Istanbul - Sihirli Daireler

Most of us know it as Spirograph, but many Istanbul street vendors sell little sets packaged as Sihirli Daireler (Magic Circles). One of the said street vendors takes the credit for the bottom two pics. These magic patterns never fail to amaze me.

Istanbul sketchbook

Click to enlarge.

I've just returned from an inspiring trip to Istanbul.

My holiday read was Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk. There is a whole chapter devoted to Hüzün, the Turkish word for Melancholy. He writes- "hüzün, which denotes a melancholy that is communal rather than private. Offering no clarity; veiling reality instead, hüzün brings us comfort, softening the view like the condensation on a window when a tea kettle has been spouting steam on a winter's day."