10 Comments

On photography and animals

Deniz’s Substack

1 hr ago

Wow, I got goosebumps when I finished your article. And there's so much I want to say right now.

First of all, it seems interesting to me that we put Ataturk everywhere, but if you put a question like this in your survey and ask people, 'Is there a detailed book you have read about Ataturk's life?' You may be disappointed. I think we should learn from his life. He is a person who has a very good working decision-making mechanism. The war he won takes place in Gallipoli and that is my hometown. Also, since my father is a retired military officer, I know the history in detail. And I'm very impressed. And Ataturk put women's rights into effect in this country before many countries in Europe. (1926)

Besides, I think the current government is afraid of him. Yes, you heard right, he is afraid of a dead man. He also called Atatürk, the person who governs our country, 'drunk'. And 'slut' to us.

There are many question marks and problems in this country that we can talk about, but the most important one these days is the long-lasting inflation. Now, what we call the middle class is being pulled down and the amount they earn remains at the poverty line. And everyone around me wants to go abroad, including me.

There is a journalist and writer I would recommend to understand this country: Ece Temelkuran. She lives abroad because her faces threats due to his writings. And she has been writing her books in English for a long time.

Finally, I will use my own story to illustrate how a personal story is influenced by today's politics. I was a cabin supervisor at Turkish Airlines. I flew for 10 years. And in 2019 I was laid off without compensation. As a reason, they put in front of me my tweet containing the word 'dictator'. And now they are trying me with 4 years in prison.

By the way, I'm confused whether you are in Ankara or Istanbul, but if you are in Istanbul, let's have a coffee.

Note: Haven't you come across Melih Gökçek's dinosaurs?

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Hey Deniz. Just wanted to say thanks for all this. There was a lot to unpack. But I've been listening to Ece on podcasts, and her ideas seem relevant to a few countries (even my own). I also read about the "dinosaur mayor". So, I have a better idea of what's happening in Turkey. Thanks for the recommendations. And the coffee. I'll let you know when we're next in Istanbul. It's my round. ☕️🙂

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Thank you for sharing this gorgeous photos and stories about a place I didn't know!

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Thanks StoryDrops! That's very nice of you to say. 🙏🏻🙂

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This is great Ben! Love it

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Cheers Jorge! Glad you like it, mate. 🙂

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Love the photo pairings! :-)

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Thanks for that, Stefan. I was pleased with some of those pairings too. It's funny how images taken days apart can work together. Must be something in the subconscious. 🙂

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Yet another great read Ben! As

For the photos, there are some really wonderful images in there that you should definitely ‘bank’ for another day ;)

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Hey, thanks so much for reading Christelle. And for the kind feedback. It's good to know I'm on the right track. 🙂

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