I only take pics

  Bishkek Kyrgyzstan I had the opportunity to live in Bishkek for two months, while I was volunteering for a contemporary art association.  Those two months were very intense, and they literally flew between amazing people, wonderful landscapes and discovering a new culture. I think that what I brought with me from this experience are human relationships, Kyrgyz are smiling people, open to helping you and sharing their culture. I also found some parallelism between Kyrgyz and Italians (at least people from Bishkek), they have the same behaviour on the streets, they honk, they get angry, and they have their own rules. B' art contemporary organised a nomadic art camp from 2011 till 2019, my volunteer job was to organise it for 2021 but in the end, it wasn't possible because of the pandemic situation. The plan b was to do a series of workshops between expat artists in Bishkek and local artists, with an exhibition at the end of them. The time was not enough to fully concretise thi...

Istanbul While in the  first part  I was talking about European Istanbul in this post I will describe the Asian region.  The other side of the Bosphorus is quite different and very interesting. The areas of that part of the city are quite distinct between each other and very characteristics. I have to say that some places to visit were close because of the pandemic situation, so I had time to visit these areas that most probably I wouldn't. Kuzguncuk This is one of the places I loved the most, mainly because it surprised me positively. The architecture is particular, I didn't expect it in Istanbul: wooden houses full of colours, nice shops, restaurants and cafes with tables and chairs on the street. The word Kuzguncuk means "little raven" or "barred window of a prison door" in Turkish. The name is said to come from Kuzgun Baba who lived in the area during the time of the sultan Mehmet II. I have to say that I felt a different atmosphere here on the Asian sid...

Istanbul This was my first trip outside Europe since 2019, my destination was Kyrgyzstan , where I was for two months. I had to transit in Istanbul so I decided to stop there for 4 days. What impressed me the most was how welcoming Turkish people are, an amazing memory I will keep with me forever is the Turkish wedding I attended. When I am travelling alone I usually try to meet locals and live with them or at least hangout. This time I met Onur who invited me to his sister's wedding, he picked me up from the airport and directly to the wedding, really an unusual start to a trip!.  There I met his relatives, ate good food and dance a lot, an amazing experience!. One of the first things that Onur told me was: "you will learn Turkish dances!", I don't know if I learn them, but for sure I practice a lot, I'm confident there are tons of videos of me dancing at that wedding. Topkapi Palace Museum The day after Onur helped me to visit the most important things downtown,...