Portrait of Ataturk at the 'Republic and Democracy Rally', Taksim square, Istanbul, Sunday, July 24, 2016. Petros Kardjias /Press Association. All rights reserved. The weather is hot, a little bit too hot maybe. But okay. It has been all rainy lately and now the sun is shining brightly. I am sitting in the middle of a square in a relatively small town in Europe with an ice-cold beer in my hand. The square is quite large, full of bars and cafés. Although it is Monday, it is replete with people. It is hard to find a place to sit. I did. I am quite happy.
I have been living in Europe for the last six years and I always find it fascinating how when the summer arrives, the entire town takes on the posture of a huge holiday resort. Life slows down and displays perhaps a superficial but still an intimate sense of peace, calm and serenity.
I sit in the middle of a town square in what resembles a huge holiday resort full of people of no matter what religion, descent, or colour. I look around, my gaze hidden behind my sun glasses. Around one of the tables on my right, I see seated an Indian family. Probably they came to visit their daughter who, I guess, is doing a PhD here. I bet they didn’t expect this weather here. Just next to that table, I see three women, each uniquely beautiful and rather bold. I then turn my head to the left. I see a young couple, sitting quite close to one another. From time to time, they resist kissing one another. Perhaps, they have just started to date. A little bit on the left, I see a table of five men drinking cola, smoking heavily and enjoying the sun. Just next to them, there is a group of quite original and pretentious ‘hipsters’. Then come two young girls, one white, and the other black. The latter wears a pullover and shorts, a combination designed to capture people’s attention. It succeeds. They sit and are immediately engrossed in a heated conversation.
