Istanbul - A Poem

The Bosphorus (Photo taken by Vicky Loras)

Istanbul

Written by Vicky Loras

New air, new sky.

Colours. Lights.

Grey and rain.

Hüzün¹? No, bliss.

When eyes are lost in the waters

of the Bosphorus

in the smiles

of the simit² seller,

the old woman in the street

the crowds

in busy Taksim.

A star,

a half moon.

There’s one over ğ;

dağ³

and ağaç⁴

and göğü gördüm⁵.

A million thanks to Ece Sevgi who read it so beautifully! Listen to it here:

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Notes:

1. hüzün = melancholy, longing. It is a word which is mentioned very often in Orhan Pamuk‘s book Istanbul - it is also heard in songs and poems. It is a sad word, but I love how it sounds.

2. simit = a bagel usually covered in sesame seeds and which you can buy practically everywhere.

3. dağ [dah] = mountain

4. ağaç [ah - ach] = tree

5. göğü gördüm [gyoo-ooh gyoor-dim] = I saw the sky

I tried to find three words that included that special letter ğ and that were also related to what I saw during my trip to Istanbul. That was a hard feat. I hope I managed to convey the images.

Somehow, the little half moon over the letter ğ reminded me of the crescent on the Turkish flag.

Many many thanks to Ece Sevgi, for helping me find a phrase that made sense and included the word sky.

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