Füsun Kamışoğlu
İstanbul, Türkiye
"I am crossing over the Bosphorus to meet some friends, have a coffee and see a new exhibition in the İstanbul Modern Art Museum on the European side of İstanbul. This will be a real treat for me because it is not always easy to find time for myself between my work as a teacher, and my family obligations.
"İstanbul is a huge and crowded city with real big city traffic. I always choose public transportation as a way to move around the city because the metro lines and, of course, the frequent ferry lines give me the best option to bypass that traffic. Today, I will use the Karaköy ferry. I must add, the 20 minute ferry ride is not only a ‘ride’ but it is a real treat with amazing İstanbul coastline scenes. Twenty minutes on the sea, with the tides, maybe some music in my ears and my book. It is a real luxury to be able to get out of the chaos of the city and find serenity. Any İstanbullian would tell you that the ferries are not only a means of transport but an intrinsic part of the city’s culture, a part of our collective memory as the citizens of this city."
“The 20 minute ferry ride is not only a ‘ride’ but it is a real treat… with the tides, maybe some music in my ears and my book. It is a real luxury to be able to get out of the chaos of the city and find serenity.”
"You know what, I may also say a similar thing for the metro, the buses, and trams from the perspective of a 5 year old. My boy was obsessed with the metro when he was little, and I remember a day that we just rode the tram. Nowhere to go, the sole purpose of the day was to be on the tram. Changed lines, went back and forth for hours. This was one of his favorite memories. The buses, the tram, the metro… They are not just vehicles but also mesmerizing things out of a dreamland for children. Maybe, we forget how magical they are as we grow up."