Farewell Galip, my old friend…

I remember the first time I had seen you walking down the corridor in Kuştepe Campus. I was depressed because everyone said you are a very difficult professor to work with and I was appointed as a teaching assistant to your classes. I introduced myself, you punched my belly lightly and said ok.

I remember a winter afternoon with snow around near Karaköy Pier. We have met in your apartment there, finished up a bottle of wine and continued grading student essays. I managed to persuade you not to fail some worse papers. We would rush to attend a wedding ceremony in Kadıköy but you told me we should first drink a little bit more and we were then late, smelling alcohol, saying it because of traffic and nobody believed us.

I remember the Friday night I was late to meet you at our usual tavern in Tarlabaşı. I came in rush and said I had a weird car accident in the campus parking lot (going through the foot of a parking employee and crushing down the gate and a bumper of a car parked outside. You said well done.

I remember the morning in Kavala, Greece when you got annoyed with me because I ditched a journalist woman out of pride because she had declined my offer to go out before. He told me and others he checked out our hotel doors that night and they were all unlocked. “if you were fked, you woudn’t realize” he said.

I remember the day I got my first feedback after I submitted my dissertation thesis. I was told it was just too disorganized. I got too stressed. You let me stay in your office for a week to re-organize my text while you listened to Tai-chi videos all day long and while you said nothing about the fact that you hate anything related to postmodernism and offered your most practical help.

I remember the day in Bodrum where you want me to wear slip red trunks when we went swimming and I had nothing to wear. Only İlkim could save me from wearing that. I remember again that you confiscated my computer for a little while so that I would enjoy Bodrum.

I remember our road trip from Bodrum to Afyon where I took a bus to go to Niğde and Ereğli to visit my brother and a friend.

I remember the night we took George (Marcus) and Pat to a fancy Greek style restaurant where I and George were about to fall asleep in the end but you were fully energetic and discussing from marine life to Mediterranean history.

But there are so many other moments. I have made my best to ignore your situation as far as I could. Because it is just too painful to lose a person who was like a second father to me, who was a great friend and a great mentor of life. I had some hope that you would recover and we could just go back to the old days. This morning I got the news that you passed away. Rest in peace dear Galip. I will really but really miss you…