Well now, that's better!

I just said goodbye to my new ‘landlord’/sometimes flatmate, Volkan as he took a breather from practicing his clarinet. We were just admiring this fresh, gorgeous spring weather, looking out from our balcony across the Golden Horn to Suleyman Mosque, on what is one of the clearest days I’ve seen here in Istanbul. It stormed last night and there is a freshness and cleanliness in the air today~ I can tell that some of the thick smog has been pushed out. I put on my sunglasses and walk down the five flights of worn marble stairs, each floor home to a different music or art studio, and out onto the narrow, steep cobbled street. In less than 2 minutes, I’m passing one of my very favorite landmarks, the Galata Tower, heading down another narrow alley to the coffee shop where I’m sitting.

Galata Tower

The past few weeks have monumental.  

First, I moved out of the ‘armpit of Istanbul.’ Peace out, Bahcelievler. I found a big, super groovy apartment in Galata. The guy who owns it is my age, a Turkish man who plays a hybrid of traditional Turkish, gypsy, Balkan, jazz clarinet with a few outfits in town. The flat is huge: 2 big bedrooms, a big living room, and a soundproof music studio space with a drum kit, hand drums, guitars, among other things. Tall ceilings, old jazz vinyl hung on the walls, framed photographs of Miles and Dizzy, taken by my favorite music photographer, Herman Leonard (who lived for years in New Orleans), a west-facing balcony over- looking the iconic Golden Horn. It would be an understatement to say that I am pinching myself regularly. I am in heaven. Band members come over regularly to practice, so there is a steady stream of musicians passing through. They are all so sweet and kind. And they are GOOD. Last week I had a Macedonian accordion player kicking ass in my living room. Totally surreal Istanbul moment….. I saw their band last week. Insane! The rhythm section was unreal. He’s assembled a really solid group of musicians.

Second, I quit my job. I started working at another language school part time, and am working on building up my private lesson practice. My old school was so horribly mismanaged, they treated their teachers so horribly, the hours sucked, plus I was way out by the airport in a soulless neighborhood of stripmalls. Palpably painful.

So, I’ve pretty much carved out a whole new life for myself here, all put in motion exactly on the Spring Equinox, which I love because it symbolizes the return of the light after the dark of winter. I can’t even describe how much happier I am living here. Steps away from everything that I love about this city…. History, artists, historic buildings, museums, young people, countless restaurants, courtyards, narrow cobbled streets, dark alleys, transportation to anywhere…. I feel like here, I have finally found the Istanbul experience I’ve been craving, but that has been eluding me since my arrival. This is one of my absolute favorite parts of the city. The streets are lined with music shops. The tower never gets old to me. Now that the weather is nice, there are always people sitting in the square surrounding the tower drinking beer, wine, coffee, tea… Buskers, circus performers, food vendors….. It is never boring. Ever.  It feels so right. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Finally. Spring is here. Life is good.

Just an average night of amateur circus performers at the foot of the Galata Tower