Poem by Artist Sadri Alışık
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
This is my first time into the world,
By destroying the reign of Great Fatih.
A day between the swaddling and the shroud,
Istanbul, My phrase of Istanbul.
Hello Kızkulesi,
Hello Eyüp Sultan,
Hello Kanlıca, Şehremini…
An Istanbul is blowing from my childhood,
Sour boza, cobblestones flaky.
Are those azan recited from Yusha or from Hırka-i Şerif?
Our neighbors are the captains, a remnant of the maltese stony afternoons.
Still in those white rhinos?
They buried a history in Üsküdar in Karacaahmet,
It’s like women in chadors are forgotten in coral slippers.
Duyûn-u Umumiye retired phaetons,
It’s still an autumn in Acıbadem,
They have been courtiers since Friday greetings.
Hello Beylerbeyi, hello Sultan Selim,
Hello my dear friend, Istanbul, hello…
What seasons have worn out on the streets of ocher,
Fine beaded barber shops where I get beardless haircuts.
Grand Bazaar Coppersmiths, under bridges in dark blue May,
And in the Bosphorus, the Company-i Hayriye smokes.
Where are you, that Istanbul, where are you…
When I listen to the moonlight in the sound of spinning wheels,
The lilac gardens of Aunt Mediha,
My grandfather’s Kuvay-ı Milliye stories.
You know, my wooden wheeled cars.
You know, my quiet childhood forgotten at the feasts.
Yet another Istanbul was once, with its caged scents,
Wet in lavender-flowered afternoons in white headscarves.
The long bazaar with its folding chairs,
Copper trays carried Istanbul.
A hidrellez promenade from Sultaniyegah,
He sang songs of quiet devotion.
On the Golden Horn ferries, the promises are cut off.
Hey baby hey…
They used to pull Istanbul from the sea in the Burunbahçe fish, without getting wet…
How many holiday handkerchiefs had passed from my hand to the dowry chests.
I used to take all the sleep of Istanbul to my bosom.
In my dreams those sins still wake up
Committed in the streets that I could never pass.
Hello Sultanahmet, hello Basilica…
Hello, my dear friend, My Istanbul,
Hello, hello sir, hello…
TURKISH
Bu benim dünyaya ilk gelişim,
Yıkarak saltanatını koca Fatih′in.
Kundakla kefen arasında bir gün,
İstanbul, İstanbul deyişim.
Merhaba Kızkulesi,
Merhaba Eyüp Sultan,
Kanlıca, Şehremini merhaba…
Bir İstanbul esiyor çocukluğumdan,
Ekşi bozalı, Arnavut kaldırımları lâpâ lâpâ.
Yuşâ’dan mı okunur o ezanlar, Hırka-i Şerif′ten mi?
Komşularımız kaptanlar, malta taşlı ikindilerden kalan.
Hâlâ o beyaz gergeflerde mi?
Bir tarihi gömmüşler Karacaahmet’inde Üsküdar’ın,
Sanki çarşaflı kadınlar mercan terliklerinde unutulan.
Duyûn-u Umumiye emeklisi faytonlar,
Hâlâ bir sonbahar Acıbadem′de,
Cuma selamlıklarından beri saraylılar.
Merhaba Beylerbeyi,
Merhaba Sultan Selim,
Merhaba iki gözüm İstanbul′um,
Merhaba…
Aşı boyası sokaklarında ne mevsimler eskimiş,
Sakalsız saçlar kestirdiğim ince boncuklu berber dükkanları.
Kapalıçarşı Bakırcılar, lâcivert mayıslarda köprü altları,
Ve Boğaziçi’nde Şirket-i Hayriye duman duman.
Nerdesin o İstanbul, nerdesin…
Hani çıkrık seslerinde mehtapları dinlediğim,
Mediha teyzelerin leylâk bahçeleri,
Büyükbabamın Kuvay-ı Milliye hikâyeleri.
Hani tahta tekerlekli arabalarım.
Hani bayram yerlerinde unutulan asude çocukluğum.
Gene bir başka İstanbul′du bir zamanlar kafesli ıtırlarıyla,
Beyaz başörtülerin lâvanta çiçekli öğleden sonralarında ıslanan.
Açılır kapanır iskemlelerinde uzun çarşının,
İstanbul’u taşırdı bakır siniler.
Sultaniyegâhtan bir hıdrellez mesiresi,
Sessiz sadâkat şarkıları söylerdi.
Haliç vapurlarında söz kesilmiş tazeler.
Hey yavrum hey…
Burunbahçe dalyanında İstanbul′u çekerlerdi denizden, Hiç ıslatmadan…
Kaç bayram mendili geçmişti elimden çeyiz sandıklarının.
Bütün uykularını koynuma alıp uyurdum İstanbul’un.
Rüyalarımda hâlâ o günahlar uyanır,
Hiç geçemediğim sokaklarında işlenen.
Merhaba Sultanahmet, Yerebatan merhaba…
Merhaba iki gözüm İstanbul′um merhaba,
Merhaba efendim, merhaba…
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