Mayor of Istanbul

This is a portrait of the actual mayor of Istanbul since 2004, Kadir Topbaş. He's from the AKP (Justice and Development Party). You have to know the symbol of the AKP (which is a light bulb) to understand the stencil. They replaced the light bulb with his head and let the rays of light around.
Those stencil where found in Cihangir respectively in Başkurt Street, in Somuncu Street and in Güneşli Street near Susam Street.

Dali

I found those ones of artist Salvador Dali in the Taksim and Cihangir area. A4 formatted stencil made by an anonymous artist.

Jesus - Merry Christmas

I found this one of Jesus on the cross in Kartal Street in Taksim. In this street you could find many many stencils but most of them are gone now. There is a big nice fresco (a wall painting) now at this spot. You can see three other stencils on this photo. One of 645, one of the Chiquita banana and one of the band Kreş.

The Cockatoo and the Octopus

I found this one near Cihangir while going down to Tophane by the back alleys (Findikli Yokusu).
This stencil represents a cockatoo and an octopus with the writing "Même Pas Mal" just below. It's French for "Didn't Even hurt". It's signed by O&C. Is the artist(s) French or going to the French school or just French speaking ? I don't know. This is the second stencil I find with French text.
Above this stencil you can see another stencil of Bruce Lee that I published a while ago.

Euro Apartimani

I found this one in Bogazkesen street near the Galatasaray H.S. It represents Turkish P.M. Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the left and what looks like Russian P.M. Valdimir Putin on the right, but I'm not sure. If someone could enlightened me. 50x40 cm.
In Turkey all the buildings have a name. This one is represented as the old (early 19th century) Beyoglu's buildings of european style.

Babalar

A while ago, I posted a stencil of the number eight. On the same wall you could see this one with three faces. Who are they ? Three singers considered to be the best singers of the Turkish folk music (mostly Turkish folk and Ottoman classical music, with an arabesque style).













The one on the left is Müslüm Gürses, "Gürses" being a scene name meaning "strong voice". His talent and his special style have put him to a different place among other folk singers. In his songs he mostly expresses sorrow and painful feelings (listen here). He is considered a cult figure in Turkish folk music and has a very dedicated group of fans, most of whom being young, low-income urban people. He is mostly called Müslüm Baba ("Papa Müslüm") among them (wikipedia).

İn the middle, Ibrahim Tatlises (Sweet Voice), also known as Ibo (short for Ibrahim). One of Turkey's most prolific recording artists, hosts a popular television program İbo Show and has appeared in several dozen films. He is the archetype of the Turkish male, real macho man. Known for beating his wife(s).

Third one : Orhan Gencebay is a bağlama virtuoso, composer, singer, arranger, music producer, music director, and actor. Pioneer in Turkish music as he combined Arabic motives with the elements of Turkish classical and folk music. His music includes also psychedelic notions since he's also familiar with rock and jazz music. He also played in more than 30 films.

La Linea - Kreuzberg

This one represents the little character from the Italian cartoon "La Linea" created by Osvaldo Cavandoli with the writing Kreuzberg. Kreuzberg is both the Turkish and trendy district in Berlin, Germany. The creator of this stencil is Daniel (a german psychiatrist), he actually lives in Kreuzberg in Berlin. You can find them in the Nişantaşı area. It's a pretty smaşş one, about 15x10 cm.









Dersane Street






























Süleyman Nazif Street






"Temiz Şişli" means "A Clean Şişli", Şişli (sheeshlee) being the name of the municipality. Someone wrote "Çişli" (tcheeshlee) on the left side meaning "with pee". Underneath the writing, above the stencil, it says "Kirletriz" (mispelled) meaning "we'll litter".









Vali Konağı Boulevard

Bruce Lee

I found this one near the Italian H.S. between Galatasaray and Tophane on a door in a very narrow street. It's actually a pretty good one considering its size (about 15x15 cm). It's also a three layered one with black, yellow and orange. Did one of the students did that ?

Decco

Decco (pronounce DeDjjo) seems to be a contemporary writer but also a photographer. Mystery man for me, I could not find the name(s) of his book(s). Anyway the guy seems pretty cool with his sunglasses and trendy hairdo. On the large photo you can also see a "colored" stencil. Section that I will update very soon.

Bob Marley

Same wall than yesterday but this time it's about another famous person : Jamaican musician Bob Marley, or at least I think it is him. I like that they took the time to do the eyes and the teeth white. Its size is approximately 40x30cm.

I Had a Dream

This is a nicely done portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. I found this one (those two actually) in Tosbağa Sokak near the Galatasaray H.S. in Taksim along with two others I will post about tomorrow (I already posted about the "colored" one). It approximate size is about 30x20 cm.
I'm actually glad that stencils in Istanbul are getting better but I don't get why they feel the need to put so many side by side. Anyway, it's better than nothing, right ?

W.

This A4 format orange stencil of U.S. president G. W. Bush portrayed as a belligerent, a money lover and a nazi was found in hte Cihangir district.

De Niro

This is a bad stencil of Robert De Niro. Let's not say bad but with poor details. What movie is this scene taken out from ? hmm ? I ask you.... A4 format stencil in the Beyoglu District.

Super Mario

I saw this one near the Tünel District, at the end of the Istiklal Street opposite of Taksim Square. Super Mario is saying : "Höyt" which could be translated as ... I don't know, something like ... "Oy !" maybe. The sticker underneath is a left over from the 2007 Labour Day in Istanbul. For a closer look at the sticker, click here.

Depeche Mode in Taksim

Those three were found on the Istiklal Street or around in the Taksim District. They're already missing in action.