June 2019

I began the month in cold, rainy Boston and ended it sweltering in Istanbul summer. I thought I would sit still after my long US trip, but instead I visited two Turkish cities and went to Bulgaria for three hours, so, business as usual.

Best Of The Month

Let’s start with that Bulgaria jaunt. When my friend Durrie asked if I wanted to join her on a day trip to Edirne, I’m not sure she was expecting how enthusiastically I’d say yes. But it’s an interesting cultural city very close to Istanbul and I’d never been, so it seemed like a great way to fix an oversight. The city is famous for its mosques but I was particularly struck by its recently restored synagogue, which is really gorgeous.

In the afternoon, Durrie had to exit and re-enter Turkey (thanks to some silly bureaucratic stuff) and we decided to see if there was anything to do in Greece (20 minutes away from Edirne) or Bulgaria (30 minutes away). We found a tiny winery 30 minutes from the Bulgarian border, and we were off, walking across then invisible dividing line into the EU. The whole story of this adventure is probably too long for this particular blog post, but suffice to say, it was splendid.

Another highlight: very soon after arriving back in Istanbul from the US, I got a text from a German friend of mine inviting me to be her guest at The Splendid Palas on Istanbul’s largest island. The hotel has a distinct charm (I’ve actually written about it!) and a POOL, so I said yes without hesitation. We spent the day swimming and the night drinking gin cocktails and it was summer bliss.

I returned to Kas and the Mediterranean, as part of my goal to swim as much as possible this summer. It didn’t disappoint of course, and the mental break from the hustle led me to write one of the essays I’m most proud of (see below).

Worst Of The Month

After a rather hectic few months of work, everything slowed down massively, and it’s taken me a little time to adjust to a new pace of life. I’m getting there, though.

I was utterly exhausted from my US trip by the end of it, and so relieved to be back home and sleeping in my own bed.

What I’m Loving

Reads: I read the memoir Darling Days, which I found in the Harvard Bookstore’s discount basement (truly a gem of a place for bibliophiles). It’s written by iO Tillett Wright, the host of a podcast I’ve been listening to recently called The Ballad of Billy Balls. It’s a great companion piece to the podcast, though a strange feeling to spoil some of the background reveal of the show by reading a book!

I also reread The Golden Compass, which I bought for my friend’s daughter but then couldn’t help revisiting myself. It’s still wonderful.

Music: I have a whole playlist of jams for this month, including Feels Like Summer by Childish Gambino and Tints by Anderson .Paak. Sneaking in at the end of the month but already a favorite for the last couple weeks is the Egyptian song Sah by Al Massrieen, which is SO GOOD.

Movies/TV: As part of Istanbul’s Documentarist festival, I watched Delphine Minou’s documentary Daraya: A Library Under Bombs, about efforts to save books in a city under siege by the Syrian government. It was devastating and inspiring and really good; if you get a chance to see it, I recommend you do so.

Podcasts: possibly the best podcast episode I listened to this month was “The Man Who Sedated Eichmann” from Rough Translation, which was riveting and morally complicated and I wanted to re-listen to it as soon as I finished.

I started listening to the series Nice Try! about failed utopias. So far, it’s touched on religious cults and Brutalist architecture and silverware (for real!), and made all of it fascinating.

I also started listening to Power Corrupts, and I find myself discussing the topics it touches upon— like, how to steal an election.

The Film Files

I’ve decided this summer to make a commitment to shooting messy pictures, things that are blurry or doubled or off— and, inevitably, more interesting. This month I used an underwater disposable camera and my Holga, so the season is on track to being visually interesting.

Ephemera

I wrote an essay about travel writing and migration that had been bubbling up inside me for a long time but finally came out. Read it here and tell me what you think.

I went to a stunning performance at the Istanbul Music Festival called Human Requiem, where we all stood on the stage of a giant venue and the singers were dispersed among us— at one point, the singers performed while swinging from giant swings suspended from the ceiling, at all points I had chills.

I bought some pretty ikat silk pillowcases in the grand bazaar, which are beautiful. I want all the ikat.

Upcoming

Nothing! At the moment. I am hoping to get to Madrid, and probably more Turkish beaches maybe, but friends visiting throughout the month will mostly keep me in Istanbul.