We desire understanding, so we seek to map the unknown. But maps require lines, compartments, official names and conventions in order to normalize this understanding, and it is these measures that I do not fully trust. Not with the legacy of colonialism still so strong in the south, and of race science getting stronger in the north. So I will not map relationships. Despite my African childhood, it's not my place. It's not our place. Instead, let me offer these straight-forward portraits of Turkish cloth-sellers getting ready to describe their most beloved place in their home town, and leave it at that.
Istanbul Microphone Men
Santiago Mostyn, Ibraaz, March 31, 2015
