Wednesday 21 May 2008

the best days...... and good bye sulukule...

Thanks Isis for a wonderful blog….. It has indeed been an amazing trip so far.

Excellent work friends!!- For the Fridays multi stakeholder meeting….…but we realized… it’s not the end………the Sulukule people and the platform wanted a presentation with the us… and we also asked Niloufer(Mayor’s secretary) if we could present our work to the Mayor… this meant that the Fridays presentation was just a start of the whole process….
After Fridays’ presentation and Saturdays’ feedback session with the tutors, the words “window dressing” echoed in my mind, and I did not know what to do. Even though we discussed this in the feedback session; I was not convinced with myself, going back to the feeling - that if this is the right field for me…


Sunday 18th May

We celebrated on Saturday night, as we could not celebrate on Friday due to tiredness. Saturday night party was an incredible party. Everyone was craving for some enjoyment, and almost the entire class came together for the party!! 

Sunday was the day where all were supposed to visit the famous tourist destinations, but the work on posters for Monday’s presentation delayed this. After finishing my posters, I went to the amazing Topkapi palace. A must see for all art and architecture students, this palace is strategically located with stunning views of the Marmara Sea, Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Unimaginable beauty, domes all over the palace decorated by charming tiles and awesome gilding work. We also saw the world’s 5th largest diamond and some excellent small crafts studded with rubies, emerald stones. The next step was the even more wonderful experience of Sufi music concert and the Whirling Dervishes. Being a fan of Sufi music I was enchanted. Even though I heard that the dervishes were just trainees, and this was a fake attempt to lure tourists - I felt it was a complete experience.




Between the two Turkish delightful experiences, tired that we were Stephanie and me went to a local restaurant for orange juice. The casual chats lead to a mature meaningful conversation between two budding development practitioners. Ha… I know it’s quite an overstatement… but I think we need to start loving ourselves for what we are doing and be proud about us….

Well, we were amazed how far all of us have come in our career and “life”. A bold step of getting in the field of development, where more than half of the population in the world does not know this field…. We discussed how lost we were 24 days ago when we boarded the flight from London. We had a very hazy view of what we were going to do. We knew it would be a next step to last year’s report, but how? And was it possible? Our first visit to Sulukule felt as if we had lost the battle…..
Looking back today, it feels there is scope in every nook and corner; it’s just your perception and vision that matters. As mentioned in earlier blogs… all of us had their bad experiences in coordination with the group. But in the end we came up with a great show, and not just a show - A process which had just begun……..

Monday 20th May

Monday I woke up to very bright sunny day, and cooked some vegetables, had my lunch and left for a blissful experience of the great Turkish Hamam. Another Turkish cultural wonder, the feeling is simply superb when you lie down on the hot marble and look up at the dome with light filtering through the holes. You let yourself sweat…..the entire process of intoxication…. It’s a full process with even your mind letting you go free. One thought leads to another, when you feel…. You have nothing left, for that moment and then you reach that peak…. Sometimes you feel…you have slept….but no…its meditation……. Meditation is not concentration…but de-concentration…. (I don’t know if the word exists)
And after that what you need is an excellent massage by a bulky Turkish guy…who presses every muscle on your back…making you scream in your mouth…and then the foam bath with another head massage…. Till then you have become so light and rejuvenated; ready to face the amazing world you live in… the world you love………
I left the bath and went directly to the Sulukule café….. The posters were put up by the girls… thank you girls for doing this…and the community had started filtering in…… Cassidy took all the BUDD students to a corner…and asked us how to speak about our proposals….
Due to lack of leadership….. Cassidy had to do the posters work… … she was a bit angry with us… we apologise dear Cassidy… the posters looked amazing!!


The presentation began. Cassidy made it clear to the audience the stand that the university UCL, and DPU took for the project and also, that we have a presentation on Tuesday morning with the mayor. As the students explained their proposals, one by one, I felt the community getting more involved. One of the best audiences I have ever had in my life, and they clapped and cheered at every project. They nodded in agreement, when they felt they needed the project.
some snapshots......


the above image is titled - "speaker, translator, listener and the baby"

After I finished my presentation and Ola took over. I went behind to stand and have a look; and that’s when I realized something. Few people got up to shake hands and thanked me for the project. It was at this moment that I felt how important my project was for them. And this was the case with all the projects .When Diego says at the end of his project “and all will be happy”…this is what the struggle is all about…. Making ends meet…. “To create a win-win situation for all” (Burra, 2008)
And this is our work, as development practitioners….


I am amazed that the eight months in DPU I have learnt so much, gained so much knowledge. I would have been empty without it, and I am amazed that last two days have been the best days…. Cos through the process of self discovery through the Sufi concert and Hamam experience…. I have felt the same about my Career… my future life… it links….for me at least… somewhere…

And yes…we took a step ahead….

this was the last day we visited sulukule..... some snapshots.......



Mr Cheng du saying good bye to his favourite wall in chinese....monday ended with all of us preparing for the tuesday's presentation for mayor... and a small party at a local bar.. celebrating Roi's birthday and our last night in istanbul!!! cheers guys!!

Since I have been provided with the opportunity to write anything in this blog: P
I would like to thank all of you… personally...each of you has been a source of inspiration in some form of the other…. In random order… Elsie, Elly, River, Stephanie, Cristina, Roi, Isis, Ola, Hauxuan, Diego, Jonathan, Riccardo…. All your work so far… in London… and in the Istanbul has been wonderful…and it was fun sharing experiences…


Thanks to the tutors Michael, Yves and Cassidy for being there…and making this possible… a practical learning experience….