Cairo, Egypt
The first month of the year is such a slow, strange, beautiful time. Everything seems to move at a languorous pace, the sky is heavy and gray, and we’re all tentatively taking those first steps into a new year. January is also the month I moved to Istanbul all those years ago, so I hold that slow time for reflection dear.
Cairo, Egypt
Best Of The Month
My friend Pesha has been staying with me for much of this month, and together we went on a trip to Cairo. Pesha speaks Arabic and lived in Cairo before she came to Istanbul, and I’d never been, so it was a perfect opportunity to explore a complicated city.
My favorite parts of Cairo were the most touristy bits. I loved the pyramids, which weren’t too crowded in January and we’re truly stunning. I loved our sunset boat ride on the Nile, cruising past the smoggy shores of the city. And I loved the Egyptian Museum, with its overstuffed exhibition halls brimming with ancient history.
Istanbul, Turkey
Worst Of The Month
Two years ago, I went to watch the Greek Patriarchate’s Epiphany celebration on the Golden Horn— after a service, the Patriarch parades down to the water, where almost-naked men await on boats. The Patriarch tosses a wooden cross into the freezing water and the men jump in, trying to swim to it first.
When I went in 2017, I remember the event was a lot of fun, and not overly crowded. I forgot that Epiphany 2017 happened only a week after the Reina attack and the city was still on edge, which in retrospect clearly affected the turnout for the event. This year, there were no such circumstances, PLUS the holiday fell on a Sunday, PLUS the Ukrainians were in town for their official break from the Russian Orthodox Church, PLUS the temperature was barely above freezing. We ended up waiting at the seaside with a massive packed-like-sardines crowd for THREE HOURS. By the end, I couldn’t feel many of my limbs. It was still fun, but the fun was outweighed by the frigid cold.
Unsurprisingly, our adventure on the Golden Horn left me with a terrible cold, which was still going full strength when I flew to Egypt a week later. Cairo is not a great place to be sick, and my deepening cough was not helped by the fact that we had not one but TWO sandstorms during my few days in the city. It was a relief to come back to Istanbul, where I could breathe again.
Istanbul, Turkey
What I’m Loving
Reads: Pesha lent me the memoir Day Of Honey, about food, Iraq, and Lebanon through the eyes of a foreign correspondent. I really enjoyed it; especially reading about Iraq leading up to the American war and in the early days of it, when no one knew it was going to get worse and worse.
Music: Most of the music I’ve been listening to isn’t new to this month, but I have been loving the Four Tet album New Energy, especially the song Daughter.
Movies/TV: I’m still stuck on Buffy, and have no regrets.
Podcasts: The best podcast episodes I listened to this month are actually both from 2017. 99% Invisible did a two part series about the sanctuary movement in the US, where churches worked to protect immigrants seeking asylum. The first episode is called Church and the second is State, and I recommend both.
Cairo, Egypt
The Film Files
I got gobs of film developed from my time in the US, plus some of the first shots of a project I’m doing at Nadas Istanbul. I’m looking forward to developing more of my Egypt film and shooting more of the doubles for the Nadas project.
Cairo, Egypt
Ephemera
I took my first watercolor class ever, and I loved it. Nadas Istanbul offered a three-hour class with a live model, and I wanted to try something new. I was so anxious about doing a bad job, but actually I’m quite pleased with how my watercolors came out and I hope I can do more.
Istanbul, Turkey
Upcoming
February started in Athens for a few days to see a friend, and then I anticipate staying in Turkey (and possibly just staying in Istanbul) for the rest of the month. And that will be fine.
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