Argue with a woman in the covered bazaar
Shooing the precious stone dealers
Find a café and sip cay
Play chess with the grandfathers of the city
Sundown
Meet an old friend in a yali along the Bosphorus
Venture to a 300 year old hamam
Euphoria is brought by cold water then hot water
Then cold water on tense shoulders
Skin is scrubbed and abandoned on marble floor
Along with wet towels soaking up the workday
A child with hair like nettles leaves
Peddles T-Shirts
Passes on us when it is revealed
That our money is not American
Under a quarter moon
Cheeks press against a windowpane
Catching the peep show where
Thick women roll manti on mosaic tables
While cosmopolitans pose like mannequins and
Wait to be served
Hagia Sofya swallows an old notebook
Shelters green kittens from roughneck trolleys
Damp winter hails a taxi
Whose driver insists on driving to the bay
Eat the freshest fish in the Mediterranean
Gaze at the water buses carting tourists and workhorses
Purchase a pool stick in the Egyptian Market
Numb sore legs with a bottle of Raki in a covert basement
Owned by a French immigrant and his sister
Crawl over the bridge to Taksim Square
Baklava and Coffee offer recompense
Morning drapes gold sky over Topkapi Palace
Nodding to the wail of a Russian oil tanker
Like embellished memories of a leftover Pasha
Those awake are consumed by a most delectable
Huzun
One City. Two Continents.
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3 Musings:
Pretty! What does Huzun mean?
Well, the thing is, there is no accurate translation of "Huzun."
"Huzun" very very very loosely means melancholy. But my understanding is that melancholy is an unacceptable translation because Huzun happens in the gut, in the deepest chambers of the spirit, and more importantly it is a collective feeling, one felt by a greater population, and therefore somewhat less of an isolated, personal feeling (And less cerebral) than melancholy. But even that is a poor translation. I guess it is a deep, profound, shared sadness, laced with a contrast of beauty and wonder mixed with despair.
See, the poem would have been much longer if I tried to do it in English, and also "Huzun" sounds nicer.
(It actually has an umlaut over each "U" and is pronounced HOO-ZOON, but it is a very deep "U" sound; make a tiny "o" with your mouth for the U's.)
Other Translations:
Cay- Tea.
Yali- Old Wooden Mansion from the days of the Sultans that line the coast of the Bosphorus.
Hamam- Turkish Bath House.
Manti- Turkish food, kind of like Ravioli, but with lamb meat in the center and served in a sauce that is a mix of tomato and yogurt.
Hagia Sofya- Largest indoor structure in the world. Unofficially one of the wonders of the world.
Raki- A licorice flavored alcoholic drink served with water. Gives a warm, clean buxx much like Japanese Sake.
Topkapi Palace- The Ottoman palace where the Sultans once lived. Now just a really gorgeous museum.
Pasha- High ranking official in the Ottoman government, much like a governor or general, but with a nobility attached similar to a European Lord or Duke. During the revolution they had all of their wealth and land stripped from them and many were exiled from Turkey.
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