Coming from a small cosmopolitan city, I tried my hand at globetrotting around the world, following events that inspired me. Sailing across the Mediterranean, festivals in Portugal, dancing in New York, artist collaborations in Slovenia, and yoga in India are some of my international whereabouts and hoping to add a few more — turning my hunt for events into an actual business that frees me and allows me to travel and enjoy what I had been pursuing all my life!
I feel that one of the greatest virtues to have personally is curiosity, the thirst for the new.
Add to that an ounce of fearlessness or pretending to be brave, faking it till you make it.
Istanbul was what I had been looking for, a plethora of people, where you are free to be, just being who you are, flowing through a myriad of humanity, selecting among the many opportunities or creating your own.
The creative world absorbed me and I felt the magnitude of creation, here in Turkey and beyond.
With a background in design, delving into the art world of Istanbul, working/volunteering/observing/creating, this gave me the opportunity to expand beyond and create my own little business that mixes up creating events and networking around Istanbul.
For a summer season, I tried my hand at attracting tourists and foreigners to yoga and meditation stints around the city, offering views from roof tops and hidden gems, hunting for new locations, new groups, new people, all the while discovering how to build a business and website, polishing my social media skills and just throwing myself out there.
Sadly the tourism sector had just started to slow down.
Reflecting back at my business idea, where I had gone wrong, how external circumstances affect the daily businesses and how fragile the economy is, it was a learning curve, an opportunity to create and manifest a dream.
I got help from friends and family abroad who supported my venture, not as lucrative as I hoped it would be, but it’s good stuff. Exposure.
Being unemployed for a while, having stashed some cash from my previous full time work, and being in a new city is a recipe for adventure, and that is where I headed.
Little by little, learning the language, settling down after what I had labeled “living like a rock star” period with music oriented ambiances, people and spaces, across the Istanbul rooftops and horizon, still living an unconventional lifestyle that to many sounds absurd and bizarre (as I have been told), I am at it again, this time heading out to Ibiza.
Not to be a party pooper though….
I know I know… Hedonistic Ibiza that offers people the freedom to be who they want to be, camouflaged, pretentious or just down to Earth.
Surprisingly it’s not all about the partying, though I am inclined to say I am a party lover and enjoy good music.
The question was: how do I travel to Ibiza without enough resources?
How can I make that possible?
Well, I guess I answered that by building a business.
I think I took the long road here. tsk tsk tsk…
It could have been anything from begging for money, volunteering, applying for a working permit, blogging, and many ideas that may not have come to my mind.
I thought if I can create something where people can join and enjoy what I love, then that is the way.
A tribe of like-minded people from all around the globe.
Sounded like a challenge.
Pulled through that after intuitive selection, long interrupted Skype calls, a few recommendations, and a collection of random setbacks and leaps.
Website. Check. Still tweaking.
Business plan. Still checking.
Yoga event (my first). Check and launched.
Now it’s time to tell the world the story.
Each event has a story, and I learned to collect experiences, not things.
All that remains is the stories we tell, as colorful as they are, they take us as far as our journeys.
Welcoming you to Istanbul if you are a newcomer or a passerby, it has always been a port between the East and the West. Perhaps it’s geographic jargon, but me coming here, I have opened the doors and, fingers crossed, my journey doesn’t end here.
Hoş Geldiniz as they say.
Welcome to an inner journey, one of many, of discovering more about yourself.
-Zen K
Note: If you would like to join me on the yoga retreat, kindly follow the link:
http://poweronpassion.com/event/gratitude-ibiza-yoga-retreat/
