2015–2016 Kaplan Fellow Meltem Uçar writes about working and living at ANAMED and ‘new things to discover’ in İstanbul…
İstanbul is a complex city with many faces. Working and living at ANAMED and being on İstiklal Avenue provides you with the opportunity to experience and understand many faces of the city. Studying at ANAMED often prevents isolation and overly solitary focus on one’s own research. Rather, a lot of things can pleasantly attract attention. While you are in the ANAMED study room doing your research, life on İstiklal Avenue connects you to the daily life of the city. Even if you have to listen to the same street singer in front of ANAMED play the same song over and over each day and night – not always pleasant! – it is inspiring to feel the life outside in the city.
Whether you are new or have been in İstanbul before, there are always new things to discover in this city. ANAMED provides you with a convenient location and a great opportunity to explore and discover the city’s different faces.
This is my third long-term stay in İstanbul. In each of my stays, I have discovered a new way of reading the city. This time I am reading and discovering İstanbul through tiles. How one experiences İstanbul is an individual matter. You may see only the traffic, the noise, the crowds, and the unplanned construction, or you may see and enjoy the speed, the changes, the passing energy and life. At the same time, you may enjoy discovering the many traces of Photo caption: View of the Galata region and the Golden Horn.İstanbul’s rich history.
İstanbul consists of many pieces, like the tiles at Topkapı Palace. If you look too closely you may see only imperfections and flaws, but if you stand back you will see extraordinary beauty and harmony.
Photo caption: Tiles from the Topkapı Palace.
If you are also interested in İznik tiles, don’t leave İstanbul without visiting the Rüstem Paşa Mosque. You will enjoy the peaceful courtyard of the mosque, taking you away from the crowds of Eminönü while also providing the opportunity to see the red color of the İznik tiles, which is no longer reproduced as the color pigment ingredients are no longer known.
Photo caption: Tiles from the Rüstem Paşa Mosque.