After a long day of walking, Dr. Martins feel heavy on your feet. The sun has sinked from the highest point of the sky. As you walk a narrow street bright daylight and dark shadows alter between one another creating heavy contrasts that your eyes have trouble adjusting to. You pass several businesses, that have closed their doors. With your hands around the face, you peak in from the windows. Coffee beans, cezve, sugar dispensers and cutlery on a countertop of a restaurant that is filled with empty tables. Next door you see a hairdresser's chair that is designed for washing hair. Windows covered with graffiti and interior deteriorating, these spaces have been out of business for years now. It looks as if an emergency has swept over the city, leaving only a ghost down behind.
The impressions quickly change as you continue the journey. You take a path that follows the edge of a park with branches of blossoming trees bending to the sidewalk. Your gaze wanders in from the window of a basement apartment. A lazy cat is liking themselves on the windowsill, while a young woman is slouching on a bed and smoking a cigarette.
Among buildings that are mostly from 1980’s /1990's, there are some that based on the influenced of Bauhaus appear to be from the 1930’s. Their marble entrances and New York style front desks, give away that these used to be for the rich. Once an area for the high society, these buildings are now habited by families mostly with immigrant backgrounds. Because their apartments are small and crowded the outdoor air has its appeal. The streets are filled with playing children, while men sit in cafes and sip their expressos. A maple tree gives a pleasant shadow. Even though it looks out of place here because of the dry climate, it is able to grow thanks to the river that used to be here before it was filled on the requests of the citizens.
While relying on intuition as your guide, and not using a map, the overall picture of the city is fragmental. While there lacks a feeling that I know where each part of its body lies, these walks have produced knowledge of the city on a horizontal level. As I recognising bits and pieces, I am able to find threads that finally lead me back to the hotel.
