I was sitting at a table on the street of a cafe when a thought popped into my head. “This is my new favorite place in Istanbul.” It was a cute street corner, for sure, but I doubted that it was ever listed in a “Top 10 Places To Visit In Istanbul” piece written by a travel blogger.
What was it that made me feel so at peace, so creatively inspired?
As I watched a cafe employee effortlessly carry his bicycle to what I assumed was its usual spot next to a motorbike I finally realized, “Everyone here is so sure of their identity.”
His sweater and pants, both a shade of hunter green, hung loosely on his thin frame. His narrow 90’s style sunglasses seemed to be worn more for accessory’s sake rather than functionality considering the weather was quite overcast. I got the impression that he had arrived to work earlier but had gone out again to buy cat food from the pet shop for the fluffy street cat who was meowing knowingly as it followed the employee into the cafe.
I had happened upon this street corner by chance. Having just exited the food industry where I had worked for several years, I typically frequented places that my friends or previous co-workers owned. That day, however, I needed a quiet place where I knew no one so that I could give an English lesson to my friend over the phone in peace.
As the cafe owner brought me my tea, she smiled a close-lipped smile, her bright red lipstick a bold contrast to her white t-shirt and black leather biker jacket. An older women crossed the street in a bitter chocolate fur coat, passing by a young man and his dog, both wearing the same shade of blue. (One of my favorite things is to sit at a park and watch how Istanbullu’s dress their dogs in winter.)
All of the buildings on that block were painted in muted shades of blue, grey, black, and white.
Every person that I saw wore something that seemed expensive, wasn’t “on trend”, and looked like it suited them perfectly.
Even the fluffy cat’s fur went with the cafe’s decor. (Though I shouldn’t be surprised. Somehow all the cats in Kadikoy—a cool, progressive suburb of Asian side of Istanbul— had fur that matched the decor of the cafe or corner store that had unofficially adopted it.) Everything screamed authenticity.
In stark contrast, today I am working at a cafe in Caddebostan, another part of Kadikoy, known for its luxury shopping and restaurants. Every building and person seems to be adorned in some shade of beige. The restaurant’s menu’s are typed up in the trendiest fonts and every woman is sporting the season’s hottest handbag. This season’s appears to be the boxy Marc Jacob’s tote bag. I, too, liked that handbag at one point but now I am sick of it which is exactly my point.
We are attracted to people and places that have a clear sense of identity. Who is this person? What are they like? What are they communicating to the world?
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