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An interlude in Bursa for Iskander kebap: When the Karagöz puppet troupe...
So, just how did I come to be inhabited by these Karagöz puppet characters, anyway? I am not sure, but I do know that they chose me. They first began to appear in my dreams, then on the airplane as …...
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Karagöz: Consider this a formal introduction to himself
Karagöz is a word that refers both to an individual puppet character from the Ottoman Empire era AND to the entire troupe of Karagöz shadow puppets that surround him. I have described this band of...
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Moving from Madonna to Meditation and Myths
These days, my internal Karagöz puppets are more like internal Karagöz demons – fashionista demons obsessed with what to wear to the Sultan of Nutcracker’s ball in Provincetown. In order to get some...
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The Twelve Days of Christmas: Karagöz puppet-style
Traditionally, the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” referrs to the days leading away from Christmas, starting on Boxing Day, December 26th. In an unusual nod to tradition in this, my...
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On the 1st day of Christmas: Meet Esma, the hippie Karagöz puppet
So, for the 12 days before Christmas, you are meeting the various Karagöz shadow puppet characters that roam around in my head. No, I am not a person with a major mental illness. No, I don’t really,...
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On the 2nd day of Christmas: Meet Bebe Ruhi, a Karagöz puppet with Dwarfism...
Meet Bebe Ruhi, a Karagöz shadow puppet with Dwarfism, may be a small man, but he is a man with a big heart that is full of goofiness. My husband M. always says that he liked Bebe Ruhi the best …...
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On the 3rd day of Christmas: Meet Khadijah, a worker from Egypt
Today we meet Khadijah, the Karagöz shadow puppet who represents the far-flung citizens of the Ottoman Empire – in this case – puppets from Egypt. Khadijah was a Black African woman raised in Egypt,...
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On the 4th day of Christmas: Meet Celebi, the modernist
Yesterday, we met Khadijah, and today, we meet the puppet man to whom she is betrothed – Celebi (the c sounds like a j, so it is “jeh-leh-bee”). Celebi is a modern man. He likes modern clothes, modern...
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On the 5th day of Christmas: Meet Kenne the traditional lady in search of...
Today, I want to formally introduce Kenne Hanım (Mrs. Kenne, essentially, as Hanım, pronounced hah-num, is an honorific), as she would not prefer to be introduced any other way but formally. This is...
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On the 6th day of Christmas: Meet Tiryaki the opium addict with narcolepsy
Today, we meet one of the more shadowy figures in my head – and in the history of Karagöz shadow puppetry in Turkey, Tiryaki Bey, who is addicted to opium and nods off on a regular basis – sometimes...
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On the 7th day of Christmas: Meet Zenne, nervous nellie like a bowl of jelly
Today, it is time to meet Zenne, the Karagoz puppet that I refer to as “the nervous nellie like a bowl of jelly.” I realized that this moniker was befitting of her when I passed by Nervous Nellie’s...
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On the 9th day of Christmas: Meet Safiye Rakkase, the vainglorious dancing girl
Safiye Rakkase (Sah-fee-yeh rah-kah-seh), that’s who you are meeting today. As stated, she may be a hot mamma – but she is one vainglorious hot mamma. She is the ringleader of the chorus of dancing...
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On the 10th day of Christmas: Meet Yehuda Rebbe, the Jewish wise man
So, today we are meeting Yehuda Rebbe, the Jewish wise man. This is a far cry on the spectrum from ridiculous to sublime if you consider that yesterday we met Safiye Rakkase, the vainglorious dancing...
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On the 11th day of Christmas: Meet Perihan, the fairy godmother
When we last left you, the Karagöz puppets were jumping up and down whilst engaging in a hot debate about religion. Leave it to religion to stir things up. Hacivad Bey and Yehuda Rebbe had just...
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And on the 12th day of Christmas: Meet Hacivad, the inimitable and learned...
And here we are, on the 12th day before Christmas, so it is time to meet Hacivad Bey, the fearless and calm leader of the Karagöz puppets in day-to-day operations. In modern times, the puppets might...
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Elif Şafak on stories as wall-breakers: Crossing circles, moving between
Today’s post is written to honor the power of storytelling – and specifically stories that cross circles, move between spaces (or ghettos) and break down walls. Let me start with the circles. My...
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The Karagoz Shadow Puppets Invade A Smartphone
Today, I woke up at about 3 a.m. There was a blue light coming from the dining room. I figured that M. had left his phone plugged in for the night. The light was bugging me – but as I … Continue...
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Introducing Saf and Dobra: On a love-hate relationship with Türkiye
Today I met two new puppets, Saf and Dobra. Saf is an idealist, myopic in her micro moment, focused on her love of her homeland. Dobra, on the other hand, is more like Karagoz- an outspoken agent...
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Farazi Kozmos’ modern-day take on Karagoz (in Turkish)
So, it has been months and months of me writing about the Karagöz puppets – and you know that these little paper people are metaphorical inventions that play out the voices in my head. You probably...
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Safiye Rakkase gets into old Turkish cinema
Myriad Turkish friends suggest that one of the best ways to learn the language better is to inundate myself with Turkish soap operas (see the Senior Dogs Abroad post on that here) – or old YouTube...
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