Istanbul is not the first place we associate with revolution. Paris, 1968, maybe, or east Berlin, circa 1989. Given Turkey’s continued economic growth and strategic importance, it was inevitable that it would become a site of international leftist activity, not just that of domestic political organizations.
This sticker, affixed to a newspaper box in Kreuzberg, a heavily Turkish neighborhood in central Berlin, is one such example. Advertising an anti-IMF/World Bank gathering in Istanbul in the Fall of 2009, its presence is a reflection of how integrated Turkey has become in the minds and the politics of the West.
Photograph courtesy of Joel Schalit
Really? This is newsworthy? Was expecting an article on activism in Istanbul after this teaser, get a random picture taken in Kreuzberg.
Hi Wayne,
Thanks for your comment. I’ll answer in place of the author, because of the nature of the column this piece appears in. If you explore Randomizer, you’ll see that it’s a photo column, with extended captions.
We set this column up deliberately as a Visual department series in order to give ourselves the freedom to do that. Sometimes a decent photo deserves more than a sentence or two caption. I’m sure you’ll agree.
As far as ‘newsworthy’ goes, that’s worth answering, too. Souciant isn’t a news mag. We’re timely without being current events-driven. We’d rather not do the news thing. There’s too much out there already.
Thanks, Joel