It’s probably the poems we read in school. Keats, Tennyson, Yeats and, specifically, Wordsworth’s wanderings among those damned daffodil fields, that sold us on the idea of the countryside as an idyll. But there is a case to be made for the urban centers of the world too; I may go so far as to call our cities the pinnacles of human endeavor and achievement. Buildings that have stood for centuries, cuisines that have come from all parts of the world, people of differing faiths and opposing beliefs living together and powering the planet’s economic and cultural hubs – surely there’s something to celebrate about that? Give me a thriving metropolis over two roads diverging in some wood. Hand me a kebap while you’re at it.
Nowhere else is this truer than in Istanbul. The city that was once the heart of the ancient world is today a metaphor for the East meeting the West. Straddling two continents and their diverse cultures, Istanbul is where Europe and Asia face-off and where a bridge connects the two. These are all clichés, but clichés exist because they’re often true. In Istanbul, antiquity almost seamlessly blends with the modern. Sure, fez caps and groovy mustaches exist, but so do sharply dressed men and women walking along Istiklal Avenue, the city’s nerve centre and party district. As dervishes whirl on one side of the Bosphorus in Sultanahmet, on the other, in Taksim Square, modern music blares through cafés and bars that turn into performance venues at sundown. And as it begins to snow, the red tram trundling along the avenue lined by late Ottoman-era buildings completes the setting. You turn up your collar, slide your hands into your pockets and walk along the cobbled avenue. It’s how you want to remember Istanbul; it’s also how you want to remember yourself.
この記事は GQ India の December 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は GQ India の December 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
The 30 Best Watches Of 2024
Rounding up the best shapes, materials, complications and sizes from this year's horological novelty treasure chest.
Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...
Last month, LA-based artist Wes Lang unveiled The Black Paintings, a monumental series of works that play like storyboards to a raucous midnight horror movieand a spiritual quest. Here, GQ collaborates with the artist on a fashion story that brings his stylish characters off the canvas.
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame
In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.
"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter talks business, legacy, art, and family
The Wedding Singers
Madboy Mink's dynamic duo, Saba Azad and Imaad Shah, redefine festive style.
A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face
As collectors look to make their grail watches stand out, they're turning to unique vintage bracelets and paying thousands on thousands for straps on the secondary market.
The Fluidity of Cartier
Why Gen Z stars are obsessed with this historic maison.
A Princess with Passion
From restoring monuments to reviving hereditary crafts, Bhavnagar's Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil has her sights on the future.
THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ
The Coachella-slaying, multi-language-singing, genre-obliterating members of Ateez are quickly becoming load-bearing stars of our global pop universe.
DEMNA UNMASKED
He's the most influential designer of the past decade. He's also the most controversial. Now the creative director of Balenciaga is exploring a surprising source of inspiration: happiness. GQ's Samuel Hine witnesses the dawn of Demna's new era, in Paris, New York, and Shanghai. Photographs by Jason Nocito.