Urban Flaneur Guidebook

(Image found at http://www.vagabondjourney.com/2009-travel-photos/water-protest-istanbul.jpg at Vagonbond.Journey.com. If you have further interst about the surroundings of the above photo, please read the following page on this website: http://www.vagabondjourney.com/travelogue/2009/03/water-wars-in-istanbul-turkey.html ) The city is often the backdrop of protest. Cities should allow peaceful protest as a way for its citizens to express their concerns about local or international issues. In civil societies, it can be a venue to educate urban residents and others about their concerns. However, in some cases the atmosphere is presumed to be one of conflict by local authorities. This was often the case in Istanbul. I was by happenstance in Uskardar (Asian side of Istanbul) on a day when the Turkish Communist Party was organizing a rally. The police was there with tanks and lined up geared up for conflict. It was a grey rainy day which added to the foreboding atmosphere of possible vi...

What a wonderful scene! This is the famous beach of Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro. The view is spectacular, the beaches wide and cafes everywhere. This photograph was taken in winter time, but winter is not so bad in Rio-- as can be seen. However, it can be also rainy and inhospitable in winter, as I also discovered. In this photograph, people are in casual attire, biking, talking and enjoying the atmosphere. If not for other engagements and need for additional income, I would have gladly missed my plane and stayed for an extended period. Urban magical places just don't happen. They are created and nurtured! Granted, some are helped by nature, as in case of Rio. However, despite having one of the most spectacular beaches in the world, this could have been a drab place.

This is the pedestrian bridge across the Thames River in London which links the St. Paul area with the New Tate Gallery. Instead of a plain bridge, this is a work of art in itself connecting both in physical and metaphorical space the museum with the masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren (St. Paul's Cathedral). This photo even show how the bridge does not hide St. Paul's, but frames it. Although I have a mixed view of the Bauhaus School , because it resulted in modern architecture which has made city skylines around the world the same, the concept of utilitarian as art that the School promoted is thankfully still being practiced in some rare places.

I saw Patricia Kaas in Istanbul. I became an instant fan. This video and the song embodies the feeling of being a flaneur.

The above is the Christ the Redeemer which overlooks Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. It is probably one of the most recognizable statues in the world. It is the “brand” for Rio de Janeiro. I was there in July for a conference and was able to visit it up close. It is quite a journey to get up to the summit. It is an impressive statue. However, the sublime mixes with the comic and the tawdry. There are the throngs of tourist taking pictures with their arm out streched, as if this is the way one should pose for a picture there. Then there are numerous shops selling miniatures of the statue. However, the view is one of the most spectacular in the world. There is Rio all below you. If you can ignore the tourists and just take a litte time to look around you it, it is a moment of zen- a moment which can not be described that overloads our finite minds and be reflected upon to gain greater awareness. (My greatest moment of zen was standing on a cliff on the Aran Islands in Ireland—seeing the...

The picture to the right is a ruined church in the city of Ani in northeastern Turkey on the Turkish/Armenian border. It is not on the tourist routes as yet-as it was previously restricted. Therefore, one can get the full impact of this amazing place. This place is haunted by the ghosts of the past. You can sense this from the moment that you enter this place. Ani was once one of the most prosperous cities in the region. At one time, a rival to Constantinope (Istanbul). Now, there is nothing but the wind blowing. If great cities can become desolate places, what does this say about the permance of our present cities. Can one be an urban flaneur while walking among the ruins of this ancient city? It is no longer a city because people do not inhabitate it. Do the ruined buildings speak to us of lessons that we can learn?

Well, this is not exactly urban. However, inspiration can happen anywhere. This is a picture from a small village in east Bulgaria. The woman is strolling down the dirt road just for the sake of doing so--enjoying the sounds of nature, hearing the bleating of goats and not hearing the sounds of modern urbanity (sirens, car noises etc.) This village started me to think about the means to reach urban sustainability. Each house has a garden where they can grow enough fruits and vegetables for themselves and for resale. You can walk to the store for groceries. There is a communal goat herd which has individual owners, but walked by a group of older men. So, there is a source of meat and milk. Most have their own chickens and pigs. The only need is electricity. However, with a few windmills, solar power and small hydro-electric plants (this is depending if this is feasible for the area), the need for electricity will be greatly diminished. However, could other people in developed countries ...

The city can be a bleak and sterile place. Unfortunately, treating places as industrial commodities results in these stark environments. This picture was taken in a garage on the outskirts of Sofia. I decided to convert this photo which was originally in color to grey scale to accentuate the drabness of this location. In the background, one can observe the apartment complexes that are typical of Communist era construction.

The above photograph was taken in a small suburban city outside of Sofia, Bulgaria. The trains pass through the city about every hour. What is it about trains that facinate me? They have been an intergral part of the fabric of cities for over a hundred years. What are they symbolizing and why do we look at them with such feelings? When the railroad was the dominant form of transportation, the station was one of the focal points of cities. The architecture of railway stations was some of the most interesting and eclectic. This deverses further contemplation and mayber some follow up at a later time.

This is a photograph of a new office buiding in the suburbs of Istanbul. You will not find this is the guidebooks of Istanbul. Rising over the blandness of modern suburbia is the new obelysk. But, instead of telling of the triumphs of the Pharohs and the gods, it is relating to those who view it of the dominance of capital. The obvious obscenity of this buiding goes unnoticed by the vast majority of those viewing it. Or maybe, they have been lulled into complacency subconsiously by the blantaness of consumerism and capatalism. Have they accepted that they are the slaves of capatilism, just as those who viewed the obelysks in Egypt knew that they were either actual or figurative slaves to the Pharoh. If this disturbs you, then you are making the realization that modernism/post-modernism is draining the soul of the city.

(picture taken from online resources of the Chicago Institute of Art http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/20684 ) I was searching in google (googling) for blogs on the art of being a flaneur and came upon this page from a website: http://sites.google.com/site/videoflaneur2/aboutfl%C3%A2neur This page is connected with the webage of konstantinos-antonios goutos/the[video]Flâneu®, found at http://sites.google.com/site/videoflaneur2/ . Mr. Goutos uses video to illustrate the views of an urban flaneur. The quotes that struck me were the following: In the flâneur`s perceptive eyes, what appeared incoherent and meaningless gains focus and visability. The flâneur brings alive and invests with significance the fleeting, everyday occurrences of the city that ordinary people failed to notice. The unique relationship between the flâneur and the urban environment was invariably characterized by the metaphor of the city as text and the flâneur as reader. The above quotes were taken by ...

If you live in an urban area of any size, you have the potential to be an urban flaneur. A flaneur is one that strolls the streets of cities, observing the people, the buildings and events. But, observation is not objective, but subjective as an individual processes what s(h)e sees within his collection of experiences, culture and personal philosophy. In essence, everyone in an urban area is a potential flaneur. The difference is the ability to ability to observe and translate these observations into some media as plays, film, music, art , and writing (poems, novels, non-fiction, blogs-both analog or digital). The audience, the music listeners (live or recorded), the museum visitors (real, virtual, or printed in books) and readers reflect on what has been transmitted to them.

The Istanbul Blues It is a strange feeling being caught between two realities. One is the reality that I left in Istanbul and the other my present reality in the U.S.A. While coming back to the States has a feeling of comfort, being that I am American and this is the place where I am most familiar, it often feels like I am a stranger in my own country. It is a form of culture shock that will take some time to get accustomed. In previous years, I was visiting for two to three weeks, I was still connected to Istanbul and was not adjusted. I was a visitor to my own county. Now, my memories, my connections and my outlook still reflect my time my life in Istanbul. Somehow, my spirit is still in Istanbul, but my physical being is in the States. I yearn for Turkish food, to hear Turkish, to live in the chaos that I had adapted and the Marmara. But, as a new chapter closes, another one begins. Yet to get there, I must go through some the same stages as one who is mourning a lost loved one. Nev...

The Disposable Istanbul I can not remember how many times that I went into Istanbul from my home. It was a one to two hour trip depending upon the type of public transport that I decided to take. Every time, I tried to find some beauty in Istanbul outside of the walls, but was always disappointed. This is what the tourist does not see...the kilometers of bland apartment buildings, kitch commercial stores, monolythic shopping centers and the sea of vehicles, which are found all over the world. In Istanbul, there is no significant parks or open spaces in the western suburbs to break up this monotony. The poorer population often find green spaces only in the interchanges. On Sundays, the masses can be seen having picnics in these areas. These areas are dormitories for the nearby factories. It makes you wonder if the economic opportunity was worth it for those that migrated from Anatolia. Many come from the area of the the Black Sea near Trabzon area which is one of the most phenomenally b...

The Real Dervishes One of the symbols of Turkey on tourist posters and brochures, is the 'whirling dervishes'. There are several “shows” around Istanbul which cater to tourists. It seems to the outsider as a folk dance, but it is actually tied to Sufism- a mystic form of Islam. The 'whirling dervishes” is a practice of dance within this branch of Islam. It is not officially recognized as a religion by the Republic of Turkey. This goes back to the founding of the Republic where it was perceived that the Sufis had too much influence in the Ottoman Empire. The places where Sufism is practiced is termed a lodge, not a mosque. The real dervishes can be found in a small lodge in Fatih municipality. I went there several times. It is known by some touristx, but there is no charge This is because it is part of a worship service. Being Muslim, it is segregated according to gender. The women watch from the balcony through a lattice. The foreigners men and women are allowed to watch fr...

“Orhan Pamuk is not Turkish because he is from Mecidiyeköy” The first time I heard this from a friend, I was amused and intellectually fascinated by this logic. If you explain the logic to an ex-pat, who has lived in Turkey for more than one year, the “ah-ha” factor clicks in. For Turks living in Istanbul, no explanation is necessary. Either they agree with it or they discuss the problems with the problems of ultra-nationalism in Turkey and freedom of speech. For those who have never lived in Turkey, it is meaningless. Even with an explanation, it is still not clearly understandable. The readers should understand that this article is not pushing an agenda, but is discussed here to give them some insight and understanding on issues in Istanbul as they relate to Turkish politics. This is sensitive issue and is only discussed here in an objective manner and for intellectual pondering. I liked this topic because I am a geographer and further an urban geographer. For those not familiar with...

From Istanbul to Texas I have gone from a city of close to twenty million to one that is less than 20 thousand. However, this is not the first time that I have made this trip. However, before I was a visitor and this time I am returning to seek employment back in my native country, at least for a while. The experience is similar to 'channel surfing.' This year, it has really been that way for me. In three months, I went from the Istanbul to London, London to Texas, back to Istanbul, then to Brazil , back to Istanbul and then back to Texas. In the process, I have switched from Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese and English, sometimes within minutes. (Don't presume that I am fluent in all these languages, except for English.) My friends and colleagues are now spread between Australia, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Greece, U.K., Brazil and various places in the U.S. In the past, communication was only through letters. Now with e-mail, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, Skype, contacts can be easi...

The Changing Weather of Istanbul Last Sunday (6 September 2009) apparently was the last good weekend for a while. It was a wonderful day which was spent sunbathing and snorkeling at a nearby beach. The rain came in on Monday and the temperature dropped. It rained on Tuesday very hard and continued somewhat on Wednesday. Some of the surrounding cities in Trakya experienced flooding that washed away cars and inflicted other property damage. There were also some deaths. My question is: Could this catastrophe been avoided with proper floodplain management? This is a question that have to be answered by the appropriate authorities. It should also a question that many citizens of this area are asking of the authorities. In Istanbul, there are often abrupt changes in the weather. However, it is not true Mediterranean climate as it is also influenced by weather coming from Europe through Bulgaria and Greece and sometimes from Anatola. Summers have almost no rain and relatively hot. In the fall...

Sounds of Istanbul Cities are not just about images. They are about sounds. Here are some of the sounds of Istanbul. For those that have lived in Istanbul or visited, I sure that you can recall them and hear them in your mind. For those who have never been to Istanbul, I wish I could have provided sounds to give you give you a semblence of the complete audio-visual experience that makes Istanbul a stimulating exciting place. I quess some small sound bits would be nice, but at the time of this writing, I have to get back to packing and getting ready to leave The City. Here are some of the sounds that I can recall: The minibus honking his horn A ferryboat as it pulls into the dock A fishing boat chugging along in the early morning The sound of children playing out side and playing hide and seek bir, iki, uç, dort, beş... (one, two, three four, five...) The banging of the drum and the hypnotic sound of the sas (an oboe like instrument) for a wedding party A lone traveling grocer selling h...

The Children of Istanbul..the Forgotten and the Privileged One thing you get used to is the wide variety of situations in Istanbul. It is the same in all cities, but diffeent in those in developing nations. Children are the hope of any nation. The unchanging motto of the United Negro College Fund is “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” When I see children at the corner in Istanbul selling tissue or other trinkets, picking up garbage or begging, I often think of this statement. Why are they not in school? Are they being forced to do this by their parents? This is not unusual for developing nations. You see this in Mexico or in Brazil where I was recently. It still does not excuse it. In Istanbul, the use of adults is worse. Some children, I have been told and it is a widely known phenomena or urban myth and undocumented, are brought from eastern Turkey, hooked on glue and then are forced to pick-pocket to keep their habit alive and also bring the money to thugs. If there is any truth ...

Imdat .. Imdat... My apartment building is on fire Early one morning, when I was living in Büyükçekmece, I awoke with the smell of smoke. There was still some apartment buidings that still burned coal so I thought really nothing of it. Then, I realized that this was a very strong smell. I went to my door and opened it. The hallway was filled with smoke. I went to my balcony and looked down and smoke was coming from the apartment two floors down. At this point, I had very few words in my Turkish vocabulary.. but I remember the one for help—imdat. I yelled this out and fortunately some people heard me, saw the smoke and started to call on their cell phones. Soon the manager of the apartment came and motioned me to come down. I used whatever Turkish was at my disposal at this time and sign language (not official) to indicate that I could not because of the smoke. The firemen were there surprisingly soon. I covered my mouth with a towel and they escorted me down the stairs. At the bottom o...

Anastasian Wall This ancient wall is located about 40 kilometers from the center of Istanbul. I have been associated with research related to this wall for the past two years. Also, there will hopefully be a documentary forthcoming about this which I am the creative consultant and chief scriptwriter. This project started by me searching on the web concerning archeological ruins in the Istanbul area. I stumbled upon a webpage concerning the Anastasian Wall (see http://www.shc.ed.ac.uk/projects/longwalls/ ). Because of my interest in Remote Sensing (interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images) and archeology, and history, I started to investigate the area using a high resolution image and a image processing program (ERDAS). This led to starting on a documentary with a colleague of mine. After hearing about this project, some friends of mine also became fans of the Anastasian Wall. The reasearch assistants at the department “caught the bug” too and have been involved with in...

Aya (Hagia) Sofia and Sultan Ahmet Two of the most amazing monuments in Istanbul. There they are facing each other over the centuries, competing with each other. Aya (Hagia) Sofia or Saint Holy Wisdom is over 1,500 years old and still standing. Before the Vatican, before Notre Dame, before Westminster Abby, before the Sagrada Famila, there was Aya Sofia. It was the model to be duplicated throughout the centuries and surpassed. It was the symbol of Orthodoxy before the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Fatih Mehmet. Still, after all these years, the symbolism of this edifice is still lingering. When, the Pope visited Istanbul to meet with the Orthodox Patriarch, the media were watching to see if the Pope would pray in the Church. He did not for do so would have caused turmoil in the Middle East. Before that, several young Muslim men decided to pray in Aya Sofia. They were detained. Aya Sofia is now a museum. Before it was one of the chief mosques in Istanbul, during the Ottoman times...

Well, as long as the juices are following, I am cranking out these vignettes. They would be better sometimes with photo or even videos, but I let will let my readers fill in there own mental pictures and videos. Those that have lived in Istanbul, have their own images and stories. I welcome their comments and their stories. For those that have not visited or lived in Istanbul, hopefully one day you too can create your own memories. In the meantime, think of it as a meze (Turkish for appetizers). If you see any similarities in these snippets, it is not by design...well maybe there is some chaotic design...but this is going in another direction which we may not want to go at this time. And we won't. So without further commentary, her is my third, but not final installment. A Ride on a Dolmuş (pronounced Dolmush) This is better than almost any roller coaster, much more dangerous, but cheaper. Dolmuşes (well this is the Anglized plural, the Turkish would be dolmuşlar) are really only t...

The Only City in the World that Spans Two Continents This seems to be the mantra of Istanbul. It often proclaims itself as the bridge between East and West. These as both boosterism statements and need qualification. Being a geographer, definitions between regions are innately fuzzy. That Europe stops at one side of the Bosporus and Asia begins on the other is arbitrary. There is physically only one continent and that is the Eurasian continent if one defines a continent as one contiguous land mass that is a tectonic plate. If we consider a continent, as a physical barrier separating cultures, there also a problem with this as well. Societies from Asian and Europe have been migrating, invading, and sharing cultures for several thousands years. The Bosporus does not fit that characteristic. So, the symbol of bridges that promoters often use is purely metaphorical and has no substance. It is an intellectual vortex that traps all who enter and attempt to place any more meaning than one tha...

As I end my stay in Istanbul, it is time to reflect briefly on my observations while living here as an urban planner, urban geographer and transportation planner. Over the next couple of weeks, while not packing up and sending out my curriculum vita , I will be writing my thoughts about my stay here. These are strictly my opinions. You may agree or disagree. If you have comments, please write your comments below. I would be interested in reading them. Rootlessness and Lack of Civic Pride I was always amused when strangers asked me where I was from (yes, I know one should not end a sentence with a preposition). I originally stated U.S.A., but then realized that I was a resident of Istanbul and responded Istanbul. I came to find out that all residents of Istanbul ask Turks too the same question. It appears that nobody is from Istanbul, they all hail from some other area, even if they were born in Istanbul. The consequence is that nobody in Istanbul takes pride in living here. It is somet...

What is this? The title of the blog is an oximoron. A guidebook for an urban flaneur would be one with just impressions or blank. An urban flaneur disdains the idea that one can incapsulate a city into a select item of interest. In this light, I am lauching this new blog. A blog about experiencing the city in its totality. This idea sprung when I saw that my urbanism blog (http://mcadamsfatih1.blogspot.com/) had taken a detour with my posting on my reflections of my time in Istanbul, titled "A Farewell to Istanbul". Therefore, I will be transferring this section of the "Urbanism Blog of Dr. Michael A. McAdams" as soon as I can determine the best format for this body of work. My urbanism blog will revert to a more academic tone as it was originally intended. I would also welcome others who consider themselves urban flaneurs to send me their impressions of cities they have either visited or reside. This can also include photographs with comments. Overall, the purpose...