I realized how much I had missed being in the field. Seeing different lives and places. Sharing moments unlivable ever again... It is much more exciting for me to do this in Abkhazia. An ex-soviet, post-conflict, trans-traditional context where what you can live is very much variable and very little expectable.
It is not as simple as finding a sea shell at the top of a mountain. It is as complicated as finding a sea shell in your pocket. You have so many questions to ask- when did i put this shell here, where did i find it, with whom i was there, how did it ended up half broken there, what makes it unique compared to thousands of shells i have collected from around the world, why are these shells so important (turkish speakers can find it out here- in the short story i had written a few years back).
When I am in the field, i do not ask the questions any more. I have a great team to do that for me.
Though they are still learning how to question, i think it is important they discover those shells that exist in their own pockets, in eachother's pockets, in the pockets of people they are meeting for the first time, in the unseen corners of the half broken down, half restored church at the end of bad roads, in the traditionally structured houses at the end of never ending roads that meets us with the unexpectably beautiful scenery we had scene till that time...
Well, some of you may think this kind of philisophical writing is not my type. And I will ask you if you know how many more shells do I have in my pockets. Everytime I loose my phone i myself find out another one....
See more photos from the field and Bedia Church
