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One Hour at Taksim Square

One wet afternoon in the heart of modern Istanbul

By Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee

May 15^th, 2014

It was my last day in Turkey, and because my flight was just after midnight, I had the whole Saturday to myself. It was unusually rainy in Istanbul for early May, and while we dodged the rain on most of the 18 days we spent in Turkey, this last day was wet, wet, wet.

Ryan, my cameraman and trusty travel companion, had already departed on a Singapore Airlines flight that was 12 hours earlier than my Turkish Airlines one. I had 10 hours to kill and not enough movies on my iPad Air to watch in our Taksim Square apartment.

For a large part of the morning, I did some reading and writing, some tv-series watching, and some photo editing. Then the rain finally stopped for a bit. After a late lunch, I walked around the neighbourhood.

For slightly more than an hour, armed with my trusty Fuji X100S camera, I set out to capture the people that thronged Taksim Square and the nearby shopping street of İstiklâl Caddesi.

Lunch was a “soaked burger” or “wet burger” from Kizilkayalar Hamburger. I wondered in because I saw many people eating inside. And like a True Singaporean, I was drawn by the many newspaper clippings and celebrity accolades that were pinned on the wall of this establishment. The logic being, Anthony Bourdain has eaten here, it must be good.

The famous red Taksim-Tunnel Tram never seems to be empty. People cram themselves into it, many hanging on the outside even, with a kid in tow. It is like a joy ride for many tourists and locals.

Nearby, a row of flower shops did brisk business. People were walking with flowers, fancy branded bags, and chicken wings in hand.

Many young people hung out here. Many looking at the smartphones or making calls. Two young men were chatting up two young ladies, taking photos of each other and exchanging numbers.

The young gentleman in the denim jacket saw me quietly taking candid photos and offered himself as a model. His were the only posed photos I took that afternoon. Onur was a very seasoned model, giving me various poses with his cigarette in hand and his iPhone in the other.

When he saw the shots I took of him, he pointed to me then to himself, and said “For Facebook.” I suppose my photos were deemed worthy of a profile photo. Amused, I agreed to email the photos to him.

Travellers came from all over. Some were dragging luggage after getting off the airport shuttle that ends at Point Hotel nearby. Some came with maps to see the area. Many had happy faces, perhaps because they were on vacation.

And then there were those were just waiting. Waiting for someone. Or just passing through Taksim Square on the way to the Metro. Going somewhere else.

Like me. I was waiting too. Waiting to go somewhere else. Waiting for my flight. Waiting to go home to my wife and kids after a long trip to the crossroads of the world, Istanbul.

Footnotes

Captured with a Fuji X100S

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FootNotes

Captured with a Fuji X100S

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