Monday, February 10, 2025

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I know what I did last summer!

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Kamil CAKIR

Dear readers of ArtTmodernmiami, beautiful people! What’s up?

Hugs and love to all of you from the Aegean coast, my beautiful country where I am still experiencing the yellow summer.

At the beginning of July, after returning from the United Kingdom, I quickly returned to my hometown. Since I would be in vacation mode for a while, I had to make arrangements for work and power. I immediately started making preparations for my summer house. I was excited and bitter simultaneously as this was the first time, I would be staying for a long time this year. The absence of my father and mother had left me empty. No one left in my life to whom I had paid special attention and whose health and care I had worried about. From now on, I was entering a period in which I had to take care of myself, which I had neglected so much. I would be taking the steps of the beginning of a new era and a new life order.

My first goal was to make the programs that I had always postponed, postponed, postponed for another time, to visit and host friends, and to complete the unfinished works of my summer house.

Towards the middle of July, I made my way to my house, opened it, and took notes on what to do.

Experiencing the environment helps identify deficiencies in a new home. I created a list of missing items for my house.

Summer is a beautiful season, dear readers. At least it is the charming season for me. It has been my dream since I was a child; to live by the sea, to swim whenever I feel like it, to walk around in comfortable clothes with flip-flops on my feet, to spend idle time on warm beaches…

They don’t say in vain; be careful with your dreams, one day they will come true. Thank God it became mine.

This summer, I met with the sea, hot sands, endless beaches, long beaches, and the sun, I almost fell in love with the sea. Do you know, I thanked her for the last time today? During my summer; I for resting my soul, relieving my inner troubles, relieving my tiredness, opening her arms to celebrate my joys and excitements, relieving my pain like medicine, and embracing me without any questions. And he was always with me through it all.

My deepest gratitude goes to the Creator for presenting us with these beauties and bringing them together.

Dear sensitive souls of ArtTmodernmiami! This summer I will tell you about my true richness that I have realized its importance and value once again. I hope you will find something in what I have told you:

The greatest wealth of human beings is a family and a handful of true friends who always make you feel their love and support… Neither money nor property can match this. If you want to see someone you love in your last breath or you want them to see you off, know that these will be your closest ones, your friends, your family, your lover, etc. No one will care about their possessions, property, or gold anymore, as worldly things hold no meaning.

I don’t know how to describe the indescribable feeling of understanding the value of the concept of family in the hustle and bustle of life. It takes a while to realize that the times that pass as ordinary are the most special moments in your memories. When they told us this when we were young, it seemed so meaningless. As we grow older, we realize that life is short and time flies quickly. One of the key events that prompts this realization is losing someone close to you. Everyone has their own time to understand this truth, and when that moment arrives, it truly resonates.

Meals with your loved ones, boat trips on the turquoise blue sea, talking about the weather and land, deep coffee conversations, sharing times with the little ones of the house that they may never forget in the future… all of these are very precious.

This summer we had such times with some of my family members. Our escapes to the neighboring island of Samos in Greece, our feasts of Aegean olive oil dishes that we will never forget the taste of, our constant traffic of guests coming and going… or even artistic works with my nephew. We agreed to have another one next summer. It was a very enjoyable time.

I consider myself very lucky because next to my summer house is Dilek Peninsula – Büyük Menderes Delta National Park, one of the most unique natural areas of Turkey and the world. It is a very special area with its virgin bays surrounded by wild animals, birds, insects, plant and tree species. Fish species in the sea are protected by special agreements designed to safeguard their natural habitats.

I would like to describe the pristine and unique bays in the National Park and the turquoise blue of the sea, but sometimes words fail me. I am sharing a few photos with you so that you can better understand what I mean.

Throughout the summer we frequently visited the National Park. We fed wild boars and went by boat to pristine bays that could not be reached by car or on foot. We collected driftwood from these bays, which we could reach by swimming in the sea. I love decoration which I love to use in my artwork. All of them have now found their place in a corner of my house.

The sunsets where we soaked the sun, the raki tables where we raised a toast to us and life, the appetizers of the Aegean cuisine, some of which you need to get support from fresh herbs to make; stuffed zucchini blossoms, sea cowpeas, roasted hot herbs, eggplant shrug, radish salad, atom meze and how we devoured the unique seafood of the Aegean sea. All of it was unforgettable and the moments we experienced together were unforgettable.

This summer, in addition to my family, I also hosted close friends and acquaintances. We gathered with those who frequently call and check in on me, are concerned during my silence, and share my joys and sorrows. These friends make me feel connected and help bridge the gap between me and those far away. As we grow older, our circles tend to shrink, but the remaining ones become the most precious. I’m sure you have friends like this too. I discussed this topic in detail in my article “Crossroads” last month. Those who read it will remember.  I said, “The people we think we are walking the same path together, in fact, only accompany us to where they are going.” That’s why it is so precious to accumulate good memories with those you are still on the road with. Even if you part ways in the future, there should be people in your life that you will remember with love, respect, and gratitude.

Happily, for me, this summer I have added new books to my library of memories with my dear friends:

We spent long summer nights in conversations together. Sometimes we worried, sometimes we were sad, sometimes we laughed, sometimes we had fun. We raised the sea together, walked the beaches, soaked in the sun, and made castles out of the sand and towers out of stones. Sometimes we went to the city and got a little horny. Bar, club, wherever our compass pointed. Well… you have to give credit where credit is due. Isn’t this summer?

While all this was going on, time also passed. It has always hurt me not to be able to hold the passing of time, not to be able to dominate it.  You know, in the end, we have to be content with the memories we have left…this has always touched me. But then the lines of Murathan Mungan, a poet-writer whom I love and know very well, always came to my mind:

“Summer passes and comes again,

Summer passes, and words are good for you”.

– Murathan Mungan –

None of us can determine our lifespan. How many summers, and how many winters, do we live in? Have you ever thought; how many summers fit into one life? The answer to this will be different for all of us. So, let’s appreciate what we have lived. Let’s collect as many memories as possible. I would like to ask you based on the fact that this article meets different readers from different countries:

– What is summer like in your parts of the world?

If you are on the Aegean coast;

the sun will warm you up,

you get wet with the waves in its bays.

You walk barefoot on its beaches,

It is brewed at raki tables,

Your head gets smoky with sad songs.

Even the summer;

Conversations always start with that summer.

The wind on your face,

his emotion in the poem,

Sometimes it’s felt in songs.

Some are struck by love, some by sadness.

Surely there are those of you who don’t care …

he’s never been to the depths of life,

And just like that, he passed away from this mortal world.

Do you remember?

It was a summer night,

And the moon is full.

How nice it was to know you.

Wandering in the places you love,

to be covered in the songs we love.

You told me,

I told him.

How nice:

Two strangers

Two confessors!

Broken, wounded, tired.

Full moon witness

Hours are the enemy

Night has passed

Daytime was next.

You’re on your way

I’m on my way.

Would there be more to this?

I would like to say

When there are two sides to every story

And when fate is in love with intention!

On the other hand, I know;

When old roads don’t open new doors…

How beautiful last SUMMER

Do you remember?

It was a summer night,

The moon is also full.

Kamil Cakir

In the meantime, important route information for those who will be traveling to Turkey:

DILEK PENINSULA – GREAT MEANDER DELTA NATIONAL PARK

Dilek Peninsula – Büyük Menderes Delta National Park, one of the most unique natural areas of Turkey and the world, has an area of 27,675 hectares. It is protected by international treaties.

Opposite it is the Aegean island of Samos (Samos). Panionios, the sacred gathering center of 12 Aegean (Ionian) cities in the 9th century BC, the ancient city of Thebai, Ayayorgi Monastery, historical Doğanbey Village, Karina, Hagios Antonios Monastery, and Zeus Cave are also within the boundaries of the National Park.

Dilek Peninsula – Büyük Menderes Delta National Park is unique in the world; on the one hand, it is a botanical garden where almost all the plants spread along the coasts from the Mediterranean to the Caucasus are naturally seen together; a mountainous area with its birds of prey and wild animals and the underwater richness surrounding it; on the other hand, a delta with hundreds of bird species, rich fish varieties and historical and cultural richness surrounding all these.

If you want to visit Dilek Peninsula National Park, you must visit Kuşadası, a coastal town in Aydın province. When you arrive in Kuşadası, 20-30 minutes away, there is Selçuk district of İzmir province. In Selçuk, which is in a significant location, you can visit the Temple of Artemis, which is on the Unesco World Heritage list and one of the seven wonders of the world, the Celsus Library, one of the most important libraries of antiquity, the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the twelve cities of Ionia in the classical Greek period, a Roman city, and the Ephesus Experience Museum, which was awarded first place in the “Museums” category at the Mondo-Dr 2024 Awards.

You will also have the chance to see it. The Ephesus Experience Museum offers visitors the opportunity to personally experience daily life, architecture, and art in Ancient Ephesus through “immersive” technologies.

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