Turkish Author, Composer, and Singer Zulfu Livaneli is also a great columnist_August_25th Essay for Oksijen Newspaper

 Sultan Abdülhamid was a Fan of Opera

I don't believe that the majority of people considered conservative in Turkey are concerned with preserving the old culture. They don't defend Itri's music, Sinan's architecture, or Baki's poetry, nor do they enjoy this aesthetic level. They have grown up within a distorted understanding of modernization that emerged as a result of an unplanned migration of at least fifty million people to the cities. They have embraced not the songs of Şevki Bey or the folk songs of Karacaoğlan, but rather arabesque music; not Mimar Kemalettin, but unauthorized buildings with iron sprouts on top and versifications with no literary value whatsoever. Looking at the matter from this perspective, we must say that we are the true conservatives in the realm of culture. Those who claim to be conservatives are in a misguided interpretation. This same incorrect interpretation also applies to the exaggerated image of Sultan Abdülhamid II that they have been promoting in recent years, which has no connection whatsoever to the image of Abdülhamid who would hang and execute people, raid places, and slap envoys on TRT screens.

Engaged in a passionate love affair with a Belgian girl named Flora Cordier, who played the piano, brought her clothes from Paris, and shared a stormy romance, spoke French albeit not as fluently as his brother Murad, drank rum instead of raki, and projected a Westernized appearance with his lifestyle, the Sultan's love for opera is well known, and it's already known that he even had an opera performed in his palace. When he was a 24-year-old prince, he accompanied his uncle Abdulaziz on a European journey, and after seeing Paris and London, he expressed his sadness over the widening gap between us and the West. He sent money to Pasteur for his newly established laboratory, established the Bakteriyolojihane-i Şahane center in Istanbul with the help of the French during the epidemic, attempted to familiarize the people with Western clocks by erecting clock towers in various cities, was a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and enjoyed listening to Johann Strauss's composition dedicated to his birthday.

Despite his caliphate policy used against major powers aiming to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, in his private life, he embraced a European style like his father, his uncle who composed waltzes, and his brother. He imported four Steinway pianos from Paris for his children. In short, he was a sultan who maintained an authoritarian regime suppressing opposition while also admiring the European lifestyle. Adding to all this, it's worth mentioning that he ordered Colt pistols in Native American attire through American ambassador Terrel, just to make the picture even clearer. Since he ordered them from America, he must have tried them at least once or twice.

He was someone who both said "ancestors" every day and viewed opera and ballet as decadence. With the desire that those who view his life this way should also read the relevant section from the book "On the Back of the Tiger," I would like to share it with you.

Italian Opera Singers at the Palace

In that beautiful palace, which had now become a dream, the Sultan, who would have novels read to him behind a screen placed at the foot of his bed every night, would sometimes have sleepless nights and would clap his hands, saying only "opera." This single word would signal that the Italian artists, both men and women, who had been bestowed titles like pasha, major, colonel, had only half an hour to prepare and get on stage. At the head of the palace theater was Arturo Stravolo, who was a mimic master from Naples, who had migrated to Istanbul with his father, mother, actress wife, brothers, uncles, aunts, and had entered the service of the Sultan.

Since the Sultan didn't want repetitions of the same plays, one of Stravolo's duties was to watch new plays in Europe and stage them in the palace. All the actors were attached to a military unit and had to wear the uniform corresponding to their ranks. Angelo was a lieutenant, violinist Luigi was a captain, baritone Gaetano was a colonel, and highly skilled tenor Nicola wore the uniform of a sergeant. Orchestra conductor Aranda Pasha had to start performing the requested piece of music within half an hour of receiving the "Masked Ball" order in the middle of the night. Some days, the Sultan would watch the plays with his family and guests, but at night, he would sit alone in his box. If there was a part in the play that he didn't understand or didn't like, he would signal with his hand to stop everyone. In order for the performance to continue, every detail had to be explained to his majesty.

Moreover, since the Sultan didn't like tragic endings, the conclusions of every opera, from La Traviata to Il Trovatore, would be altered to create happy endings. For example, at the end of La Traviata, Violetta wouldn't die but would dance happily.

The most beloved actor for the Sultan to watch was Arturo's beautiful wife, Cecilia. He wanted to see her in the lead role in every play, but due to biological reasons, this was often not possible. Therefore, the troupe had to resort to disguises, using wigs and makeup to make another actress resemble Cecilia, and dimming the lights. Cecilia frequently became pregnant, and since her growing belly didn't suit the young girl roles she played, she wouldn't perform until after giving birth. Nevertheless, all this effort was worth it in the end. The Italian actors were living luxuriously on high salaries, and the troupe's director, Arturo, was rewarded with privileges such as being the owner of the first car in Istanbul. As the guardian of Islam in Anatolia, the caliph was an admirer of European culture. He would say that Turkish music was only drum and zurna, and that although it was called "alaturka," this music had its origins in Persia and Greece. He was a great lover of opera. However, due to his contradictory nature, he would sometimes become bored in the middle of a performance. Stravolo, realizing that the Sultan was bored, would immediately interrupt the play and bring out various performers such as jugglers, magicians, acrobats to entertain him.

https://gazeteoksijen.com/yazarlar/zulfu-livaneli/abdulhamid-bir-opera-hayraniydi-187072

RHCP Concert Attendees in Three Countries, Serendipity and Generosity

Mad Cool Festival (July 6-8) takes place in Madrid, an alternative music festival for the ones who take live concerts seriously. My brother and his lifelong friends from Turkey are among them. Exactly a week ago, I received a text from my brother with a name and phone number along with fun and funny photos from the concert area. The phone belonged to the wonderful Leslie, a SF-based yoga instructor who invited me for her lesson in San Francisco as a gesture and kindness in return as she was deeply touched by the space-sharing system that my brother and his friends created in the front rows. I took the invitation as I thought it was such a cool thing to offer and it has been ages since my in-person yoga class. In fact, it has been exactly 9 years since my first free yoga class in the cool gray summer of San Francisco.  Aylin accompanied me during and after the class, which was a delight as always. She is funny, transparent and very unique in her own ways. One of the reliable adopted SF family members, a sister with a fire sign. On the way to my temporary home, I felt very relieved and content in a way that I missed a lot (I miss that feeling!) watching the world through pink lenses. Matcha latte, blue matcha, and a smelly and expensive grilled cheese sandwich at Epicurean Trader on Union St. (Cow Hollow)

The yoga class began with Leslie's anecdote on space-sharing and how she gets to meet the two siblings in the same week across the world (Madrid and SF!) She had given me a big hug, thanks, and asked for consent to share the anecdote before that. The yoga studio is called Yoga Flow &  her class took place in the Union St. branch, a spacious one with light colors and large ceiling windows, which I adore in any building. I was soaking with sweat and had to commute two hours from Berkeley (round trip) and spent around 40$ for the occasion but it was worth it. I'm in transition (still) and I can't even diagnose myself whether I'm now an introvert or people's person, or a small-town hippie type who is high sensitive and cannot deal with crowds. 

It turned out that Aylin too attended RHCP concert in LA in the early nineties.  I saw them in Istanbul (September 2012) with my cousin, and Leslie a week ago in Madrid. What brought three of us yesterday was more than serendipity or the love of music: It was the willingness to invest in the time and the good intention towards the Other. This requires a newly defined generosity and sharing that goes beyond money-sharing or charity. It began with my brother's space-sharing which Leslie connected to self-confidence of the space-sharer, and continued with meeting a new person, a new yoga studio, and making an old friend happy! 

AylinCan, happy 9th Anniversary of a -inshallah- much Longer Friendship/Sisterhood! 

July Blues and Silvers

Reading Rebecca Solnit's essays are inspiring for revisiting one's own writing skills as a woman who likes non-fiction. Plus, I still get some nudges from friends who live in other countries or states, asking me "Why don't you continue your blog at least?" So here I am after 9 months of break with my first 2023 entry in the midst of July in Berkeley. 

I have had very good excuses for not writing, at least I convinced myself that I have:

1. People don't read much and they are more distracted than ever. I have several friends who wouldn't even remember that I got a new book out in January 2023. Brain fog is the new fancy excuse that not only bohemian arty types are using, It's post-pandemic officially and everyone is using it, including myself. 

2. The biggest earthquake recorded in the history of Turkish Republic hit the 10 provinces on February 6th 2023. It was pretty traumatic to say the least. My parents' city is no longer there. I've been involved in the efforts of reconstruction and will be.

3. My mom had two major surgeries (knee and hip) and a serious and longterm care-taking process began, which I thought marked the end of my precious freedom. I spent several months in the city of my nightmares and at my parents home. I met too many doctors and healthcare providers than I ever wanted to. 

4. The election results weighed me down, feeling me paralyzed for some days. Sometimes the positive-energy generator in me that I've been blessed with (and shared generously with others) is feeling down too even if it's functioning. It is a generator after all!

There is always something valuable in the trials of life and for me it was the solidarity and unconditional support that I received from friends and family on top of perfect strangers' whose generosity always moves me more than the expected forms. 

Finally, my friend Patricia supports my dad's encouragement on a new book that I should be writing about "how to live a decent life with under 500$ per month in the Bay Area" but I will keep it for my retirement or as a lifelong secret. True, a self-help book for the Californian lovers who are digital nomads with no strings attached might actually bring me some money unlike the books that I spent months researching and writing. However, I value privacy more than than money. Everyone's journey is different, and I am hesitant to give "advice" to people and act like I figured out something that they haven't even if I have:)

However, I will continue getting inspired by Rebecca Solnit so it's likely that the frequency of my entries may increase in the coming months. The title? Well, if you know of the Bay Area weather, especially of SF in summer time and my age, then you can figure it out:)

The Longest Summer is soon to be over

Summer has always been associated with reading and a slower pace of life in general for me. I had summers where it has been always gray and rainy, end of which marked a once-good friend's return to Antalya and burning the bridges of a possible academic career. The weather affects some people more than the others, even if you're among the spiritual ones who believe in the inner climate's effects on the outer. If your inner light is on, it can stay on regardless of the weather outside, right? Well, nope! :)

After experiencing incredibly frustrating delays at the airports in early summer, I decided to spend it in California and not fly at all, period. I managed it quite well as we're about to say goodbye to October, which makes it 4 months of non-flying, which is nothing compared to the time spent socializing with yourself and your pod(!) outdoors for almost 2 years. 

California as one of the biggest states of the US has a lot to offer for all kinds of people unlike the common belief that it's only for the rich. God has been very generous with it sparing the occasional natural disasters that remind people of their mortality and vulnerability regardless of the statistics or the power of the economy that California boasts about. So many small towns by the coast are to me previews of what Paradise might be like in another dimension.  Ventura, Santa Barbara, Ojai... you name it! 

I met several people who declared mental bankruptcy in California (born and raised or came for grad studies and for business, stayed for 2 decades at least and then crash boom bang!) They cannot even stand it, which is a clear indication of not taking good care of their inner climate and searching for places to escape elsewhere. What a privilege! You cannot imagine the number of young people who run to the East Coast for college and then off to explore the rest of the world after getting their diploma.

I don't come from a background where I can have the luxury to say "I've got a nice place to retire and spend the rest of my life in a small shack" (California has very simple and small houses too). Do you? I was rather pissed off when someone whom I met at the Berkeley Public Library happened to like me a bit too much and kept on communicating. I finally had to say let's give a break to these 'exchanges' especially after listening to his queries about moving to Turkey if Trump wins the elections the second time. I witnessed other liberal people with means who prepared their escape plans -mostly to Europe- if Trump got reelected. The less adventurous ones with small kids to Canada. The problem is it is clear that they are not watching the local news and the intellectuals of the culture that they're hoping for a new start. Sometimes, they are so blinded that all I can do is to listen to them and keep quiet about the content matter.  

There are many advantages of straddling between two cultures and continents if you can be at home in both or neither.  I am far from romanticizing it but I can also identify rather quickly people who have not lived or worked abroad from the ones who did. Bonding with the ones who chose to remain afloat with loose but strong roots (like waterlilies maybe?) is easier for me in comparison to the ones who cling on to one particular culture or identity as they cannot feel at home in multiple places or keep an everlasting longing or nostalgia (and that really drives me cray!):)

I'm on my way to the Bay Area where I've always felt at home despite the fickle weather. I will probably get teary again as the plane lands on the SFO and I take out my clipper card to beat the rush hour traffic and the forced dialogue between the uber driver and I. Aylin is the only friend who never lacks uber-driver stories and always tips them generously regardless of their attitude. 

I cannot believe the sun season is over and I don't want to leave the sunny and slow pace of life, that is my extended summer of 2022. No need to talk about business or failed or aborted job applications that happened within the same period of time. It was summer after all and so many people are still in post-covid-recovery period. There is envy if not confusion when I tell people that I'm working while traveling and as a free-lancer. I know it cannot continue forever but... One never knows!  If you love something you love it never feels like "work" anyways, does it? 

Boulder and Nature

After multiple postponements here I am in Boulder, Colorado. I am being hosted at a stunning house whose owners have money and taste for its indoors and outdoors decoration, the ideal combination for beautifying the world and one's own wellbeing. I am happily refilling the bird-feeders and eating fresh raspberries on daily basis that ripen so fast that I'm having hard time keeping up. There is something incredible about picking the fruit right on the spot whose delight never fades for someone like me who grew up in a city and watched fruit-picking from animation movies and other TV series for children. 

I told the other day to a colleague that some people are generous at heart, period. This generosity relates mostly their non-attachment and healthy religiosity, basically to a worldview. Unlike most people think, it is not necessarily connected to the amount of wealth that they inherited or accumulated. Unfortunately, I met several people (well educated and impressive on their resume!) who justify their weak generosity by not having enough money. I don't buy the argument.

I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Shepard here in his state of origin! In  the previous blog entry, I mentioned two new friends and he is the second one whom I wanted to talk about. Tom and I met thanks to a common friend who also supports refugee rights and stories with a special focus on LGBTQI+ and thus I got to watch Unsettled first, and then met the director, the wonderful Tom! Here is an artist who is sensitive and knows how to listen to people. Furthermore, he is more than his art in this world. He made an extra effort to get out of his -what some envious lips might call- comfort zone in San Francisco and established a documentary film school for the underprivileged youth:https://www.youthdocumentary.org/ in Colorado Springs. Even this initiative by itself was more than enough for me to have admiration and respect for him for the rest of my life. I'm so happy to have him as a friend and am looking for a possible collaboration for future.  It was so generous of him to drive to Boulder and make sure that we have the most satisfactory time catching up and making plans for the future so that his skills as a film maker can extend beyond the US borders. 

The place I'm staying at is only 3 miles to the heart of the downtown (Pearl Street) and is an easy access via bus (10-12 minutes). I'm drawn to its name: Wonderlands as it does feel to me as Wonderlands that I'm beamed up by the Divine Power.  Power and beauty of Nature here is inexpressible so I will not try here but instead be present in it and cherish every moment.

In gratitude. 

An International Film Festival and Colors of Life

Fortunately, there are times in life when the word serendipity feels very tangible and warms our hearts like fireworks did when we were kids. They are through meeting people whose texture and stances in life match yours despite the seeming discrepancies across cultures, generations, and languages. You find yourself retelling your life story in fragments as the story is getting longer and even if it is interesting for others, to you, it might sound like being on the verge of becoming stale. Yet, you make the effort for these special people because of what you see in their eyes and the ways they listen to you with their whole being. Isn't it harder to make close friends or partners-in-crime as one ages no matter how gracefully? Then, we need to value more and protect them more carefully.

My return to the Bay Area has always been rewarding. My very special connection to San Francisco, the cool gray city of love (Gary Kamiya's book title!), might have begun as a romanticized construction but after my very first encounter with it in 2005, thankfully, time provided more than enough evidence that transformed this construction or dream into a steady and sustainable reality. 

Two new friends: a journalist-author and a documentary director. I will try to express the first one's impact on me as an ever-growing so called adult although the main part of this entry is still about the movies that I saw in the past 3 days. I can't remember the last time when I saw three movies in a real movie theater in such a compact time but it's been two decades since Flying Broom International Women's Festival in Ankara (2002). Step back 7-8 years and there you can see myself and a few friends at the Istanbul International Film Festival:) 

Lindsy is around 70 yrs old, a news reporter who covered everything from major political campaigns to New York’s hooker underworld, interviewed all the celebrities of the eighties and nineties that you can think of from Bill Clinton to Oprah to Margaret Atwood, Susan Sontag... She coined the phrase "bra burning" to describe a feminist protest but due to the permit refusal of the demonstrators, the Undies Immolation never happened! The phrase stuck and L hopes that it's not her most lasting contribution to the popular culture:) She is one of the most transparent, well-traveled and generous women that I have ever met in my life. Sassy and kickass  at the surface but no matter how many F-words she uses as long as she has those innocent child-like eyes and humility, she is unlikely to intimidate people even if she wanted to (or maybe IF she really wanted to... she might?):)  I need to spend more time with her in public.

L feels both like one of my alter-egos and lost-and-found mothers of the second-wave feminists that I still adore and follow (arghh the backlash scares me!) Reading her book on the fluidity and richness among sexual orientation of women took me back to my PhD years at York, the oldest and still one of the most progressive women&gender studies programs in the world in this specialty area. Do I want to revisit the past as a no-regrets person whose imagination is filled with future plans and fantasies no matter how crazy they are instead of nostalgia and/or the reconstructed sepias that are leftovers of therapy sessions?

In my mind, L overlaps with the Lebanese grandmother character in the movie I saw yesterday as part of the San Francisco Film Festival: Costa Brava, Lebanon: They are both feisty and outspoken. Which brings me to the International Film Festival, yay!

SF Festival Highlights: I didn't see you there is a documentary made by Reid Davenport. I can't recall another documentary which depicted frustrations of disability in such an artistic and memorable manner with occasional touches of humor. The use of music and the shifting contrasts from the gray urban/concrete realities (officials, strangers, flight attendants) to green nature, gardens and family encounters in Connecticut) are the keys for the success of the film. When the camera angles change even in the middle of downtown Oakland, one can enjoy the bright blue sky and the beauty in the spiders' webs, transgressions that remind the audience of a beyond-body presence. Layers of feelings and associations make the documentary an excellent piece of work for discussing the politics of disability in any classroom (just ignore the F words or drop a fashionable trigger statement on your syllabus :) Reid Davenport is an approachable and courageous person who is willing to talk about his work and life. 

Nothing Compares (Kathryn Ferguson’s documentary) is about the life and the career of Sinead O'Connor, the bitter consequences of challenging the games of music industry (especially in the U.S.)  Ferguson brings her back to life. I asked the other (younger and Californian) guest of the house I'm staying in SF whether she has heard of Sinead, and she replied no. I don't think anyone who has seen the eyes and heard the voice of Sinead O'Connor will have difficulty of remembering her. She is one of those rebels who genuinely doesn't care for fame or money but happened to get it due to her talent and the circumstances. I had some issues with the documentary (hence the reason for linking it to a critical review) but if your main figure has that angelic face and those piercing looks, you begin at an advantage as the director, no? 

"Nothing Compares to You" didn't get the permission to be used in the documentary to the whole team's shock and the director told us that they got the news at a very late stage of the documentary. The audience get to learn everything about it but never hear it (and you want to!) It a breakup and mourning song but unlike most of us thought, she sang it with her mother in mind, the cruel, abusive mother which Sinead is not shy about criticizing (Prince wrote the lyrics).  She manages to explain the reasons behind the mother's issues but none can cure the scars that left Sinead broken for the rest of her life.  Sinead didn't expect the tears fall down but they did and it truly captured the audience (I for one remember it very vividly!)

The mother-daughter non-bonding or failure in a healthy bonding is a serious matter that affect millions of women one way or another across the world. I used to make it an issue as a teen or college student, but after recognizing the collective and intergenerational struggle behind the lack of communication or displaying love, I let it go, and it was a relief to say the least. Unlike most women around me, it saved me time and money where I could redirect energies to better causes in this limited life time than navel-gazing and blaming and whatnot. The trick is to see each other as individuals too and to acknowledge the huge number of women with mother-issues in comparison to the ones who are in a smooth and strong bondage(!):)

When the documentary ended, the moderator told us that there was no time for Q&A but we were welcome to come down to the stage and interact with the director if we want to so I did. I had to ask her why she didn't acknowledge Sinead's conversion to Islam 4 years ago, which was a bold and unexpected announcement to make (not that Sinead would care, I guess). My question arrived after initial intro and congratulations so I am pretty sure it landed OK:)  Kathryn Ferguson paused a bit and said there was a lot about Sinead that it was hard to pick at the end as written statement on the screen (you know the ones that summarizes 'what's been happening since XY' because the time is up?) But "Isn't it a major event in one's life?" I asked, and that she even changed her name but that too went unmentioned. She got away with it smartly that 'maybe we should go back and add a statement':) Is it possible? I need to ask my director friend now whom I am to thank about informing me on the film festival in the first place.

I am happily extending my stay here and I hope that it is leading me to a better path. 

An Interview by Maria Fedele

MF: You are very engaged in representation analysis, gender studies, and women-on-the-move for decades by now. How did you come to think the way you do about the issues that you’re passionate about?

OE: At the core of all lies my curiosity about the nature and dynamics of injustice when I think about it. It is followed by an early awareness of agency that as individuals we can change things. However, building patience and understanding the importance of transnational and sustainable collaborations came later. Wisdom always comes later, no? That’s the irony of life and the reason why I remained child-free!

How is this passion reflected in other areas of your life?

OE: If you mean non-academic areas by ‘other areas’, I should begin with a correction. I don’t believe in the separation of these, and my life so far has been an evidence. Even as a child, I thought life in my small world was too boring and only by reading and traveling could I transcend it. When I began solo-traveling abroad at 19 and faced many questions that showed extreme prejudices about my country of origin, my interest in studying travel literature and stereotypes began developing. As a literature student, exploring the genre of women’s travel writing was exciting. Later on, I realized the difficulty of categorizing or submitting to already-made compartmentalization of women-on-move. Especially after interviewing refugee women across many countries for years, defining home or belonging as much as traveling became harder to define for me. Recently, I welcomed the phrase “women-on-the-move” into my language so now the trajectory of my life as an immigrant, academic, and traveler gathered under the same roof (only metaphorically speaking of course, hah ha…)

What makes you similar to and different from the audiences with whom you are sharing?

OE: I can’t really know my audiences, can I? I have an imaginary audience which I assume are mostly educated and interested in world affairs, who deeply value traveling and meeting new people and cultures, who are feminist or at least pro-feminist with a good command of English language. These are the similarities that came to my mind immediately. Because I produce work in English mostly, which is not my mother tongue, a major difference between myself and the imagined audience might be in our origins, family and education background as well as my extensive experience of travelling globally and living in different countries more than just a few weeks. 

What do you do beyond your scholarship? 

I love cooking vegetarian food Turkish, international, and improvised! I love taking walks, reading and writing stories. I don’t have a particular hobby or sports that I am obsessed with due to my personality and view of life. I enjoy being, just being, observing, and thinking. One might also say stories/histories are things that I can never get enough of. Recently, I have been thinking a lot about how to contribute to nature and be more in tune with it. I like spending time by the sea, in botanical gardens, bookstores, and libraries but the last one is true only for North America. I like dreaming and I sometimes write them if they feel very impactful. Call me a nerd but I also like reading the academic or creative works by the people I know, love and respect, including bright students’ work. 

What have you read, watched, heard lately that challenges and/or inspires you? 

I am reading a book by Volkan Yalazay (2019) Ancient Trees of Istanbul which in fact has many tree-related stories from other cities of Turkey with amazing photos. I keep returning to Ancient Trees - Portraits of Time (2014) by San Francisco-based photographer Beth Moon. I received this signed copy thanks to a gallery owner in Santa Fe. I have had a fascination with old trees since I can remember, which is a kind of mysterious thing that I can’t go into detail here. I enjoy all kinds of narratives that take place in nature no matter what genre actually. I saw a movie which received the best screenplay Oscar this year called A Promising Young Woman, which is promoted as a feminist thriller but it is much more than that. I really enjoyed the way it was done. My next reading is going to be Gabriel Marcel’s Homo Viator Introduction to the Metaphysic of Hope.

What questions do you wrestle with that keep you up at night? 

Oh, well… Because I wrestle with questions that keep me alert while I am awake all the time such as injustice and violence against all living beings and arts, I don’t wrestle much at night.  Joking aside, I try to get a good night’s sleep whenever I can since it is a major way to struggle with the problems that I deal with as an engaged scholar. Restful sleep is healing. 

What are your dreams for the young people in your life?

That they live in a more just, more physically connected and grounded world, that is not threatened by environmental crises one after another. I also hope that they can travel the world and feed themselves with the least possible carbon footprints. I am dreaming of a world where things are practiced by moderation, and there is room for off-screen and family time.

Where is home for you, geographically and metaphysically? 

I cannot possibly give you a short answer to this question without feeling it being very reductive and incomplete, I am sorry about that. I feel at home in international, multilingual, and intellectual settings near the water (preferably ocean or the Mediterranean) where people constantly learn from each other without meaning to, where there is genuine respect and love towards each other. There is a saying attributed to Sufism but can be found in many other schools of spirituality: “Being in this world, but not of this world” and I leave it there.  

How do those influences show up in your work? 

I guess in terms of moderation, and not feeling or acting in a materialistic and possessive manner, be it a partner or anything tangible that seems to be under my realm to an outsider. I know that all beings are temporarily entrusted to us and we are tested through them. I am not ambitious or obsessed with my work even when my limited vision tells me that it is the ‘right’ way to go or to act in a certain manner. I am aware of my situatedness thanks to the theory courses I took in college back in the mid-1990s . However, the kind of consciousness I am actually trying to express goes back to something deeper and more spiritual than reading Foucault or Harding.

Thank you so much Ozlem Ezer for your time.

This interview was conducted by Maria Fedele for her final paper for the course ANTH-158 Feminist Ethnographies, UC Santa Cruz.