From absinthe to abstraction: A royal rebellion at Istanbul Airport
Ara Güler’s cafe, a leaping shepherd and Turkey’s work-life reality.
Welcome to Al-Monitor Istanbul.
This week's theme is airports, errors and escapes, from a princess’ abstract rebellion at Istanbul Airport to a shepherd’s flying leap in an 850-year-old race. We’ve got misguided flights, beautiful errors, offbeat cafes and one damning data point on work-life balance.
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Nazlan (@NazlanEr on X)
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1. Leading the week: A princess and a painting
“Abstract Composition,” by Fahrelnissa Zeid. (Courtesy of IGA)
Airports are temples of transit — designed for departures, delays and duty-free booze and perfume. But at Istanbul Airport’s new cultural wing, something unusual awaits: “Encountering Fahrelnissa Zeid: SOLO,” which is centered around Zeid’s enigmatic work “Abstract Composition” (1960). A kaleidoscopic work from her late abstract period, the canvas pulses with rhythm, color and something between divine geometry and chaos theory. Curated by Marcus Graf, the show is less “gallery” and more “capsule time-travel.”
Archival photos, video interviews, posters and diary fragments unfold around the canvas, charting the rollercoaster of Zeid’s life, from Ottoman aristocrat and Jordanian princess to avant-garde artist.
Born in Istanbul in 1901, Zeid studied at the Academy of Fine Arts as one of Turkey’s first female students, sipped absinthe with colleagues at the École de Paris, and later fused Islamic ornamentation with European abstraction into a genre all her own. Her style evolved midair — literally.
“Flying by plane transformed me,” she once wrote. “The world is upside down. A whole city could be held in your hand.”
Later in life, she returned to figuration with stylized portraits, including one titled “Someone from the Past.”
“I am a descendant of four civilizations,” she wrote of the work.
“In my self-portrait ... the hand is Persian, the dress Byzantine, the face is Cretan and the eyes Oriental — but I was not aware of this as I was painting it.”
“Someone from the Past,” by Zeid. (Raad Zeid Al-Hussein Collection © Raad bin Zeid/Tate Gallery)
Location: Istanbul Airport, A–B Knuckle of the International Departures terminal
Dates: Through Aug. 31
2. Word on the street: A snapshot escape at Ara Café
Ara Café – photos, memorabilia and good brownies. (Photo Ara Café Instagram)
Tucked on Tomtom Street in Beyoglu — just steps from Istiklal’s frenzy — Ara Cafe is named after legendary photojournalist Ara Guler, the “Eye of Istanbul.” The walls double as a tribute to the Magnum photographer's lens: black-and-white portraits of the city and its contradictions. The food is simple but delicious, with great pasta and brownies. The clientele includes tourists leafing through guidebooks and locals, particularly early-birds.
Location: Tomtom Mahallesi, Ara Guler Sokak, No:2 Beyoglu, Istanbul
3. Istanbul diary
“I do not want to sleep alone tonight” by Pamir Yildiran (Photo courtesy of X-ist)
At X-ist in Gumussuyu, the summer group show “My Beautiful Mistakes” elevates error to an art form. Esin Keskinoglu, Pamir Yildiran and Sefa Karakus embrace failure as muse, with the show running through Aug. 23 — a reminder that perfection is vastly overrated.
On the coastal resort of Alacati, Warehouse by The Stay is hosting Ekrem Yalcindag’s “Nature. Form. Perform.” throughout the summer. Nestled under olive trees, the luxury hotel’s impressive collection is further enhanced by this new exhibition co-organized by Izmir-based FA Gallery.
Mesher’s literary film series, which aims to complement its exhibition, “The Story Unfolds in Istanbul,” continues with “Le mystere des Desenchantees” (July 12), followed by Alain Robbe-Grillet’s Istanbul-set noir “L’Immortelle” (July 25). French with Turkish subtitles.
Reservations: here
4. Books of the week: "İstanbullu"
What happens when Istanbul’s ceaseless rhythm hits a hard pause at an airport, of all places? In Buket Uzuner’s “Istanbullu” or “The Istanbulite,” 15 people, including the beautiful and scarred Belgin, her Kurdish lover, her smug ex-husband and his social-climbing girlfriend, a Greek professor and a toilet attendant, are stranded under flickering lights and frozen departure boards. It’s the long-winded tale of collective, simmering tension — ethnic, political, existential — told with tenderness and irony by Uzuner, herself a trailblazing solo traveler and genre-defying novelist. The result: Istanbul and the heroine — an alter ego of the writer? — hold on tight.
5. Istanbul gaze
“Sheep Festival,ista” by Arda Tas. (Courtesy of Youth Eye on the Silk Roads/UNESCO)
The photo above, captured by Arda Tas, shows a shepherd and his sheep mid-leap in the annual 850-year-old Sheep Water Jumping Race in Asagiseyit village, near the southeastern city of Denizli. The image was one of the honorary mentions of the 2019–2020 edition of the “Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads” International Photo Contest, organized by UNESCO. The contest invites young photographers to explore the shared cultural heritage of the Silk Roads and promote dialogue and peace through visual storytelling. This year’s theme is “Women, Guardians of Silk Roads Heritage,” and entries are open to youth aged 14–25 until July 20, 2025. More info here.
6. By the numbers
- Dreaming of moving to Turkey for a better work-life balance? Think again — it may be a beautiful mistake. According to Remote.com’s 2025 Global Life-Work Balance Index, Turkey ranks 50th out of 60, scoring just 43 out of 100, well below the global average of 60.2. The culprit? Endless hours: Turks clock in 45 per week, compared to the global norm of 38.9.
- Holiday escapes are also hard to come by. Paid leave is stingy: 14 days versus an average of 24.3 among top-ranked countries.
- And happiness? Turkey scores 2.4 out of 10, where the average is 6.1.