe , in another some avantgarde garment shops.In some others book sellers with their very special old books or tzigans selling flowers.In some other streets , especially the ones in Beyoglu (one of the biggest,most popular areas in Istanbul) ,you can run across to some very special antiquarian shops.

The cafes are especially good.Their decoration is very cozy and the general atmosphere is very cool.The music played is different though.You can find jazz cafes, pop cafes or cafes playing just turkish folk music.The pop cafes are well known for their turkish coffe service ,because of their bonus fortune telling;)

Some other streets are so narrow that you can hardly walk from there, but I don't like them less.
On the contrary , you can enjoy here the nice feeling of nostalgia of the old surrounding Pera palaces and the weird sense of a little isolation:)

It's 10 years I'm living here and I still have so many streets , so many places to discover .Just this idea makes you eager to live in this city and to get amazed every new day!
If you ever visit Istanbul nowadays , don't forget to try to visit as many as these lovely , secret streets..You'll get your excitement reward for sure;)

p.s: this is the link of a book named "101 streets of Istanbul" written by different turkish artists.strongly recommended!
http://www.haber34.com/101-yazardan-istanbulun-100-sokagi-3089-haberi.html

Ebru-like reflections

Ebru or "abroo" (which means the water face) is the name given to the turkic art of paper marbling .Classic ebru is performed using aqueous natural pigments mixed with oax-gall and a rectangular trough filled with a mucilaginous mixture traditionally prepared using gum tragacanth.
Colors are sprinkled using brushes made of rose stalks and horsehair on the surface of the mucilaginous solution in trough.The floatting pattern is taken off to paper either as it is of after being reshaped and retouched using pins,needles ,combs or things alike.
Ebrus were once admired as calligraphy media,as borders for inscriptions or as endpapers for fine bindings.
The earliest sample of ebru is reconized to be "Anfi!s book " of Guy-i Çevgan .This one is dated to be done in 1539 and can now be found at Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul,Turkey.(info from : www.ebrusanati.com).

What is told about Ebru is that is the art of patience.It helps you to win a creative eye and to express your feelings and ideas very delicately over water.It is a very sensitive form of art.And because is applied over water is very hard and very relaxing at the same time.
I so very much enjoy all of ebru works and that's the reason I was so suprised and marvelled to catch this picture in Cappadocia.An amazing ebru-like reflection of the rocks of Ihlara Valley has admirably taken some brilliant floating shapes and nuances ,so that I couldn't help thinking this looked so much like Ebru...Nature is a generous artist;)

The pilgrim - from the turkish group Replikas

The Pilgrim lyrics:

I'm pilgrim in this world
I became a vagrant because of your love
I traveled in many countries
just because of you
Many bottles overturned in honor of your love
I remained soaked under the rain of love
I kept thinking of you all time all alone

I can't do it without you
I can't live without you
This rain of love
doesn't bring you to me


I became a vagrant
When I first listened to this song, I was so impressed of this heartwarming, naive song and of the video shot in the same style.It was very popular many years ago and I can say that this is the song i love best from this group.You may find the words a bit arabesque, but believe me it looks and feels very much different in turkish.Don't know why but i find this one very close to us albanians as well.What do you albos think?
Hopeall of you will enjoy it.

Some infos on the group:

Replikas is a post-rock, experimental rock band from Istanbul, Turkey.

Their debut album, Köledoyuran was released in 2000 and the band set its place in Turkish rock scene with their unique sound which combines western and eastern music. Their second album, Dadaruhi followed in 2002. Apart from these albums, Replikas had several soudtrack attempts for Turkish movies.

With their unique sound, Replikas was recognized by some foreign record companies. After getting signed to Doublemoon record label, their third studio album, Avaz was released in 2005. The album was produced by Wharton Tiers, a world-known producer who also worked with bands like Sonic Youth, a great influence on Replikas' work.

Replikas' members being big fans of Sonic Youth, the band opened for Sonic Youth on their first Turkish concert in May 2005.

Repilkas provided the soundtrack for the film İki Genç Kız. The band was also featured in Fatih Akın's 2005 documentary on the Istanbul music scene, Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul, performing the song "Şahar Dağı." (info from wikipedia)

Other news from the press: The group is recording their new album , which is said to be launched this September.They are recording it out of studio , to get the best of acoustic sounds.After prolonged researches in Turkey,the band has decided to use the old half open air jail of Gokceada .

for more infos- www.replikas.com

Plants are good listeners:)

Aren't them?
I guess all of us have done it ourselves or at least have seen our moms,grandmas,aunts doing this:)
I can't say the same thing for my male relatives:) I don't think that men are very used to do this..They're not so used to caress the plants,talk to them,smile at them..
I used to laugh while watching my mom doing this, but I don't do it any longer.
Because plants are good listeners:)Yeah it may seem funny,but they truly are.
They are quiet,confident,relaxing...And I bet that they grow up faster and healthier if you talk to them,it's not just me who's saying this..It must be something studied or prooved..
And even if it's not ,who cares.I think its because of the special synergy that comes out between human beings & plants while caressing or taking care of them.

p.s:This has not much to do with the above text.I read from a site at web that plants communicate between each other using some special communication net dispatcher.But they could seriously get viruses from this.

Silent Exclamation of Abandonment

 

There's something special about the abandoned places.Besides their looking so gloomy,lonely and sometimes scary , what mostly catches my attention is the spooky silence of them.

Or should I say , screaming silence?Because even if you can't hear this sound, your ears feel like echoing different voices, thousand sounds and so much melodies.
And it has the same effect on your eyes as well.There's a transparent visuality coming in sight there.It's maybe very weird , but your mind indispersed to so many alternatives.

This can't come out just because of our imagination.It can't be just mere fantasy.Or a wisdom caprice.
I think it's the unique blend of perception and the genuine force of memories and the melancholy for what has been truelife and now abandoned.

I shot this photo in Muriqan,Shkoder,very close to the political borderline between Albania and Montenegro.That's what I thought while taking this photo.

Albania Summer 2008