istanbul meri jaan

A striking time-lapse film of familiar İstanbul vignettes, by the artist Veysel Gençten (and set to Mercan Dede's music):



The moon sinking into the arms of the minarets in Sultanahmet; red-tiled roofs; the endless peregrination of boats up and down and back and forth across the Bosphorus; traffic-clogged bridges; clouds blown by Marmara and Karadeniz winds; police cars and the Taksim tram fighting their way through the throngs on İstiklal Caddesi. Has it really been more than two years since I have seen any of it, since my feet have touched this patch of earth?

(thank you to RK--without whom, I might never have set foot there--for sending this along).