Concept, Text, Illustration

Istanbul, mit scharfe Soße?
Bir gavurun Istanbul´u kesfi

Istanbul — seen through the eyes of a foreigner who fell in love with the city and its fascinating people. Not a guide, but a mosaic of encounters and fragments of life of this vibrant, contradictory incredible place. When I made this book in 2008, in Germany there was a vast ignorance to Turkish culture, despite the Turkish community having lived here since the 1960s. I went to study in Istanbul to question my own stereotypes thanks to my Turkish friends I gained insights into IstanbuI life. These encounters I wanted to share with others who didn't get that chance. Illustrated stories were clearly best tool for that and so with this book I became an author and illustrator. As I drew and wrote about a culture I had only gotten to know, all texts are written in German and Turkish - for the book to be accessible to the people it is about.

Alexandra Klobouk: Concept, Text, Illustration
Available online ︎ and at your favorite bookshop.

Supervised by Prof. Nanne Meyer and Prof. Alex Jordan at Berlin Weissensee School of Art

There are many ways to get to know a foreign country. For example, by looking at the things that matter to the people.

In Turkey, there are many things that are quite ordinary but are attributed a high value and great significance. Many have their own rituals, which are celebrated with great attention and precision. People take the time necessary for this. A few examples of these rituals and peculiarities can be found in this chapter.

Yabancı bir ülkeyi tanımanın bir çok yolu vardır. Örneğin, insanların çok önem verdiği şeylere bakmak gerekir. Çok sıradan olmasına karşın değer verilen fazla şey var Türkiye’de. Bir çok insanın büyük bir dikkat ve kesinlikle uyguladığı ritüelleri var. Bunlar için gereken zamanı ayırırlar. Bu bölümde bu ritüeller ve özelliklerden bir kaç örnek bulacaksınız.

If you want to understand Turkey a little, you should learn Turkish. At least a little bit. Because the language tells a lot about the history and mentality of the people.

Often, old customs are reflected in it; it is rich in imagery and poetic—and yet not so difficult. Since a large part of life takes place on the street, the volume is also significant. If you want something, you have to make yourself heard. And if you have something to offer, you advertise your goods loudly. Instead of looking for signs, you ask for directions—without hesitating to approach a stranger. This is even easier if you call them "brother." Türkiye hakkında bir şeyler öğrenmek isteyen Türkçe öğrenmelidir.

En azından birazcık. Çünkü dil insanların geçmişi ve anlayış biçimi hakkında çok şey söyler. Gelenekler çoğunlukla dile yansır. Türkçe benzetme bakımından, çok zengin ve şiirseldir. Ve buna karşın pek de zor değildir.Yaşamın büyük bir bölümü sokakta geçtiği için ses yüksekliği önemlidir. Satılacak malı olan, malına yüksek sesle övgüler düzer. Ve bir şey almak isteyen bu sese kulak vermelidir. Yol levhalarına bakınmak yerine, yol sorulur. Bir yabancıya sormaktan korkulmaz. Hele ona «Kardeş» dersen, işin daha da kolaylaşır.

Istanbul is indeed a European metropolis, but it is also always an Oriental city. Things are not as safe, regulated and reliable here as in Germany. But it is exciting, lively and unpredictable.

You get to know a lot of people because you have to constantly ask for directions. (But you can't always believe them, often they don't know the way themselves, but they would never admit that.) You get to know a lot of strange places, because you got on the wrong bus. You experience a lot of adventures because everything turns out a little differently than you think. İstanbul bir Avrupa kenti, ama yine de oryantal bir kent.

Burada işler Almanya'daki kadar güvenli, düzenli ve güvenilir değil. Ama heyecan verici, canlı ve öngörülemez.Pek çok insanı tanırsınız çünkü sürekli yol sormak zorunda kalırsınız... (ancak onlara her zaman inanamazsınız, çoğunlukla kendileri yolu bilmezler ama bunu asla kabul etmezler.) Bir sürü tuhaf yer biliyorsun çünkü yanlış otobüse bindin. Pek çok macera yaşıyorsunuz çünkü her şey sandığınızdan biraz farklı çıkıyor.

And no matter how difficult life is, it has to go on. So “boşver!” – “forget it, dude!”

And anyone who has ever been invited to such a fully set table, been a guest of strangers or traveled by ship across the Bosphorus, past the silhouettes of Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Sarayi, will know quite clearly: Istanbul is the most beautiful city in the world World, Turkey is the most beautiful country and the people are the most amazing under the sun. And then someone shouts “Hayat çok güzel!” – Life is beautiful!

Hayat ne kadar zor olursa olsun, sonuçta yine de devam etmelidir. Yani, boşver!.. Unut gitsin!Her kim ki, bir kez tanımadığı insanların yemekle donatılmış masasına konuk edilir, ya da vapurla Ayasofya ve Topkapı silüetlerinin önünden geçer, İstanbul’un dünyanın en güzel şehri, Türkiye’nin dünyanın en güzel ülkesi ve insanlarının en güzel insanlar olduğunu açık seçik anlar. Ve o an biri seslenir… »Hayat çok güzel!«

Press reviews:

“One can only marvel at what a previously unknown illustrator and a little-known publisher have achieved here.” Andreas Platthaus for FAZ Feuilleton, 2010

"Enchanting!” Frankfurter Allgemeine

"Alexandra Klobouk has illustrated a truly beautiful book: Istanbul, mit scharfe Soße? is smart, witty, and full of captivating illustrations.” Christoph Amend for ZEIT Magazin

Istanbul, mit scharfe Soße? Bir gavurun Istanbul´u kesfi

There are many ways to get to know a foreign country. For example, by looking at the things that matter to the people.

If you want to understand Turkey a little, you should learn Turkish. At least a little bit. Because the language tells a lot about the history and mentality of the people.

Istanbul is indeed a European metropolis, but it is also always an Oriental city. Things are not as safe, regulated and reliable here as in Germany. But it is exciting, lively and unpredictable.

And no matter how difficult life is, it has to go on. So “boşver!” – “forget it, dude!”

Istanbul, mit scharfe Soße?
Bir gavurun Istanbul´u kesfi