Afro Turks No.1
Ali Can is a big fan of the Turkish rapper Ceza .
The last time I met him and his mother Hatice (on the couch)
their (grand) father was still alive. He died a few months ago of a stroke.
He had just decided to stop driving his truck
and stay home more often to be with his daughters.
Hatice and her sister Lale don’t talk about their father that much.
I’m in Izmir (Turkey) for another 2 weeks documenting Turkish families who have African roots.
Funny how life can be. Two weeks after I started my story in Izmir I got a phone call
with a request to photograph Ceza for the Paris Match magazine.
While photographing Ceza I asked him to sign a copy of his CD for Ali Can, which he gladly did.
I will go back in September this year to work on the second part of the Afro Turk documentary.
I hope to give this to Ali Can when we meet up again.
I would like to comment on the issue of photography on afro-turks.I would like to say that I would like to appreciAte the works of CEZA and ALI CAN. Great deeds deserve great honor! I would like to know more of this please.
Thanks Kamau. It’s an ongoing project that started in 2006 and will go on for 2 more years. If you have any specific questions just let me know.
hello…i think (but may be mistaken) that your girlfriend posted something about your work in a forum discussion that i was moderating on afro-turks. anyhow, i am wondering if your project is still in the works and would like to discuss it with you further. i am working with an Afro-Turkish organization in the Dalyan area and helping it to establish itself and would like to know more about your work.
http://www.afropedea.org would love articles and information about Afro Turks