Round Silifke. A ‘walking the circle’ dérive around the town of Silifke.

Author - Joe CLARKE.

Contact details - Email scriberpunk@yahoo.co.uk

AbstractA ‘walking the circle’ dérive around the town of Silifke in the province of Mersin, Turkey was walked on Thursday, March 3rd, 2016. It was planned as a training exercise, to get the author’s ‘eye in’.

The dérive was successful, in that it was completed, but the author recognises that the techniques displayed were rudimentary at best and more practise is required.

A psychogeographic area of interest was identified, and plans should be made to investigate it further, and a map Psychogeographic map of Silifke was started.

Key wordsSilifke, dérive, walking the circle.

IntroductionThe author is just starting to investigate the discipline of psychogeography and the activity of dérives. This report is the first in a series that are intended to increase the author’s skill at and knowledge of the theory and practise of dérives.

They are being carried out in Turkey, where the author lives, in anticipation of a move to London in July 2016 when the author hopes to continue dériving but at an improved level.

Materials and methodsA dérive has been defined as ‘’a mode of experimental behaviour linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique of transient passage through varied ambiances.’’ (1). A particular type of dérive, a ‘walking the circle’ dérive, was proposed by MacFarlane when he gave the following instructions - ‘“Unfold a street map of London, place a glass, rim down, anywhere on the map, and draw round its edge. Pick up the map, go out into the city, and walk the circle, keeping as close as you can to the curve. Record the experience as you go, in whatever medium you favour.” (2)

The town of Silifke, in the province of Mersin, Turkey, was chosen as the site for the dérive due to its location as the nearest town of suitable size to the author’s home. A single page, A4 size tourist map (3) was used and the round lid of a stationary container, approximately 4 inches in diameter, was chosen at random and used to draw a circle on the map. The lid was positioned so the circumference passed as closely as possible to the bridges over the river that dissects the town. The resulting route is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Tourist map of Silifke with circular route drawn on.

The equipment shown in Table 1 was taken on the dérive, as recommended by Brandon (4).

EquipmentA notebook and pencil or pen. A camera.A mobile phoneA map.

Table 1. Equipment taken.

The dérive took place on day when the author was required to be in Silifke and had free time.

ReportThe derive started at 14:45 and was walked in a clockwise direction starting from the north side of the easternmost of the three bridges in Silifke, at the point marked A in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Map of actual route of the dérive.

As the walk started the author noticed a ladybird had landed on his jacket. There was also the sound of workman using chainsaws to clear the banks of the river downstream from the bridge.

Once the river was crossed there are steps leading down from the road on the bridge to the area beside the river. A graffiti scrawled foot tunnel that goes under the road bridge emerges at the bottom of the step.

This area has wide quiet roads. There is music playing from some of the houses. The fact it is near the river is emphasised by the sight of a boat on the street.

The roads quickly peter out into tracks as the town reaches its edge lands, with a wilder feel. A cat ran past with markings on its face like a bandit mask.

There is another, smaller bridge over a canal and then the dérive hits a main road. Once across this road the walk continues in wind and shadows. The area is suburban with more houses having gardens. There are no other pedestrians, but there is a sense of being watched. This feeling may have been brought on by spotting the mud flaps of this parked lorry.

The writing on this house, which I have helpfully circled in blue, reads ‘Dikkat kopek var. Dikkat kopek var. Kopek Var’ which translates as: Beware of the dog. Beware of the dog. Dog! Which has a pleasing poetic resonance to it.

This is a long stretch of the dérive, which starts to climb up into the surrounding hills before turning back to the main road, which is crossed by a footbridge. On the other side is a school, with children in the playground, a playground with a curious geometric design painted in one corner.

Figure 3

There are more pedestrians on this side of the road, and the route continues to get busier as it heads back towards the river. This area is the old part of Silifke, and many walls reuse ancient stones

There is a long straight street, Menderes Caddesi, which is busy but has a menacing, dangerous air about it. When it hits a junction with the main shopping streets of the town, Inönü Bulvarı, the atmosphere changes immediately to a much friendlier one. This better feeling continues as the route comes away from the main street into the back roads where the shops are very similar to the ones in Menderes Caddesi but seem much friendlier. Light relief is provided by the sight of a building in a burkah.

The narrow streets were obviously not built for cars, which park haphazardly where they can.

The stone bridge over the river, an ancient Roman bridge, the rough half way mark, is reached after an hour and a half. The dé rive was taking longer than expected and the author had to phone his wife and daughter who he was meeting at a cafe to check if they were waiting for him. They were still at the hairdressers and so the author had plenty of time to complete the dérive.

The area across the river was more populated still, with schools, shops and offices. The route moved briefly into the streets behind this busy area which seemed to act as a car parking space. The working vibe of the area was maintained though, as the hard hats in the back of one car show.

A car was reversing out of a tight space and a passer-by was giving directions and could be heard shouting ‘gel, gel, gel’ which means roughly ‘come on, keep going’. This felt like encouragement to the author as well.

The walk soon swung back into more active streets which the author knows well, leading to the last quarter of the dérive being familiar and, unconsciously, rushed. A diversion was met when the author spent some time in the shops looking for an anniversary gift for his wife.

The theme of the area being one of work and building continued with a builder’s truck parked on the road.

As the route swings back towards the start, and hence the finish, a statue of a partridge, the town’s symbol, can be seen on a roundabout.

The dérive finished at point A, as shown in Figure 2, at 16:15. The total distance walked was 5.5 km.

DiscussionAs a general finding, it was noted that having an unspecified but limited time for the dérive (in that the author had agreed to meet his wife and daughter at a cafe after they had finished at the hairdressers but had no firm idea of what time that would be) is not good. The feeling of needing to be somewhere else distracted from the experience.

As specific findings the authors preconceived ideas of the way Silifke was divided was reinforced by the dérive. North of the river is newer, busier, friendlier. South of the river is older and rougher. The major roads divide the town centre from areas where there is a slower, calmer feel.

The major finding was the presence of a sharp, invisible dividing line between a hostile zone on Menderes Caddesi and the more welcoming back streets around it. Further investigation into what causes this atmosphere and exactly where the boundary lies is required.

An initial area map of Silifke was completed, see Figure 4

Figure 4

The dérive can be considered successful in that it was completed and written up and so does constitute practise. However, it felt more like a walk than a dérive and more psychogeographic exercises are required.

The ladybird that was spotted at the start of the walk is considered a good omen, as the Turkish name for the insect is uğur böceği, literally meaning "good luck bug".

References1 Situationist International Online. http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/definitions.html

2 MacFarlane, Robert. A Road of One’s Own. Times Literary Supplement. Oct 07, 2005.

3 Silifke Tourist Map. All Rights Reserved - PK 56 33941 SİLİFKE.

4 Brandon, Nicole. Getting Started With Psychogeography. Scottish Book Trust Website. Feb 24, 2016. http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog/writing/2016/02/getting-started-with-psychogeography