One unlikely day...

What an insane day I spent in Istanbul. I schedule a quiet day with little to do. Begin in University and making my way back to the Grand Bazaar. But it seemed that bad luck would be the motto of the day. In the first photo I discover that I have no battery. After I go to the market to find it closed. Back to the hostel and take the opportunity to address the next destination: Cappadoccia.

Now with the battery charged, accepted the invitation of the autumn sun and went back into the streets. I had no particular focus. The image of a Nargile in Tophane leads me to the tram, but I decide to get out. Blame it on the sea that attracts me so much. I've never been in a city divided by a dark blue sea and its fascinating to me. I remember that I hadn't visited the Spice Bazaar. It was also closed. But the narrow streets on the sides were swarming of trade and I lose myself there. I follow the crowd going by. There is a little bit of everything: jewelry, shoes, scarves, sweets or spices. Vendors compete to see who has the best voice and captures the most attention. I jump from street to street, choosing the insecurity and following the path that calls for me.

Now I find myself in a lonely and silent street. It doesn't appear that I am in Istanbul. Around here the only resident is one cat that ignores me completely. This city is a city of cats. Each has his own personality: the timid, the lazy, the idle, the shameless, etc... They give a unique tone to a city that seems to take care of them.

I give up and decide to seek help. I don't want to walk for hours to get to a known point. Guidance received and I find myself in the Sultanahmet district. Here are no longer the locals dominate but the tourists. The flurry of cameras, poses and guides are actors in this historical stage.

I sit down a bit. What to do now? I open my guide and I realize that I still wanted to go to Istanbul Modern, a space for contemporary art. With a tokken in my hand (here the tickets are plastic coins) I go to Tophane.

I arrive and find that it is time for Istanbul Biennial - a meeting point in Istanbul between artists from different cultures created by the İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. This year the works combine art with politics. The art form as a political expression is something that I really admire. I loved the clean and effective space. Some works surprised me a lot with its originality and innovative character. One that struck me in particular was about a demolition of a house in Palestine. A shoe, a drawer or a spoon recalled that, more than anything, this is a human conflict. No doubt a very successful exhibition.

Time to relax. I leave this space to enter one of the numerous cafes and remember this insane day. Only in this city a person goes through medieval bustle of high street shopping, enter into the deserted streets like a village, back to the bustle of a tourist attractions, goes to a modern and artistic exibition and ends relaxing in ancient habit of smoking a water pipe . It seems too good to be true. Please, someone pinch me...