IN HONOR OF FATHER’S DAY
My late father and I used to go to Beyoğlu on some days. We would visit his friend at his shop, and then we would go to İstiklal Square.
My father would kneel beside me, bringing himself to my level. We would make eye contact. He would hold my shoulder and stroke my hair. He would adjust my little jacket. Then we would look out at the street. He would tell me about old Istanbul, about how people communicated and interacted with each other in those years.
“Look, son. It’s 1953. I’m 20 years old. It’s early in the morning. People are going to work. The women are in formal attire and quite elegant. The men are in suits. They all wear charismatic fedora hats. Everyone, whether they know each other or not, is exchanging greetings with smiles while trying to get to work on time.”
“Good morning, sir/madam. How are you?”
Now, today, in the same place, I ask myself the same question: What has changed over the years?
Perhaps, right now, values that we are unaware of, or may never even remember, seem to us as the only reality, the only role. But if only we could see the magnificent colors within ourselves, and then in each other, who knows what we might discover?
I am one of you, a traveler striving to learn anew every day as I continue to search for the answer to this question on this colorful canvas we call life.
I wholeheartedly celebrate Father’s Day for all fathers who make everyone feel valued in their environment.
Uğur Uğural
