I knew July would be mad, and I was not wrong. Turkey opened up again and my life went into hyperdrive, with way too much fun jampacked into a few short weeks.
Best Of The Month
On July 1, our months of curfew and lockdowns finally ended, and the relief was palpable. I stayed out that first weekend until 3am, just because I could! Of course there’s always a lingering dread that lockdowns could come back, but with vaccination ticking along and most of life lived outside during these hotter months, I am hoping we can avoid it– and I intend to enjoy myself as much as possible for now. Parties came back! I missed parties!
My friend Chris arrived in Turkey on July 4, a trip that was long-anticipated and once-postponed. We’ve been friends for a long time but we’d never spent so much time together, and it was beautiful to reaffirm our love for each other and the specialness of our friendship. I think I was constantly a little drunk for about a week and a half straight, and we ran all over Istanbul as well as to Kas, but it was worth every minute, and now that he’s left, I still miss him. A whirlwind highlight of the month.
Speaking of Kas, I managed to go twice this month, spending about a quarter of July in my favorite Mediterranean city. I didn’t go at all last year, so this felt like making up for lost time. And it really is the best! With Chris, we drank cocktails and ate well and explored the surrounding areas like Patara and Limagazi; later in the month with Claire, we swam laps in the sea every morning and had fabulous meals and went dancing to live music. It was all pretty splendid.
Worst Of The Month
The problem with being that busy is that I absolutely wore myself out this month. My body is still readjusting to the opening phase of this pandemic, and Chris’ visit was a particular endurance test. I had to take a few days mid-month to just let my body rest.
At the end of my second trip in Kas, the heat became intense– the beginning of a heat wave that continued into early August. It makes everything harder and slower. And at the end of the month, the wildfires in the south started, though that’s a story for my August post.
What I’m Loving
Reads: For some nice, light, summer reading (LOL) I read 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline, which was really interesting! I realized I don’t know very much about the Bronze Age dynasties, but so much of the action takes place around Anatolia, so perhaps I should.
Music: Because I was with people for so much of this month, the music I listened to was influenced by them; whether it was house music and indie pop with Chris or habibi funk with Claire. I want to give a special shout-out to the song “Get It On” by T-Rex, which just feels good all the time, and “Till The World Ends” by Britney Spears (#freebritney) which is a perfect soundtrack for these times, somehow.
Movies/TV: Did I watch anything this month?! I don’t think so! I was way too busy being busy, I guess.
Podcasts: The BBC podcast Outlook is a good old dependable, full of interesting stories. Two stand outs in particular that I listened to this month were a story about a Czech artist who befriended the man who stole her painting, and the story of a paralympian who was trapped inside her own body for years.
The Film Files
I shot a lot this month but haven’t had a minute to get anything developed, except for one roll that I’d started way back in May. I really want to go on a nice long photowalk when the weather cools off a bit.
Ephemera
The nice thing about having a tourist in town was that I got to rediscover Istanbul a bit, from mind-blowing Uighur noodles in Aksaray to the constant wonder of the Aya Sofya (even if it is now a mosque). This city is just so wonderful.
Upcoming
August started at the tail end of a coastal road trip, and my next trip out of Istanbul will be with my favorite person in the world: my sister!
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