Pied Piper
I am Istanbul. I know how to charm people. After all, I’m a skillful wizard who knows them very well. The pipe I play easily enchants even those in faraway geographies as its magical melody gives hope and promises a better life. Fascinated by this melody, my ensorcelled people of all ages have been heading towards my seas and running towards me for thousands of years.
However, life is tough here; in the end, not everyone can find what they are looking for. Yet at least, some -mostly the poor youngsters- find solace in the joy in my seas.
2022
Istanbul is a huge metropolis that receives immigrants from all over the country, especially from the east. In addition, with the increasing wars in recent years, hundreds of thousands of young people from the Middle East & Asia immigrated to Turkey, especially to Istanbul.
A “holiday paradise” surrounded by seas on three sides, there are many people who have not seen the sea and have not entered the sea in Turkey. There are many people who haven’t been to the sea and haven’t been able to go on a vacation in a holiday resort. Many of them have not seen or touched the sea where they came from. One of them said: “I saw it in the village, but it wasn’t that big.”
As it is told in the fairy tale, with the promise of a bag of gold, thousands of young people were taken away with the hope of a good life, they were thrown away to dreams far from their homeland, some were worked for nights, some were sold for the value of an item.
“A photograph, whilst recording what has been seen,
always and by its nature refers to what is not seen.”
– John Berger –