Elly s visit to Oslo and to Istanbul in September/October 2015

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1 Elly s visit to Oslo and to Istanbul in September/October 2015 I was on sabbatical in the fall of 2015 and was invited to the Centre for the Study of Mind in Nature. The point to these visits is to talk to people and exchange ideas and it was very helpful, especially for my project on argument structure. My office was gorgeous but empty and that s great to focus! The below reflects my non academic impressions. At the end of this trip, I also managed to add an extremely full and worthwhile day in Istanbul, doing touristy things. Oslo I love being in Oslo; it is such an interesting city to walk in with so many different and colorful architectural features and each corner one turns there is a new perspective. It is an old city and built on an area used since the bronze age. This time I got to see the Ekeberg rockcarvings which are 6000 years old. (See also hauge.com/helleristngbild.htm). Ekeberg Rockcarvings Older buildings along Akersveien Detail I lived in an apartment building in the middle of the city and half an hour s walk to the university at Blindern. The building was from the latter part of the 19 th century as are many building in Oslo; most are painted in very bright colors. One favorite restaurant is Lorry s (lorry.no/) which serves good Norwegian food, like Fårikål. This is a delicious mixture of cabbage and meat but too much so that companion dogs get to eat as well. One of the joys I have in new places (and old ones) is coming across unexpected street art. Although Oslo is now a very gentrified city (and cleaned and monitored constantly), I still managed to spot some of my beloved street art. Most of these were in areas where it is `tolerated. See the appendix at the end. 1

2 `My building on Unterhaugsveien 15 Walking distance to everywhere! Eating Fårikål at Lorry Brennerveien street art Although the Museum of Contemporary Art had an exhibit on arte povera, a movement very critical of the arts and other establishment groups, it is telling that they are moving to a new location, the National Museum at the Vestbanen. For most of its life, this museum has been housed in an old bank building on Bankplassen which gave an interesting perspective to the art displayed. The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art had previously relocated from this area to the more `fashionable end of Aker Brygge to a building by Renzo Piano and exhibits Damien Hirst animals! I first visited the Munchmuseum when I was a student traveling around Europe and that was wonderful then: only Munch paintings. Most museums now have to outdo themselves on new exhibits all the time and the Munch is no exception. So, this time they compared the sculptor Vigeland with Munch. The two artists had known each other, so it was not a strange thing. However, I happen not to like Vigeland s work much and they only had a few of Munch s paintings, e.g. the one shown here. I hadn t noticed it before but he used dry pastel on the oil for the hair. And of course the Munch museum will be moving as well. Oslo can t leave things as they are! 2

3 Munch Olav Strømme, 1934, Stenersen Istanbul When I lived in the Netherlands in the 1980s, I had taught Dutch to Turkish women so had always followed the political developments a little. On this trip, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a woman from Istanbul and talk for 3 hours about the situation in Turkey and Istanbul and I sat next to a Kurd on the next flight, so some of the perspectives are from them. The day I arrived, the horrible attack on a Kurdish demonstration took place in Ankara that killed over a 100 people. The Turkish government was fast to blame the Kurds themselves, i.e. the PKK! Turkey sits on a slice of Europe but has most of its territory in Asia. Artifacts and fossils from 400,000 years ago have been found in the Yarimburgaz Cave and, at Göbekli Tepe, there is what looks like a temple that is 12,000 years old, i.e. before the change to an agricultural society. Turkey s recent culture developed through Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman contacts. The Bosphorus Strait connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and divides Istanbul into its European and Asian parts. Istanbul is the largest European city with 14 million inhabitants. The traffic is crazy because the infrastructure hasn t kept up with the many people who move to it. There is of course a huge refugee crisis, with the war in Syria, but many of the real estate problems arise because they are being bought up by non residents. One figure is that half of the real estate transactions were foreign, which the current government is happy with. Since May 2013, there have been protests in Taksim Square about the urban development plans. Taksim Square, Oct 2015 A varied dresscode Along the Galata Bridge I ll leave the politics and focus on the beauty of Istanbul instead. The high points to me were of course the Hagia Sophia, the archeological museum, the Blue Mosque, the Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, the Galata and Bosphorus bridges. Geert Mak s Op de brug had given me an introduction to the various 3

4 professions on the Galata bridge and it made me look at the various sales(wo)men in a very different light. Topkapi Palace, harem Detail, 11 th C mosaic Hagia Sophia Blue Mosque Hagia Sofia The Bosphorous Bridge 4

5 The archeological museum houses an interesting collection, e.g. the Taanach Censer below found in Israel and various Cuneiform tablets. The one below is said to have the laws with varying fines for blinding and bewitching free men and slaves. No mention of Göbekli Tepe yet though. Censer Hittite Law Texts Fortunately, not everything is polished up in the city. There is some color on the streets and some pictures follow. Amazingly intricate (but I don t live there!) North of Galata Bridge 5

6 Northside of Galata Bridge Cats and dogs are everywhere and amazingly affectionate. I had several cats jump on me. The dogs seem well cared for, apparently by the city. I read a story where a long time ago they had rounded them up and put them on an island. Things have changed for the better in this respect! By the Hagia Sophia Also by the HS Topkapi gardens 6

7 Appendix on Oslo Street Art As I mentioned, the street art is cleaned up quite quickly except in certain areas like around the Blitzhuset on the Pilestredet, on the Hausmangate, on the Brennersveien, and around the skateboard park in the Old Town. Gamle By skate center Blitzhuset area This movement is very international. The German köpi bleibt becomes the following in Oslo. Also along Pilestredet, across from the Blitzhuset In more detail Brennerveien 7

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9 Various political messages: Syria and Mexico Hausmancomplex 9

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11 Outside the core areas The below were across the street from each other on Akersveien. Akersveien 11

12 In the old part Across from Bislett Stadium Not sure about all the `up Along Pilestredet, one side On the other side Towards the east Across the river 12

13 Unterhaugsveien Cleaning it up Underhaugsveien and along Pilestredet Beautiful other street art and and street art in oslo/ 13