Now that I
publicly announced my intention to pick up writing, I actually need to write…
This is both good and bad... Good, because if I haven’t made that promise, I would most
probably not write and this would be another item on the list of things that I
wanted to do but could not. So making the promise to write, makes you write. It
is bad because the creative writing moments come to me almost exclusively
when I am not planning to write.
I took the
decision two weeks ago to revive my blog and while doing that give it a visual
boost with an Instagram account. I created a public Instagram account
in addition to my private personal account. The reason is; I do believe some content
I share is publicly interesting, though I would like to keep a private account
as this is a venue I interact with a close group on my personal life with kids.
I am not comfortable with the idea of sharing my kids' pictures from a public account.
What I want
to publicly share is my cultural encounters with my surroundings, my own
perception of an event, a destination or a show. Having moved 5 years
ago from Istanbul to Geneva, I really enjoy the experience of understanding a
new and previously unknown culture and getting used to surviving within it. And
I would like to share this trajectory with whoever is interested in reading. My posts therefore are about my life and what my narrating self makes out of them.
I am really
glad for the feedback on my short blog post and my public account two weeks ago.
Obviously I am not selling anything and I am not advertising for anything. This is not a
business but only a personal blog. I am interested in finding my voice and
believe others' comments enrich what I wrote on, so this is why it is public…
I
also like to have a record of what I write online so I can share it with those
instantly, something like a portfolio if you will. People also
come to me a lot for travel advice, at least they used to… so hopefully this
will also serve as a repository of information on my travels.
The urge to write
My job
involves web writing, coming up with short content to make our online community
interested in our publications. I write short content for our website, online
communications and social media and I truly enjoy this aspect of my work. When
I first started this job, my line manager offered a writing seminar to me and a
few other new recruits. In the pre-course questionnaire, she had asked how
often we write. This is when I realized that I have so many pieces of writing
that I started constructing in my head but never got around to writing them.
The theme that struck out in all these ideas that very seldom came to life was
my cultural encounters; hence the seeds of this blog endeavor was born.
Traveling and writing
My urge to
write triumphs when I travel. And recently I was in Provence and had a lot to
reflect on. It was my third time in the region. With the Instagram account, I thought I was
going to live post the whole time, but honestly there is no way for me to enjoy
traveling with a constant thinking of what to share. I used my phone from time
to time to take photos and am now reflecting on this travel since I came back.
Simply put,
I love this region, I adore it.. I can go there again and again. I enjoyed all
the new places I saw; namely Avignon, Arles, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, les Baux-de-Provence.
When we
booked a few nights in Avignon months ago, I did not think that this would be a trip to follow the footsteps of impressionist painters. I only knew from memory that Cezanne was born in Avignon. Though later on, as I was looking at the map to see what is around Avignon to see, I was appalled at knowing the names of so many places. The names of all these places are familiar to those of us who pay attention to where world famous impressionist paintings were painted.
In the end, we decided to go to Arles and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence after Avignon, as these were the dominant places in Van Gogh's most productive artistic years. Arles where he wanted to establish an artistic circle and failed which led to such a despair that he ended up in the asylum of the latter.
There is so much to write about food, cities, the region, the accent, these maybe can be the subject of another post. I would like to say a few words on how this legacy is treated in the region.
Van Gogh industry
First of all, it is so fortunate that many modern painters lived and created their art here, I mean in France, a country which pays due respect to preservation of cultural heritage. The nature that dominates the impressionist and post-impressionist art is there, intact and painfully beautiful. On a tired evening, I sat in the balcony of the residence we stayed which overlooked the vegetation that we know so well. I could not stop admiring the cypresses. These trees are also so prevalent in the Aegean, the geography in which I have my roots. But in the Aegean, they are mostly planted in a row where as in Provence, they are scattered. Even if one does not plan on seeing any Van Gogh sites in these two places, no issue, the nature that you know so well in these paintings is there and ready to capture you.
What I also appreciated so much was seeing, by pure chance, the actual café that features in Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night. It stands there as it is... Maybe this sounds plausible for the folk who come from places where cultural heritage is well preserved. But to me, it is just an absolute miracle... Apparently, there is a walk in Arles which takes to all the scenes that feature in Van Gogh's paintings. I did not do that and saved it for next time. But it was an amazing experience to spot the actual café...
The
important places to see if you follow Van Gogh’s footsteps is not obvious and
one has to look for them and be better planned which was not my intention this
time. Though I saw more of the Van Gogh popular industry then I imagined in
both Arles and Saint-Rémy. Touristic shops were selling all kinds of replicas
of the artists’ paintings and motifs especially in Arles. People around me had recommended to see the Carrières de Lumières light exhibition in which you are literally immersed in Van Gogh's painting. I initially thought this was also a trap of the Van Gogh industry. However, it is so beautifully done that it definitely merits more praise then criticism.
Though if we are to weigh the industry, organised tours, ticketed exhibitions all combined with that of the dominance of the nature of the region, the latter would tip all scales.
