Kamil Pasha

As I walk through my neighborhood just after dark on a wintry night, I glimpse snapshots of people’s lives through lit windows. A young woman with long black hair tied in a pony tail washes lettuce at a kitchen sink. In a tiny frame shop, a man with stubble on his chin sits at a table amid the frames, looking out at the sidewalk. In the photo shop next door, several large black and white prints of smiling faces form the backdrop for a man and a woman sitting on either side of a desk. The man is frowning over the newspaper. The woman stands and stretches. It is almost quitting time. Young boys hush through the gloom clutching bags of bread from the bakery around the corner.

Inside the coffeehouse, fluorescent lights illuminate empty tables with checked cloths. Three men stand outside on the sidewalk and silently observe the world. They are still there when I pass by again with my bag of groceries.

Tags: Culture, Istanbul //