FOREVER FRIENDS
-Forever friends & the January full moon 2006- Lewis & friend from India
LEWIS IN CONCERT
-Lewis performing in Tunel. Every pianist who also sings should do it with a fabulous chandelier.
THE EMPRESS
-Ayasofya from Room 409 Konuk Hotel 25-28 February 2006 -To the memory of Çelik Gülersöy. Hagia Sophia. Mr Gulersory was a force for good in the community. His staff at Konuk Hotel kindly let me draw out the window for three days to get this unique view of the grande dame of all basilicas.
A happy day! My first book out in 2006. Michael Kuser of the Istanbul Daily News took this photo when he reviewed the book. It’s now out of print, and bloody expensive if you can find it on Amazon, so if you’ve got one, hold onto it.
BOUKOLEON FREEZE
-24-25 January 2006
Drawn in a terrific three-day snowstorm. Luckily I lived a few doors away from here. I miss the little cafe overlooking the Boukoleon ruins beyond the railroad. Those dark spots in the swirling snow are fishing boats out in the Marmara.
PASTOR IAN SHERWOOD
Little did I dream we’d be friends for years and years. I’d been reading Ian’s British Community bulletins for months but had never met him until this day. I had in mind a looming hollow-cheeked personage but found Ian instead, thank the gods.
AT PERA HOUSE
-Legendary diplomat Stratford Canning, Sultan Mahmud, Crimean War, Abdul Medjud / A walk through history with historian Steven Richmond at Pera House, the British Consulate in Istanbul, & Sir Peter Westmacott, the British Ambassador.
O that chandelier! One of a pair. I wanted to move into it.
LORI BURLA
-At the Marmara Pera with Ian & friends. Lori Burla, one of the all-time great faces—–The late Mr Burla was utterly charming.
JAPANESE KARAOKE KING
This guy is huge in Japan!
Our adorable Ygor with baby Esmeralda, discovered two days old in Mike’s Museum, fostered with the mama cat downstairs, and spent the next 12 years with us.
Puppy, Pinkie &Ygor. I found the chairs on a rooftop, the straw mat in Tahtakkale, the bedspread in the Grand Bazaar, and the kilim in Malatya. The pussycats found me.
VERY IMPORTANT, HE SAID
–Mehmet Zeki Kusoglu: A famous Turkish artist, this guy showed me a book about himself Very insistent that I understand how important he is. I do!
BRACES OFF!
-Hakan’s swell new smile. Hakan had awful teeth but a winning personality. Working as a tout for a restaurant, he bought himself braces and wore them for two years. Here he is on the first day with his new smile. He didn’t have to tell me how important he is.
