Musical theatre night

Last night yours truly, Hüseyin and Serra went to Şehitkamil Belediyesi Kültür ve Kongre Merkezi. The centre is a modern space where theatre spectacles, art exhibitions and congresses take part.

 

I didn’t know where I was going, they told me about a concert, so I just went wearing what I normally wear in the hot season, jeans and my beloved sandals. So… Compare the handsomeness of Hüseyin and the fellow that sings in the streets for some money next to him J



Despite everything that happened, I still love you, OK??

The theatre was a musical play. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know Turkish folk music, different dances from all corners of this country and also some Turkish and Muslim stories and traditions.

Harmandalı Zeibeği (Aegian Region)



Ibrahim's miracle story (Şanlıurfa)





Karagöz & Hacivat





The Mevlevi (Whirling dervishes, Konya)



  Halay dance!

 

Turkish wedding night (not sure exactly what phase)

Istanbul folk dance



 

Karadeniz Horonu

 

The play was somehow interactive and the ensemble was superb. Serra, who is from Konya, says that the Mevlani dance wasn’t complete, but it was a first for me so I didn’t notice anything wrong, on the contrary! In my opinion the funniest dance is undoubtedly Karadeniz, everyone in the public was cheering. Of course Halay dance has a special place in my heart, it is the only in the world that I can dance, poorly, but I can. Bir iki üç dört and here we go!

Paco 

Gapgenç Festival @ Adıyaman

Between 8 and 12 of May I went to Adıyaman to participate as a volunteer in the 3 day Gapgenç Festival, in Adıyaman. This is an annual festival that happens each time in a different city in Turkey. This time Adıyaman - the cursed city - was the place to go.

 

To my joy, my good friend Luís Blümel (Portuguese, EVS near Çanakkale) was there.

On Wednesday it was about that, meeting other volunteers, dancing to Halay music and playing football. We just had a small meeting at night.

On Thursday we had to wait until the protests about the Festival were finished to start our “work” outside. LOL! I wanted to protest against the protesters but no one was willing to join me.

Me, Adem and The Man



At that time I didn't know Tavla, now I am unbeatable

 

That night the Gods agreed with the protesters, that we, the people who brings diseases, should go away, so They launched a furious storm to make us go home and stop our promiscuous activities. The first photo is just ten or fifteen minutes before the punishment begun. The second is the first I could get a lightning on a photographic machine!

That night most people slept in a school near Kamp Alanı, and the next morning we had already a place to stay the next few days, a nice and safe pavilion, nearer to the city centre and with plenty space to resume our dancing and playing :)

  

Gapgenç Parade

Gapgenç döner



Best part of those days

Award winning picture of the Syrian war, interesting exhibition



We didn’t stay until the end, on Saturday afternoon it was time to go, and this time it only took one and a half hours to otostop home, but only thanks to my friend Mustafa who saw us in the road.

The concept of the Festival was different from other festivals I’ve been before, I was expecting more workshops and different activities, but maybe it was the rain that ruined the plans of the Organization. Despite that, I think they did an excellent job in putting everyone in a comfortable place after the sky fell down on the Earth.

I had a wonderful time there, it was really worth it!

 

Paco

Welcome to the World

There are some pigeons laboring for a long time in Taşev’s small room niche. In the beginning it was annoying, I woke up with the “coobrrgooocoobrrrbrrr” in the early morning, but after I got used to it and even enjoyed to be waken by the birds, specially after I took the first look at the nest they were building.

Today I got some photos of the niche in order to take a look of what was happening inside, just out of curiosity, because it is high and my hand with the camera reaches where my eyes cannot. Then I took a look.

First photo... Nothing. Just some styrofoam and the lamp.

 

But in the other photos, and not at first, I noticed something.

 

Too dark.

 

What’s that on the bottom?!

Can't you see it yet? Take another look! Maybe a bigger size will do it.

 

I know nothing about birds, but it seems there is new life coming soon! The egg is quite big now. I will be alert and try to do not let escape the big moment, at least to know when the eggshell breaking happens.

I would also like to have a photo of the pigeons to show you but they don’t trust me yet and when I approach they fly away. Maybe someday.

 

 

Paco

How lucky am I?

I present you Millet Hanı. Probably you already know it. It’s one of the most famous inns in Gaziantep for it’s history and location in the cultural heart of the city.


It is thought to be built in the years 1571-1572, serving in the beginning as an inn for travelers.

It is a two-storey building, with a 18 x 24 meter-sized courtyard. It has Ottoman inn architecture once it was built during Ottoman Empire period. Comparing to other inns, it has the particularity of owning stables on the southern part without connection to the courtyard. Moreover, there are single-storey shops opening out to the street at the northern front.

Millet Hanı technical plant

Some parts were completely ruined, so in 2001-2003, as a result of its purchase by Mustafa Geylani, Architect Abdulkadir Evşen enterprised a restoration process. In the following Internet link you can see the photos of the restoration and appreciate the brilliance of the engineering effort to bring back life to the place:

http://millethani.net/restorasyon_1.html

 Today it is a spot where the “new travelers”, tourists or just visitors, can find quite a few Turkish crafts.



Ebru



Sculpture

Bakır Işleme
 

Hand-made bijou

Painting

Embroidery

This is the place where I go everyday to perform the project activities. If I feel tired, I go a little bit to Süleyman usta’s shop to appreciate his wonderful technique, or maybe to the mosaic shop to see what’s new. Perhaps opening the window and taking a look at the Castle will do it.



View to Gaziantep's Castle from Millet Hanı



Can you imagine a better place to go to work everyday? I can’t…

Paco

Süleyman usta - A bakır işleme master

In the following minutes you will be introduced to bakır işleme and one of Antep’s finest in this craft, Süleyman Akbuğa.

 

 

Bakır işleme (copper processing) was created by the Seljuk Empire (Seljuklular) as early as the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries BC in central Asia. It was brought to Turkey, more precisely to Gaziantep, by Hacı Horoz, when he went to Syria in the 1950’s and found some pictures in one 12^th century book. In Anatolia, the oldest existing Seljuk piece of metalwork is a silver tray with the inscription "Alp Arslan is the Greatest Sultan" and a silver candle stick dated 1137. It has today a noticeable Ottoman influence.

In the beginning it was practiced using only nails and rough tools. Nowadays the kekiç and the çelik kalem (hammer and steel pen) are the main tools for the drawings inscription, although lots of other tools are used depending on the technique applied.

 

Copper or copper/zinc (tombak) were always the materials of choice. Bronze, silver and gold can also be used, but it’s not very common. This has to do with a rule originated in one of the hadiths of Prophet Mohammed that has irreparably affected the art of metalwork – According to this hadith, the use of materials such as gold or silver is to be avoided by Muslims since they are regarded as luxury items and are therefore in contradiction with the Islamic ideal of simplicity.

 

Almost every information on bakır işleme was provided by and reflects Süleyman’s knowledge on his profession. He was born in 1971 in Kahramanmaraş and begun learning when he was just nine, mastered by Mehmet Lütfü Ustünboyar and Teyfik Kavsara. He always worked in Millet Hanı!

To be very good at this you have to start very young and learn from a master. There are several different pieces that can be done with bakır işleme and also different ways to process them. Süleyman explains that the master (usta) studies the apprentice’s (çırak) best skills and develops them, before moving to the next technique.

 

He says that until the mid 1990’s, he got pleasure from doing this, but since then, other craftsmen started to imitate each other and originality was almost lost, so now he does it to make his and his family living. It’s easy to copy, for instance, a personalized breakfast design, and sell (apparently) the same set by a quarter of the price using machines.

 

Two beautiful examples

In exchange for the time I took from him he put me to work. Win-win for me. I’m learning bakır işleme and despite don’t being good at it, I just keep doing it because I enjoy it so much.

 

Me and Süleyman are usta and çırak. We communicate with the help of the dictionary, body language and by shouting to each other, because when someone doesn’t understand what you are saying because he doesn't know the a language, if you shout at him, he will immediately understand! Going to his shop and working there is always a laugh.

Paco

A sunny afternoon at Millet Hanı

Batuhan – Gesi bağları

 

Batuhan & Özgür - Hastane Önünde İncir Ağacı

 

Paco "jaketero"