This is a small selection of photos from my return home to Bodrum, a seaside town in southern Turkey. I use the word “home” loosely because it’s not the town I grew up in, but it’s where my family congregates every August. It’s also where I spent all summers between school years processing what had happened over the past twelve months, so I guess in a sense it really is where I did my growing up. Going back to Bodrum always feels like a return to childhood, to the most familiar and comforting part of my life. ♦
Just as the sun was setting. This is both the saddest and the most beautiful part of the day. Nostalgia and appreciation intertwined.
Tomatoes in the sun. I have one for breakfast every morning, with bread and feta and olive oil. The vegetables you get in Turkey are so vibrant and plump, little works of art in their own right.
On the way home with Ayko and Mami. A feel-good moment, with the sun streaming into our car. Ayko is like my second father. Being around him instantly puts me in a good mood.
A photo of my mom, shot from the backseat. She is always the brightest, happiest version of herself when she’s had some time in the sun. I think she looks beautiful.
Jeremy getting fried in the sun, his first break in a few months as well as his first time in Bodrum. Here he’s in relaxation mode.
The tea cups are brought out around 5 o’clock in the afternoon and everyone fills and refills them until the big pot runs out. My brother and my dad are always first in line.
A view of the sea from the boat window. Hard to capture how beautiful it looks, especially on black and white film. But I love how moody it is, sometimes as serene as velvet and other times untamable.
On my birthday we stopped by these rocks and went swimming. We were the only ones in the bay, and it’s funny how sometimes you can feel so much more like you’re in the thick of life when there’s no one else around.
I can’t think of a place where I feel more myself.