THE PLASTERERS
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Mercifully, at the time I had no idea of the scandalous botched restoration of this Byzantine landmark as it was sealed off to everyone. Turkish historians later told me about it.
HELMUTH LUTZ FIRE! FIRE!
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This giant touring 1970’s work of art is set up outside Ayasofya. Zowie—— I couldn’t believe this thing. It towered over the entire square, reaching just below the branches of the chestnut trees. A great German installation artist, whose son supervised the assemblage.
HELMUTH LUTZ DERVISHES & BOSCH
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Overtones of Bosch – Helmuth Lutz——Fabulously surreal, with dancers wearing giant snail masks and whirling dervishes.
GULHANS & THEIR CAT
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A happy Friday night in mid-November 2004 just after Ramazan — Ali – Gurhan – Deniz – Obi-Wan!
![](https://www.tricivenola.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/39bFriday-Night72.jpg)
![](https://www.tricivenola.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Cat-Soup-Kitchen-1024x752.jpg)
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ANOTHER NIGHT AT MIKE’S
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“Is there an ‘up’ side to your story?”——She actually said this. Another fabulous party at Mike’s Museum.
UMIT/ATTILA ONE
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Umıt didn’t feel like an Umıt; he felt like he was an Attila, so that’s what I called him.
![](https://www.tricivenola.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-bedsteadsm.jpg)
HIPPODROME FOUNTAIN
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Nailed it at last!! On my first trip to Istanbul, five years earlier, I’d marveled at this brickwork, so old it looked like lumpy striped stone. I hadn’t been able to do it justice until this drawing. I was struck by the repetitive image of the eroded Hippodrome arch-plug behind the much newer fountain. The cat, a venerable street warrior, is in Kitty Heaven but this fountain looks the same.
TURKISH COFFEE STAR >
Heartbreaker & Frank Zappa lookalike KADIR is the “star” of Russian novel Turkish coffee——It was his restaurant we were hanging out in New Year’s Eve, before I went off to the Pera Palas.
UMIT/ATTILA LOOKING OUT
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I’ve lost touch with Umıt, but hope he’s well and happy.
![](https://www.tricivenola.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/66Turkish-Coffee-Star72-2.jpg)
ELINA’S TRUCK STOP CAT
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Did I actually wake up this morning and say “I’ve got to go to Bulgaria?: Communing with Fiji, a Bulgarian tabby, during a 2-hour wait at a cafe just inside the border. Almost didn’t make it in– visa expired & too sick to come last week. Border visa Polisman didn’t give a rat’s ass about “sick” but let me in – will they let me back out? Kitty doesn’t care… Purrrrrr is the same in any language —- 12:30 AM Bulgaria — A line of disconsolate travelers waiting, like us, at the 3rd checkpoint – border —- This is the season of pointed toes! – turquoise corduroy – <Hırsıs!——Hırsıs means thief in Turkish, as Elina told me this employee had been when next I came…