42. The Melancholy of Autumn

"By the end of October, Sibel had had her fill of the rusty water that poured from the old taps, the dankness of the ramshackle kitchen, the yali’s leaks and drafty cracks, and the icy north wind. Gone were the friends who had dropped by on hot September evenings, getting drunk and giddily jumping into the sea from the dark landing, now that there was more fun to be had in the autumn in the city. Here I display the damp and broken stones of the back garden and the shells of snails that crawled over them, along with our solitary friend, the panicky lizard (now petrified), who disappeared during the rains—all represent the abandonment of yali life by the nouveaux riches with the approach of winter, and the attendant melancholy of the season." (The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk)

"In this box, as in many others, I’ve displayed two glasses of raki, which Kemal used to drink regularly. Electric stoves such as the one in the background engendered guilty feelings in many yali owners wanting to spend winters in these timber homes." (The Innocence of Objects by Orhan Pamuk)