Coronavirus Stories - Reaching Out From Isolation

Edited BY G P Kennedy  For this week most of our storytellers will be casting their minds forward to late-August 2021. The idea is to give us all a little relief and release from the relentlessness of the Coronavirus Pandemic. In so doing we will venture into the minds of our storytellers as they share their hopes, dreams and aspirations. Perhaps you will be inspired to look beyond the confines of the pandemic... Gul - Istanbul, Turkey  This time next year, I’ll be working on a summer art project plus I’ll be putting the finishing touches to my autumn program Food at Cunda Island . I wish it were true! My freelance projects were cancelled one by one by last year due to economic recession. As if this was not enough, COVID-19 came over. So this - my early retirement status - was not my choice.  So, ins tead of working, I’ll be on holiday in this coast again and that time I’ll be with my friend from the UK. Forgive me if I appear as a travel agency or a travel blogger. I tol...

Edited BY G P Kennedy   Gul - Istanbul, Turkey   GOOD OLD DAYS  We all yearn for the past and often say 'oh, good old holidays'. In old times, the Bayram – that’s what we call for religious festivals- meant visiting family elderly relatives & neighbors, then recent years, going on holidays, and now, is neither family visits nor holidays. Thanks to the COVID-19.    We’re on the second day of the Feast of the Sacrifice. There are more people at this Aegean Coast as people came to their parent’s summerhouses instead of going to holiday. You see the smile on older people’s face and gardens full of laughter and fun.    This time last year, we were at the same coast but everything changed in this one year. The fun part has gone completely and we entered in a very quiet summer period. Last year we enjoyed the summer sun with friends and family. We had many BBQs at our garden and invited lots of people. This year, everyone kept themselves a respectful dist...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Hagia Sofia, Istanbul Gul - Istanbul, Turkey    I love my country but I am embarrassed by and deeply ashamed of its institutions. The worst feeling, I have had for a long time is that; the magnificent and precious Hagia Sophia, the symbol is Istanbul is a victim of today’s dirty politics.  Yesterday, a Turkish court has annulled the museum status of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which enables it to be used as mosque instead of a museum. Built 1,500 years ago as a Christian Byzantium Cathedral, now a UNESCO heritage site; it should’ve remain a museum out of respect for the country’s Christian minority and world history.    Many academics from Friends of Hagia Sophia have written an open letter expressing their concerns: “ Historical and archaeological evidence could be damaged, and works of art concealed. Hagia Sophia is too beautiful a monument and too precious a historical document to serve as a pawn in regional politics. Successive Byzantine,...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Wish You Were Here?  Hi – I hope you are staying safe and well. Week 11 marks a shift in the way we are doing things here at Global Village 2020.    We are going to start focusing more on individual and pairs of stories. To do this we will publish one or two Stories each day, starting each Monday. I hope you had the opportunity to read Peace’s moving Story Monday.    There will still be the occasional weeks when we decide to focus on a topic or single issue. Look out next week for our contribution to the current global conversation about equality and justice.    Our brave New Week continues with contributions from Simon and Espe in Australia, and a very differently appointed Gul, in Turkey.     Simon and Espe – Perth, Australia  Hi everyone, I hope you are all well and traveling ok.    So its week…something…of the pandemic and it looks like its showing no signs of slowing down globally.    I am w...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Stuffed Courgette Flowers Gul – Istanbul, Turkey    We’ve been at home almost three months now. We consider ourselves as healthy eaters and our fridge is usually stocked with fresh foods but it is hasn’t been easy to keep it like that since the pandemic started. Instead of going to local markets for fresh fruit and veg, we began online grocery shopping we’ve never done before. In addition, cooking became more creative and Mike had to work with what we have at home.    Dining out is a distant memory now as we are eating all meals at home. I must admit that I am terrible at cooking unlike typical a Turkish wife. Luckily, Mike, my husband always loved to cook but now more than ever, he’s more productive, and he has lots of time on his hands so good way to pass the time.    My husband also bakes bread obsessively. I think working with the dough is calming and sort of meditative for him.   All the bread  Unfortunately, I need the ...

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