There was a rally at the Blue Mosque Istanbul yesterday. It
was political – commemorating the death of former Prime Minister
Turgut Özal, who died
in office in
1993 - with crowds of people,
television cameras, stages, and huge, truck mounted screens to broadcast to the
assembled crowd.
But it was also people gathering to sit in the sun. The
organisers were handing out bottled water and Turkish delight with the image
of Özal printed on the side. I took
some with me, courtesy of the Turgut Özal Association for Thoughts and Action.
It was much enjoyed, later, sitting at a bus stop in the Plaça Maria Christina.
It is spring here, and the tulips are everywhere in bloom.
The parks between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia, the two buildings that
dominate the skyline of the Sultanahmet district, are full of the sensual
flowers that are so prevalent in the art of Turkey, Iran and the Subcontinent.
Tourist and locals step over the low white fences to be photographed among
their bright colours and green foliage.
Of course the rally put paid to plans to visit the mosque
that morning. One of the things the television screens showed was the large
crowd gathered inside the mosque.
So I sat in the garden and enjoyed the sunshine before
returning to my hotel to begin the journey to Spain, and the next part of this
adventure – a one month studio residency at Can
Serrat in El Bruc, a 45 minutes drive from Barcelona, and set among the
hills and mountains of the Monserrat National Park.
