Galatasaray, Istiklal Street

There are not too many things to add to what has been reported in depth and wonderfully sketched by Szaza and PeF. What can I say is that I have seen the determination and committment of ordinary people. I witnessed the power of solidarity and helping each other. The above scene is from Galatasaray yesterday where there was a barricade of the police. After some time gassing started.

Occupy Gezi

Police gassing protestors in Talimhane, by szaza

For the past three days, people have gathered in Gezi Parkı in Taksim to protest the removal of trees for the massive construction project that the government begun last fall. The plan to turn one of the area's last green spaces into a shopping mall, moved people to peacefully occupy the park. In response, police have attacked protestors with tear gas and water cannons, injuring many, hospitalizing some. I do not know the exact figures, nevertheless, when I came home from work today, my neighbourhood looked like a war zone. Unarmed citizens are being gassed, sprayed point-blank in the face with chemicals, and assaulted by high-pressured water cannons. They even gassed the metro.

Police gassing protestors in Talimhane, by PeF

I tell you, it's madness outside. This evening, a few hundred of us were squeezed into the little hotel-lined streets, which were littered with broken glass, teargas canisters, and pieces of plywood. Fires were set, barricades erected, and the police, silhouetted figures in the orange smoky air, shot gas every other minute at us. A smoking canister bounced off the pavement and hit my left knee, while my right foot received a direct hit. The pain was intense, but then I felt the burning.

Protestors, by PeF

Protester with eye-soothing solution, by PeF

Protestors clapping and singing, by PeF

We eventually made it home safely, though many did not— people are seriously injured, and the Turkish media, who initially ignored the protests, is just now starting to cover the story. I was told by one protestor as he watched me sketch the scene, "Tell the world— you must tell the world what is happening here."

Visit my blog Harika to see the photos, and hear more of the story.

Simena

Simena is one of the most important ancient Lycian cities in Kas peninsula and it is just on the opposite side of Kekova Island. This sketch is of the restaurants at Simena Coast which draw my attention especially for the flowers on their balconies.

Şanlıurfa

Earlier this month me and Samantha were invited by Karala(ma) to join them in Şanlıurfa for a sketching weekend. The possibility to visit this part of the country which was unknown to me, and as a bonus, to see and sketch at Göbekli Tepe were too good to pass by. Here are a few of the sketches from this wonderful weekend.

Göbekli Tepe, sketched between heavy showers (who knew it would rain so much in May..?)

Hippocampus-centaur carving inside a cave, sculpted when Şanlıurfa was Edessa (outside, more rain)

Fountain next to a mosque, on the backstreets of Şanlıurfa (no rain this time)

Manolo Valdes Exhibition in Pera Museum

I have visited Manolo Valdes (1942) exhibition in Pera Museum, Istanbul yesterday and did some quick sketches of some of his monumental sculptures made of bronze an wood. He is one of the most famous contemporary pop-artists of Spain and in addition to sculptures, he is working on big size canvasas and using mixed media, especially fabrics with incredible colors and paint (maybe some epoxy as well) creating an appealing texture. Than during drinking coffee in a narrow street on Istiklal Avn. I have drawn the buildings seen.  

Jurassic Land

An odd combination of factors brought us to the Jurassic Café. But since we were there, I decided to have a go drawing the T-rex that loomed near the entrance. While visitors posed for a photo in front of it, from Jurassic Land itself came the presumed roars of prehistoric beasts, roars that did little to spur my curiosity about the place. It was good fun though to sit at the Jurassic Café sketching and trying to communicate with the nice waiters there. But when the sketch was finally concluded, night had fallen and we had to hurry back to the train.

Nusret Mine Ship, Çanakkale

Yarıyıl tatilinde Çanakkale'deydim. Keşan'a yakın olması nedeniyle vakit buldukça Çanakkale'ye seyahat edip eskiz çalışmaları yaparım.
Çanakkale, binyıllar boyunca farklı toplumların egemenliğinde kalmış, gerek mimarisinde gerek yaşamda onlardan izler taşımaktadır. 1970'li yıllardan itibaren ile yapılmaya başlayan ticarî yatırımlarla ildeki geleneksel toplum yapısı yerini hızla modernize kent olmuştur. Ticarî yatırımlarla ulaşım kolaylaşmış ve şehrin görünümünün değişmesi böylece başlamıştır. Bugün Çanakkale Türkiye'nin en modern çevrelerindendir. Geniş kaldırımları, temiz caddeleri, bakımlı binaları ile örnek bir şehirdir.
Yukarıda gördüğünüz eskiz çalışması, Çanakkale Deniz Müzesi Komutanlığı'nda  sergilenen Nusret Mayın Gemisinin birebir örneğine ait. Nusret hakkında daha fazla bilgi için Ottoman Minelayer Nusret
Çanakkale'deki bir günümü ve yukarıdaki eskizin hikayesi için çektiğim klibi aşağıda izleyebilirsiniz


One day in Çanakkale, Turkey from Doga Tutkunu on Vimeo.

Çanakkale'de çizdiğim  diğer eskizler..