Layers of Light and Culture on Both Sides of the Bosphorus
July opened with hazy skies and the soft shimmer of summer light over the water. I moved through the city like a slow current—crossing between continents, ducking into galleries, and letting the music and color of the week shape my days.
“To Become A Tree” – Farhad Abdi at Artopol
July 3 – 16, 2025
I made the trip out to Maslak on one of those overcast summer mornings when the sky hangs low and your thoughts feel closer to the surface. It turned out to be the perfect weather for Farhad Abdi’s exhibition To Become A Tree at Artopol. The show, presented in collaboration with O4 Gallery and curated by Zahra Habbzad, wasn’t loud or crowded—it was something else entirely. Quiet. Steady. Rooted.
Abdi’s work has a stillness to it that feels deliberate. Each piece, drawn with bold black lines and softened by muted earth tones, seemed to carry weight—like it had grown slowly, season by season. Some forms felt unmistakably human, but not in a literal way. They suggested presence, breath, and vulnerability. The lines reminded me of veins or branches, blurring the boundary between body and tree, between the self and the world.
What I appreciated most was how the space didn’t try to explain too much. There were no flashy gestures. Just an invitation to slow down, to be still and listen. For me, the experience wasn’t just visual—it was emotional. I thought about resilience, about the quiet strength of standing through all kinds of weather. I left the gallery feeling both grounded and strangely moved.
Artopol Art Gallery is located at Eski Büyükdere Cad. No:7, Maslak, Sarıyer, Istanbul.
“Ghost of Presence” – Rosalie Aleksandra Anter at Ambidexter
June 26 – July 13, 2025
Tucked away in one of Beyoğlu’s quieter corners, Ambidexter hosted a show this summer that felt more like a whispered conversation than an exhibition. Ghost of Presence by Rosalie Aleksandra Anter was delicate in tone but emotionally dense—like walking through someone’s inner life, where memories are embedded in objects and silence holds weight.
The pastel tones and fluid lines of Anter’s works gave them a soft glow, almost translucent. But beneath the gentleness was something more solid: a deep reflection on presence, memory, and the invisible traces we leave behind. I kept circling back to one piece in particular—La Tigresse’s Armchair. It wasn’t just a chair; it held stories. I thought of the women in my own family and how objects, without words, become keepers of emotion and strength.
The gallery space itself allowed for slow pacing, and I found myself sinking into the quiet mood of the show. The works weren’t loud or trying to impress. They simply invited me to feel—to remember, to connect, to listen. If you’ve ever sensed that certain belongings hold echoes of their owners, this exhibition speaks your language.
Ambidexter is located at Kumbaracı Yokuşu No:66, Beyoğlu, Istanbul.
Evening Walk Through Kuzguncuk
I stayed closer to home one evening and wandered through Kuzguncuk as the sun dipped behind the hills. This neighborhood never feels like a performance—just locals living their lives, vines spilling from balconies, and cats sleeping under benches. I passed the famous Kuzguncuk Garden and stopped for a glass of cold lemonade near the Greek Orthodox church. There’s something grounding about ending the day where everything moves slow.
Address: Kuzguncuk Neighborhood, Üsküdar
The week reminded me why I love July in Istanbul: late light, long nights, and layers upon layers of culture. Wherever I turned, something was happening—quietly or loudly, subtly or boldly—but always with a kind of grace that only this city seems to carry.
Why Turkiye? 
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