‘A mythic story attempts to make sense of our perceptions and feelings within our experience of the world in a narrative format.’

[hüzün] noun

‘a state of mind that is ultimately as life-affirming as it is negating’

‘Istanbul as shared melancholy,

Istanbul as double,

Istanbul as black-and-white images of crumbling buildings and phantom minarets,

Istanbul as a city of maze-like streets seen from high windows and balconies,

Istanbul as an invention of foreigners,

Istanbul as a place of first loves and last rites’