Back to SAN FRANCISCO

November 30, 2014

I came back to my beloved city of San Francisco. No doubt about it, it is a superglued LOVE bonding. I surrender, that is what one should do when fall in love, right?  It is more difficult with men-women situation, that we all know. Can a city love back, or is it something that is bound to be unrequited by nature? Me, a big fan of magic-realism, the answer is yes, the city can love back in its own ways, surprising you with its streets, hidden corners and locals coming forward to share their stories with you. As we know, in literature, cities are depicted mostly as women. Sometimes personification was practiced without attributing a gender. But come on, one has to talk about gender issues when it comes to SF, proudly painted itself in rainbow colors. And literally in Castro, the pedestrian crossings (or crosswalks!) have recently painted in rainbow colors, which also reminds me of rainbow-stairs after Gezi. Jill Koeningsdorf (my writer-fellow in Santa Fe) says: Life is too short to have gray clothes. And she is a big fan of Desigual in her late fifties.  Jill, I am almost done with your novel. Tomorrow is the day!

Where to spend the final days in the city before flying back to the Old Continent? I had my eye on the hostel located on the hill facing the Ocean (well, the Bay is the more correct term). When I reserved the room 6 weeks ago, I asked for the view and they were kind enough to offer me one. Not that I stay at the hostel and stare at it. But there is something about knowing that you have a room with a view. 

Last two mornings, I got up at six and hit the Marina. Lovely long walks, very quiet, half-fog, half-light, and the beauty of Golden Gate Bridge leaves me speechless. I took how many pictures, I do not know. Just for myself. Then, again, who knows, as the photography gallery owner in Santa Fe wrote me, maybe I did miss my calling and I do have a keen and sensitive eye.

I used to keep my thoughts and feelings about SF to myself. Today, after listening to a chatty UBER driver who told me that SF is one of the most beautiful cities in the US, I was thinking, not just the US. And here I declare my love for SF!

Since it is a love story, you need to recognize the relativity of beauty and tolerate it. SF offers me everything I expect from a city. It is by the ocean and the climate is mild. It has all kinds of cultural activities and they are not way more expensive than Istanbul. My first night here, while having a beer in a decent bar in Fort Mason, I met an art student from Singapore who was fascinated with improvised comedy theater. The theater was only to the next door. It was quite amazing: BATS. http://www.improv.org/

I am staying with two women at the room. One is in her sixties, a white American, a student of Buddhism, who recommended that we go to Asian Art Museum, which is one of the richest collections in the Western world. The other one is much younger, from Sweden.

*

The museum is indeed worth the visit. But you need more than 3 hours! I got quite upset when they announced the closing. I was not even close to finishing it. The guided tours are available free of charge and the docents draw your attention to the highlights and the main pieces.

I was fascinated by the works of Tetsuya Ishida, very powerful, witty yet critical. He died way too young, some speculated that it was suicide. It is not hard to see the influences of Kafka. In the intro writings, another artist name was also mentioned: Ben Shahn, a Lithuanian-born American artist (1898-1969). We learn all these through his notebooks. 

The nineties were not the greatest years for a young university student in Turkey either. Apparently, Japan went through really hard times as well. The economic crises left many unemployed, there was a very strong earthquake and also terrorist attacks by Shinrikyo, a Japanese cult. In 1995, it carried out the Tokyo subway sarin attack. As a consequence, it is listed as a terrorist organization by many countries. I can write why I was quite a melancholic type with dark lenses during the nineties but it will make whole other story. I was struck by the fact that many young people were going through similar concerns in different context. 

Buddha's story has been depicted in numerous forms and the one that affected me the most is the one which depicts him very skinny (the ascetic Shakyamuni) telling that it did not work: "He found enlightenment through mediation and by practicing the Middle Path, which rejects both self-denial and self-indulgence."

 

I also found Durga very cool & sexy! She is considered the supreme goddess and primary deity in Shaktism, occupying a place similar to Krishna in Vaishnavism. Still, my next tattoo will be the olive tree, especially after meeting Beth Moon’s pictures. Yes, she wrote me back.

Rod puppets of Java (Indonesia) were definitely interesting but a bit scary too. The final piece which impressed me a lot was the mystical bird-man (18^th century, made of wood).  

*Lunch at PLANT (vegetarian rest.) and yoga at ZAZEN.

*Sertab Gibi (1996) is the BEST album that Sertab Erener made! Kimler yok ki: Kucuk Iskender...

Kör noktalar vardır her aşkta
İnsan doğar ölmez o suçla
Orada o küçük çocukla kalan
Ağlar hayatın sonsuzluğuna

Kim tutarki elini bir daha
İçini kanatan bir rüya olur bu yara
Bir masalın sonunda ölüme
Aşkını anlatan bir kadın olur bu defa

Hiç konuşmaz bazen gül susar
Yaprak titrer acıyla düş yanar
Orada o güzel uykuda hüzün
Büyür büyünün sonsuzluğuna

Söz: Küçük İskender
Müzik: Atilla Özdemiroğlu

Kaynak: <a href='http://www.akormerkezi.com/sertab-erener-yara-sarki-sozu_sarki-djjfj.html'>http://www.akormerkezi.com/sertab-erener-yara-sarki-sozu_sarki-djjfj.html</a>

*I have missed Turkish. I will meet Aylin who wants to practice her Turkish. She is teaching at ZAZEN tomorrow. Speaking of Aylins, AYLIN ASLIM rules!

Gel köşeleri tutmadan gel

Pisliğe batmadan, çamura yatmadan gel

Gel bileğinin hakkıyla gel

Kimsenin altına yatmadan, üstüne basmadan gel

WOW!