The Curious Case of Makeup

My lack of enthusiasm towards makeup has my mom (and everyone I know) worried about “what kind of a girl” I’m turning out to be. 

I’ve always been very anti-make up, and on the occasional times that I have worn make-up I have felt really uncomfortable. In fact, it makes me feel worse when people compliment me because then, all I can think of is, “I don’t really look like this” and “do I have to wear make-up for people to consider me pretty?”, and most importantly, “do I really look that bad without anything on my face?” I don’t like having to hide my flaws or “enhancing” my beauty in people’s words. I’ve often had friend’s moms or just aunties tell me how I would look so beautiful if I put on “only a bit of make-up” or did my eyebrows or styled my hair or straightened it or whatever. And although I have grown a thick skin to it, there may be girls out there who haven’t. Because there have been moments when I’ve felt insecure because I went to weddings without anything on my face and have had people tell me how I should wear make-up and “tum shadi k baad kia karogi” (what will you do after you’re married) and “tumhara shohar kia boleyga” (what will your husband say?)? 

If I ever have a daughter, I would want her to be comfortable in her own skin, I would want her to be able to go out bare faced and be completely okay with how she looks even on a day when she’s pulled an all-nighter before and has dark circles and puffy eyes. I want her to be okay with the fact that bad hair days don’t always need to be fixed and that hair straighteners are only damaging. And I want her to know that she should never feel the need to wear make-up just to impress a man. It’s something that we have drilled into our heads by people around us and it’s created this innate insecurity in every girl I know. But no I don’t really blame men for this. I blame the women. Women have created these insecurities amongst women, and these insecurities have been inherited and carried around by women too. There haven’t been many guys who have judged me for not wearing make-up but almost every girl or woman I know has at least once pointed out to me that I could look “prettier”. My self-esteem isn't dependent on a pimple or a scar; it’s healthy as long as I feel comfortable in my own skin and I want that for every woman who feels the need to cover up every little blemish, because they are a part of who she is and she shouldn’t want to wear make-up to cover it out of insecurity because gender-roles are crap and not dressing up doesn’t make you any less of a woman and if you do want to wear make-up, wear it because you want to, not because of an insecurity. 

By Alia Eva  

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The Good Ol' Power Ranger Days

A stick of white tape, serving as a spine label, spans the length of one side of my favorite VHS tape. Judging by the label, my father has limited knowledge of the film, but excellent penmanship. He has, for the past week, been obsessively labelling every single cassette that we own, organizing them in alphabetical order, I think; My six-year-old brain tends to be quite unreliable.

I had watched the movie more times than I could count - I suppose this does not convey the sentiment entirely, in light of my mathematical ineptness. So every afternoon I was splayed out on the floor, face inclined and unmoving, staring raptly at the flickering television screen. Sometimes standing while I watched, allowing myself to imitate the various fight scenes. I could recount every dialogue and describe every scene with unimaginable precision. But that is not the point. What really matters here is that I contemplated it daily.

I have not thought about a film so seriously ever since. I have, indeed, sat in front of my computer screen for hours, watching the sophisticated and dry films of Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch, probably two of the most praised directors, recommended ad nauseam, by every self-proclaimed film critic. My intention here, is not to scorn those who like movies of this sort (as I, myself, am one of them) but simply to convey the limited scope of popular films that we talk about seriously.

What really bothers me, is the mindless activity, that watching commercial films has become. Local theatres, where people congregate, to quietly but collectively engage themselves in a story, is where the hard work is actually required. One may roll their eyes at this, contemptuous of those who watch, or - even worse - enjoy popular commercial films. But that is where the problem lies. Over-the-top special effects, jaded and unoriginal dialogue, and a general lack of intellectual value, keeps us from discussing them. This is why no one really has a sound, intelligent reason for disliking or liking popular movies; Very few people are willing to do the work, and sift through the visually muddled, cliche films.

To stop the very medium from declining, and been seen as only a quick source of pleasure, we must transfigure the way we watch movies, and employ the same effort that goes into reading serious literature, or looking at a piece of art for a long period of time. We must revert to the Power Ranger days. 

A movie poster to specifically remind you of the movie that truly matters

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Of Movies and Changing Ideals

I think that different people have different ways of connecting to certain things. Some might feel that a book or maybe a song helps them express how they feel, and sometimes, you need that slight link between reality and fiction to make you understand that there are so many other ways to go about with your life than just simply focusing on the negativity. Finding that small connection helps you realize that even though you might be going through the worst stage in your life, you’re not the only one who has gone through it because you’re reading about it, listening to it or maybe, as it is the case for most people and what I am going to primarily talk about in this article, watching people go through it in movies.

I think that there are very few people who don’t have a specific movie that have, at some point in their lives, made them feel something and maybe they didn't find the connection in it that I talked about before, but instead found something that they wish they could relate to and that in itself, has a meaning. Because this makes them form an idea in their mind of what they want or what they are looking for, which for this completely indecisive generation, is a pretty big thing. What I am trying to say is this: you probably don’t realize it, but movies can have a great impact on you. They can influence your decisions because they change the way you perceive a certain thing or maybe, they make you want to behave the way a certain character you fell in love with did.

Lets talk about the difference between movies and other forms of expression such as books or songs. Movies can literally transport you to another world and give you a visual image of the way you’re meant to be imagining the story playing out in front of you and this actually helps to take whatever feeling the movie might bring about in you to a whole new level. It lets you connect with your emotions by playing them out in front of you in surroundings you’re familiar with, unless it’s some crazy, out of this world science fiction that you can’t possibly relate to, but the fact that it gives you a visual representation, helps build the whole relationship and connection between you and that movie. It might be argued that movies limit your imagination because unlike books, they tell you exactly how one looks or talks, but sometimes, that’s exactly what you need and it might actually lead to a certain character inspiring you and inspiration can take you to a lot of places. It could be what makes you want to start writing, or maybe finally decide to take that dance class you kept hearing about but hadn’t joined because you used to think that dancing wasn’t something you wanted to do. It could lead you to make a lot of decisions could which end up shaping your whole life into something you fall in love with.

To conclude this probably nonsensical article that most of you didn’t read till the end because of my way of not being able to bring a point across ever, movies can change you. So, the next time you’re choosing between which movie to watch, maybe you should learn more about them before you do or actually think about what way they might affect you because trust me, you might not initially realize it, but they do have the power to change the way you feel about certain things.

By: Maryam Ansari

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The Best Movie Posters of All Time

1.

Who wouldn't want to look at BOTH George Clooney and Ryan Gosling's faces in one morphed picture? No one, that's who. 

2.

First thought that comes to mind: trippy. For sure. 

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3.

With an amazing poster like this, I don't think any fans will be letting it go any time soon. 

4.

Every second counts: except the one where he drinks bodily fluids. I kinda wish that second didn't have to count. 

5.

The guy has the same expression on his face that I have when I hear someone say something stupid. 

6.

Listen, the line 'he's pulling out all the stops' is scary enough for me to not even want to watch the movie. 

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7.

Reminding you that Nicholas Cage wasn't always the internet meme people have made him out to be. 

8.

TWO cool movie posters for ONE movie? Above and beyond, obviously. 

9.

"Mooooooom, I don't want to clean my room!" Said the mummy on the movie poster. 

10. 

To be honest, the poster was better than the movie. 

 By: Muneeb Khan (Captions by Sarah Quraishi) 

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TOP 5 BOLLYWOOD SONGS YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS OUT ON

This post goes out to all those Bollywood fans out there, and to those of us that love the occasional catchy tune that may not always make complete sense. These are the top 5 songs that have been burning the charts recently: 

1.  Lovely- Happy New Year 

This song will get you moving as soon as you play it. Let’s not forget that Deepika Padukone looks breathtaking throughout. If that doesn't help, it’s sung by Kanika Singh who may have sung a previous hit about a certain children’s toy. A definite party number, make sure you warn the neighbors before turning up the volume. 

2.Mitti Di Khushboo- Ayushmann Khurrana

The ‘Vicki Donor’ star is back with another soft pop number that shows off his extraordinary musical talent. I’m head over heels for his voice in the song, and it especially works for those of us who might be missing a certain someone. The song will make you feel nostalgic, so next time you want some background music to accompany you in those i-miss-you-loads moments, then this track is one to look out for.

3.Bang Bang- Bang Bang 

Okay, this one will take you back to the 80’s during the Michael Jackson’s reign because of the beat which is quite similar to Thiller. The song features at the end of the movie suggestively called ‘Bang Bang!, which is the Bollywood version of Hollywood film ‘Knight and Day’. Hritik Roshan pays tribute to MJ with his incredible dance moves that leave the audience, and also Katrina, mesmerized.  

  

4. Love Dose- Yo Yo Honey Singh

As cheesy as the title, it’s a pretty catchy hip hop song by India’s very own Punjabi rapper and singer, it's Yo Yo Honey Singh. Considering the number of hits he has delivered in the last year, this one too received just as much love from fans. This one is likely to get stuck in your head for days, maybe even weeks.  The video might not be very family friendly so enjoy this picture of Honey Singh with his breakfast instead. 

5. Sajde- Kil Dil 

Guys, it's Arjit Singh, what more could you possibly ask for? The song is just as heartfelt as the title suggests with excellent vocals provided by Arjit and Nihira Joshi. The song is included in the official soundtrack of the film “Kill/Dil” starring Ranvir Singh, Parineeti Chopra and Ali Zafar in lead roles, which does sound like a bunch of awesome people put together in one movie. This song is probably going to stick with me for a while.


 By Nida Zehra 

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Of Honey Vocals, Flashy Outfits, and Oddly Lit Boxes

Deep down the dark streets of Seoul in  big entertainment companies, lived the uncountable number of Korean bands. Every now and then they would come out with addictive, upbeat songs, dressed in the trendiest of outfits, dancing perfectly in oddly lit boxes. Grabbing a few awards once in a while, this bunch of hard-working teenagers worked even harder to come back with crisp and  flawless dance moves and songs to make all the fangirls swoon.

WHO ARE THEY? HOW ARE THEY SO PERFECT? WHAT DO THEY WANT?

Before these questions could be answered, a crazy old man came in their way.

'Dress classy, dance cheesy' he said.

'Oppa Gangnam Style' he said.

Stealing away the spotlight,he galloped to yet another oddly lit stadium claiming himself a 'Gentleman'  By the name of Park Jaesang he goes. As a Korean phenomenon he's known. But what if I tell you, there's more to the genre known as Korean pop than just the famous (or infamous?) Gangnam style?

 In an industry where fame comes quickly and fades just as rapidly, Korean pop has been on a major roll ever since the decade started. After years of intense training, Korean entertainment companies form bands with the best of talents which can feature as many as 17 members. Not only  do singing skills matter but so does the ability to be a powerful dancer. Later come the artsy music videos. These ever-growing bands are creating a frenzy among their fans by selling out concerts within minutes and breaking through billboard music charts. Every once in a while these girl and boy bands come back with new singles or full albums. What is unique is the fact that their new acts are further promoted through music shows where all these bands compete against each other and show strong live performances with some high notes here and there, and impressive but tough, well synchronized choreography.

 Immensely dedicated fandoms are another special factor of Korean bands. Having a group filled with different personalities, these bands manage to attract a large audiences. International awards are more like a battlefield and boy can things get ugly. Fans even buy the CDs, which no one in this generation seems to do. Never underestimate the power of a fangirl. They can even get their oppas a mansion in Gangnam, a Taj Mahal and Beyonce. Thats right! The key word here is 'Obsession!'

Riddled with idol groups after idol groups, the magical genre of K-pop has painted a picture of loud, crazy and colourful worlds with songs like Go crazy, Gee, Like This and many more. However it also  knows just when to step back and slow it down with melodious ballads like Blue, and 0330. But things do not end here. In the last few years, many east meets west collaborations have been seen. From Kanye West to Diplo, K-pop is slowly entering the American market and gaining a lot of interest. K-pop is all but usual- a mix of expected and unexpected.

All in all, my life being in this K-ingdom has been more of a roller coaster ride. With its crazy dance moves to major outfit fails where you just want to burn the stylist to bits of broken english (see; nonsense) to the pride it gives you when you see your favorite bands taking away worldwide awards. Korean bands not only taught me how practice makes  perfect but also the fact that music has no language. Mad props to these people for changing my life's motto which now goes as

YOLO- You Only Love Oppas!

By: Fizzah Riaz Sheikh 

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Indie, what?

Going through my old MySpace list, I realized how different my taste in music has become through the years. I started off with Miley Cyrus and The Jonas Brothers, and now listen to a whole new brand of music known as “indie”.  It seems to be the choice of a new generation- A generation which I come from. I slowly found myself moving away from the sugar pop music and more towards the “alternative/alt-rock” bands, which were still pretty mainstream but had a sort of electric weirdness to them covered in noisy out-of-tune synthesizers. Coldplay, for example. Their songs like “Charlie Brown” and “Violet Hill” are examples of somewhat unconventional music coming from a popular band.

Earlier before, “indie rock” was the proud successor of “punk rock”. It was defined to oppose the music that was made to appeal to the masses. It was for people who were fed up with  what they heard on their TV and radio. However soon enough, we saw bands like Sonic Youth and Joy Division go commercial. Many of these underground bands started signing with major record labels. Indie had expanded its territory and somewhat dropped its image of ‘weird’ and became more common.  The definition of "indie" remains constantly in flux. Are bands on independent labels the only ones righteous enough to have a illicit claim to the "indie" spirit? Or is indie an aesthetic that belongs to any artist who is willing to be creative or showcase their idiosyncrasies, without caring about the commercial success?

I feel as though anything that can be described as ‘quirky’ or ‘quaint’ now comes under the indie umbrella, and there are more things under it than it can actually take. As indie enters the second decade of the 21st century, its definition has never been less clear. Hipsters that see their favorite bands appearing on popular late night shows and treacherous label signings experience a lot of hurt. On various social networks (i.e Tumblr) I see them lashing out and talking about the good old days of a band before it became mainstream.  It seems hard for people to digest that there can be an in-between. I love listening to Ariel Pink, John Maus, Mac DeMarco and other such not so popular indie artists. But I can’t like listening to Beyonce or Adele without being judged for crossing the other side, even if it is for a little while.

 There seems to be a sense of betrayal in all of this; the movement that had begun to defy conventional pop/rock now seems to become it.

By: Sana Ahmad 

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The Lost Gems of the Pakistani Music Scene

Like any other country, Pakistan too, has produced several geniuses in various fields- most importantly, the music industry. It is, however, quite ironic and sad at the same time, that the same industry which produced legends like Nusrat Fateh Ali khan and Noor Jehan, now bemoans the dearth of talented, if not legendary, individuals who can at least breathe new life into its on-the-verge-of-dying soul.

This article is to throw light on some of the musical gems of Pakistan who revolutionized and dominated the music scene through out the world with their unprecedented talent and unchallenged skills.

Aziz Mian

The period 1970-1988 is often regarded as the "Golden Age Of Qawwali Music In Pakistan". Contrary to the popular belief, it was not Nusrat Fateh Ali who brought Pakistan on the forefront as the soil for best qawwals or qawwalis, but a little known gem known as, 'Aziz Mian'. 

Remember the sultry and sizzling song, "Mein Sharaabi", from the Indian flick, Cocktail, a song which we all went crazy for? Well, the man behind the song was none other than Aziz Mian who rocked the music scene with it when it was released in 1973. Surprisingly enough, it was not the song but the uniqueness of the style in which he sang and his powerful vocals that had an intoxicating effect on his audiences. A testing evidence to this is the fact that a cultural writer reviewing one such Aziz Mian concert in Karachi in 1975 described him as being ‘the Nietzschean Sufi!’ He is not just remembered as a qawwal but as a man who had enough guts to talk about his love for alcohol, which he believed to be a metaphor for the state and the love God had for him, even in the times of the reactionary military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, who had come with the mission of imposing his Islam, which included a complete prohibition of alcohol. His concerts were often raided by the police during the dictator's regime for finding people in a state of unconsciousness, to the extent that Aziz, given his witty and stubborn nature, began making a joke out of this by telling the audiences to remain calm as the police would arrest him and not them, when he wrapped up his concerts with the ever popular, Mein Sharaabi. Ironically, yet sadly, it was his immense love for alcohol that eventually took his own life when he died in 2000 as a result of liver cancer, caused by excessive drinking.

Nazia Hassan

In 1979, a fifteen year old, extremely young and talented, British born Pakistani became the youngest and the first ever Pakistani to win the Indian equivalent of the Oscar- A Filmfare Award. It was the one and only Nazia Hassan, who had rocked the Indian music industry with her song, Aap Jaisa Koi,  a track pictured by the alluring and highly popular film actress, Parveen Babi. 'She came, she saw, she conquered' is what perfectly describes Nazia Hassan when she arrived in the music scene in early 1980's. She left her Indian fans craving for more with Aap Jaisa Koi, until she came back with a bang in 1982, with the release of her album, Star, the songs of which were used in an Indian movie with the same name. The chartbuster of this album was 'Boom Boom' , that was recently remade by Nescafe Basement as well. With just one single and and album down the lane, Nazia had already rocked the world with her melodious voice. She was the one who gave birth to pop music in South Asia with her songs. Disco Deewaane (1983), Young Tarang (1984) and Hotline (1987) , were all the albums she released in the following years. Ankhein Milaane Waale, Disco Dewaane, Dum Dum Dee Dee, Telehone piyar were all big hits off of these albums. Surprisingly they topped the charts in Russia, Poland, Latin America and West Indies as well! Such was the precedent of the popularity and fame of Nazia! Sadly, she left the music world in 1991 with the release of her last album Camera. Just two years later she was diagnosed with cancer, that eventually took her life and the graceful soul departed from this world on 15 August 1997.

Junaid Jamshed

Now this is one individual who is very much alive and still enjoys the same status and popularity that he did two decades ago, but he is a lost musical gem in a sense that he isolated himself from the glamorous world of music and shifted to being a business man and religious scholar ( a job he has so far done very carelessly indeed).

JJ joined the Vital Signs in 1987 when he was still an engineering student at a college in Lahore. His voice and sense of melody were two of the leading reasons behind the Signs' meteoritic rise between 1988 till the group’s demise in 1997. He was also an incurable romantic. Though most of his band mates had a series of flings with a host of women, in 1989 Junaid got embroiled in a torrid affair that pushed him on the brink of suffering a nervous breakdown. Though not noticed much at the time, even during the height of the Signs’ fame in 1994-95, JJ had already started his gradual flip towards a state of mind that would eventually land him as becoming the puritanical Tableeghi Jamaat’s poster boy. 

Soon after the release of the Signs’ fourth album, Hum Tum, in 1995, Junaid started to mail letters to various newspapers complaining that their music pages were promoting and glorifying “druggie music” and bands whose members were “Satan worshippers.” Though by then his two closest allies in the music business, Rohail and Shoaib, had become aware of the growing conservatism in the religious and social ideas held by Junaid, they still couldn’t see through the obvious fact that in front of them was a man spiralling downwards towards a situation in which he would ultimately start questioning their faith! The mid and late 1990s was also a time when a number of Islamic evangelical outfits had begun to mushroom in all the major cities of Pakistan. They almost squarely targeted young middle-class urbanites as recruits and for this they began to ‘covert’ and conscript famous personalities from the Pakistan cricket team and the show-biz scene. Though the Tableeghi Jamaat was far more established, it was in the 1990s that they began to approach young urbanites that were associated with cricket, show business and the military. J

unaid’s conversion into becoming a Tableeghi Jamaat man was not sudden. It was a gradual, slow and rather painful process, unfolding piece by piece. He was the hungriest for success and stardom in the band, not only in pop music but also in film and television. He is on record saying that music was his life as he went on to release two impressive post-Signs' solo albums.  This made him one of the hardest working members of the group and he actually wanted to continue recording with the band beyond Hum Tum (the Signs’ last album). But more and more he was falling prey (rather willingly) to his frustrations, as his desire to work again with the Signs got no serious response from Rohail and his dream to star in a Shoaib Manoor film only got him lazy chuckles from the director.

 In spite of the fact that Rohail’s liberal mindset, tastes and lifestyle always clashed with Junaid’s idea of being an artiste (even though he himself was leading a rather posh and lavish life), this undercurrent eventually turned into open resentment by the time Rohail did come around and agreed to reform the band in 2002 for a special Nazia Hassan tribute concert. It was interesting to note how Junaid responded to Rohail’s call. Only a few days prior to the concert, Junaid had already announced to the press that he was joining the Jamaat full time and would quit making music. In fact he had been spending his time preaching and being preached at a congregation in Raiwind when he suddenly reappeared on the day of the concert flanked by two members of the Jamaat but with his long, flowing beard (that he had begun to sport from 2001 onwards) now trimmed into a neat, stylish goatee. When asked by the press about his earlier statement regarding his retirement from music (and that ‘music was unIslamic’), Junaid said that after consulting with some elders in the Jamaat, he has been assured that there was nothing wrong with playing music. Wearing a T-shirt, denims and with a stylised goatee, Junaid played an excellent set with Rohail, Shahzad and the original VS guitarist, Salman Ahmed. However, at the end of the concert he looked anguished as he started making his way towards his two Tableeghi comrades waiting in the wings to gather him back. Then he refused the lead role in Shoaib Mansoor’s 2007 film, ‘Khuda Kay Leeay.’ He publicly criticised the way Mansoor portrayed jihadis and Islamic evangelists in the film, saying that it is Shoaib who is confusing the youth about Islam and not him. 

But, of course, Junaid’s own confusion regarding the subject is now well documented and his lectures and statements never fail to sound contradictory as he goes about denouncing the material and the ungodly nature of music and showbiz, but continues his long-standing stint as an expensive clothes’ designer and a naat-reciter. He released his naat albums through exactly the same immoral promotional and distribution channels used by his pop music counterparts. After finally deciding to let go of his need for fame and attention through music, he has ironically found almost an equal amount of fame and fortune as a naatkhuaan, televangelist and designer.

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Humara Karachi, Humara Pakistan

Despite all that we have gone through, we karachiites haven't let it affect us. True, we've become indifferent. At the same time, however, we've shown the world: you can't shut us down. We all know how unsafe our city is; we all know we are likely to die any second due to a bomb attack; but guess what? We've still come out strong. Even today, the people of Karachi spend nights on the streets, living their lives to the fullest. While some youngsters play football (the most played sport since FIFA began), other elders have a little chat at a nearby dhabba. Lyari; the place no one ever wants to go, has people watching World Cup matches on the streets. The world can try to tame us, but they'll always be in vain. Because we're still alive, our hearts are still beating, and till the day they stop, we will fight for our country. We will stand back up every time someone pushes us down.

While the whole world has labeled our country as not being safe, we prove to them, that they have underestimated us. Just visit the famous Burns Road one night, and you'll see what I'm talking about.  Every other nation might be out to get us but we're not scared. We still spend our nights at different food stalls having biryani or the country's favorite nihari. Because despite all the threats, we know where we stand. We've got something not many people have. We have a heart that beats as one. We might look divided, but we are united. And that's important.

Because even if they kill us all, they can't kill our good intentions. Our previous generations didn't quite make a difference, but you know what? We're trying. We want to play our part and we aren't scared. They can bomb us, they can raid us, but one thing they can't take away: our jazba. We are working as one, to show them all that, true, we aren't the most stable nation in the world, but why on earth does that mean we can't live the way everyone else does? Why does that mean we can't be as successful as other nations?

Poverty plagues us, illiteracy erodes us, but like I said, we are trying. We might fail once, twice, maybe even thrice, but the best thing is: we learn from our mistakes. Don't take us lightly, world. We might not look strong, but you just don't know us yet. Silent, we might be. But who told you silence means we're sleeping? Beware, because we are awake, and we are planning. Soon, there'll be fireworks, something big is coming, and the world better watch out for it.

By Khudayja Makda 

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Walking Through the Streets of Taksim

 

I am the kind of person who enjoys walking aimlessly on the streets. Too bad I don’t do that very often in Karachi because the life of an A-Level student demands a bit too much in very limited time, but whenever I visit another city, the best way I choose to explore it is by walking on its streets. Be it a small village in Kenya, the downtown of Kuala Lumpur, the alleys of Bur-Dubai or the Holy city of Makkah, I’ve done it everywhere. Walking around is perhaps the best way to feel the spirit of the city you are visiting, for it allows you closer contact with the lifestyle and traditions of the people. And being a person who loves to explore new cultures and communities, this exercise has always been very fruitful to me.

 I landed at Atta Turk International Airport on New Year’s Eve of 2013. Little did I know that my four day visit to Istanbul would be one of the best vacations of my life.

My hotel was in the heart of Istanbul known as Taksim, a place not only popular for being one of the major tourist spots in the city but also the main center for all mass political processions. Its streets were always crowded with people, both locals and visitors. The hotels ranging from three stars to five stars were always occupied and the restaurant serving both street and fine dine menu produced an aroma that grasped every passerby’s attention. While walking on Takism, you could always smell the scent of Turkish sheesha from every corner of its alleys. You could see people wearing from the most modest to the highest form of high street fashion clothing. You could see men brewing chaiye or making fresh showarmas and hamburgers for pedestrians. And every now and then, you can observe a policeman walking around Taksim Square, keeping a sharp eye on the pickpockets.

My journey to explore this wonderful city begins from Takism. Walking on the perfectly bricked pavements with buildings portraying traditional European architecture with Turk Cell advertisements hanging on them every now and then, there is a lot to the city that is to be learnt about and explored.  What makes Istanbul one of the greatest cities in the world is that it lies in both Europe and Asia. Thus, the city is a blend of different cultures living together and hence at each corner of the city, you go through an entirely different experience. Its large population comprising of different cultures, classes and faiths is perhaps one of Istanbul’s key factor in making it feel very much alive.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in Turkey and cities such as Istanbul are usually crowded with tourists from all parts of the world nearly all year around. Thus, the city is beefed up with tourist spots and it has something to offer for everyone. Take a cab and go straight to Sultan Ahmett Camii (Blue Mosque) and be awestruck by its amazing architecture and beauty. Or take the metro to Hagia Sophia museum, a church which is also a mosque and dive into the history of Romans and Ottomons. 

Late in the afternoon, take a ferry to Princess Islands while feeding sea-gulls on your way and simply relax there till late in the evening at the famous pollution-free island by roaming around on a bicycle or a horse-cart. Smell the sweet scent of flowers and grass on the island and for a few minutes, sit back on the rocks and observe the sounds of the waves hitting the island shore.

The night life at Istanbul is pretty fascinating as well. One can shop till they drop at the Istekhlal street or simply enjoy themselves at any of the late night Turkish dance shows. Or one can explore the Turkish sufi culture by visiting a Seema ceremony of the whirling dervishes. But what’s best out of them all is perhaps a cup of chaiye at street view restaurant. The chaiye isn’t the traditional milk/black tea but is in fact a kahva made of tea leaves that tastes like green tea, or perhaps even better. In my view, there’s nothing better than a cup of chaiye on a very cold Istanbul night with Turkish music in the background.

Observe and you’ll discover that Istanbul is a city that comprises of many hilly islands connected together with huge magnificent bridges. Each bridge tells its own story too for on either sides of the bridge exists an entirely different culture and community. There is a great similarity between its streets and its mosques, for both have layers in them. The streets of Istanbul like on any hilly island are constructed in perfect layers placed on top of each other, just like the domes of its mosques are, both representing fine architecture.

As my four day journey to this magnificent city was drawing to an end, I decided to take one last stroll to see as much as I could from my surroundings. And I’m glad I took one, for it was on this day I learnt a great deal from this city. I remember crossing by a night club full of people of both sexes wearing western attire, drinking and dancing next to each other. And right next to the club was a small tea house with chairs and tables on the pavement occupied by a group of women wearing the Islamic hijab in the most modest way, sipping chaiye and chatting away with each other. And I was surprised how neither side complained against one another, nor were they bothered what was happening on the other end. It was the element of co-existence in the Turkish people that won my heart. 

Despite the greatest amount of diversity one can ever see in a metropolitan city, the people of this city live together in perfect harmony, peacefully supporting each other in making sure Istanbul remains one of the greatest city in the world.

Perhaps Napoleon Bonaparte was right when he said, “If the earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.” And truly he meant it when he said that.

PICTURED BELOW are some more photographs taken by Zeeshan

By Zeeshan Hasan Khan 

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