Much More Than an Art Class...

Although it has officially been one week since our arrival to Istanbul, it seems as if it has already been a month. In no time at all, we have learned to buy groceries, haggle for prices, ride the public transportations, and politely decline marriage proposals from Turkish men. Today, classes resumed as usual in the terrace of our apartments. We have been studying and discussing the history and complexity of the Islamic faith and its origins. Three groups have been created to rotate through different activities for the next couple of days: Marbling art classes, Aya Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar. My group today was assigned to go to marbling art class. After a quick lunch and stop at the Mado, the popular ice cream parlor, off to Turkish marbling class we went. For those of you that have not the slightest idea what marbling is, I would highly recommend looking up some pictures on Google so that you can get an idea of the beautiful designs that can be created. Simply put, marbling is a method of aqueous surface design where patterns are the result of color floated on some liquid and then carefully transferred to an absorbent paper. Our instructor gave us a quick example of the types of designs we could experiment with and then gave us free reign. Pretty much, marbling is awesome. Absolutely no skill is required to create a masterpiece. You can be born without a single artistic bone in your body, splash some colors in the water, swivel the brush back and forth, and viola…you have just created a design worthy of the LACMA. I absolutely loved marbling. I loved it so much in fact, that I plan on going back to buy a beginners kit to bring with me to the states. I have realized though, that it was not just marbling that I came to love, but the atmosphere itself. Our instructors were a husband and wife couple. Bright, energetic, and full of energy, they taught us simple techniques in marbling while conversing with us about everything and anything. After the class, they invited us to their terrace to drink tea and see a breathtaking view that is living proof as to why I have declared Istanbul as one of the prettiest cities I have ever visited. I remember the husband telling me that as much as he loves the United States, Istanbul is where he belongs. This is the city that practices genuine friendliness and hospitality, values personal relationship over time and money. It is here where one can be expected to meet 10 new individuals in a single day that you then invite to your home to drink tea. Schedules and itineraries are long forgotten and replaced with instead with organized spontaneity. If I have learned one thing today, I have learned that here in Istanbul, life is about community.