O Alp E. Arslan, μέλος της δημιουργικής ομάδας του ντοκιμαντέρ (δείτε το βιογραφικό του εδω) θυμάται τις ημέρες των γυρισμάτων στο Lapseki και μοιράζεται μαζί μας ένα μικρό κείμενο γεμάτο αναμνήσεις.

Alp E. Arslan is a member of the creative team of this documentary (see his bio here). Ηe recalls his experience from the days of shooting in Lapseki and shares his memories with us in this article. 

         —

“The subject matter of the film was important for me because, as you all know, it mentions an uncovered page of history about the Greeks in Turkey, particularly in Lapseki where I grew up and presently have a summerhouse. My mind is full of memories about the old bath, church converted into mosque with a very long and undiscovered cave beneath it, remains of many structures, old abandoned houses, into which we sneaked many years ago and  some of which we discovered again during shooting. I remember many more of them that were demolished and made into other things, not to mention here.

During filming, the word was for the elderly people who told many interesting things. I remembered the nice atmosphere when I watched the Behind the Scenes video on Niko’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/nmartzikos). It was Ramadan and people usually do not eat and drink at coffee houses outside in the center of the town during the day. We did it, along with the locals who told that the people of Lapseki were not very conservative.

We encountered some setbacks during filming but they were OK, which may be the natural flow of the business/art.

The work finally come out is a well-settled and well-formed film offering us the taste of the past with all its ups and downs.

In my opinion, there are many more, countless of stories to highlight in the form of documentary films throughout the history of relations between the Greeks and the Turks. It will be good to think that this work might be the initiator of similar studies and other works toward universal understanding and peace and friendship between the two nations!

I believe that this nice artwork, as well as such works oriented to helps us glimpse into the pages of history between the Greeks and the Turks, will establish sturdy bridges not only between the two countries but also within civilizations.

Thank you Anna, Niko, Oya, and everyone who contributed to the project for offering us a nice watch!”

Alp E. Arslan