What Ali Wore

A few days ago I received some very sad news from Turkey - Ali passed away last Wednesday morning. It's quite hard to believe this charming man - who had one of the best laughs I've known - is with us no more!

My friendship with him, ignited in the summer of 2012 was certainly one of the most delightful surprises of my life. The period when the blog started to become well known was quite surreal. It was always so enjoyable to see Ali's reaction to his new found fame, whether it was when he was recognised on the U-Bahn or when a photo of him was published in a newspaper. Equally rewarding was seeing the joy he brought into so many people's lives. I received countless messages from people all over the world, telling me Ali reminded them of their grandfather or uncle and how happy it made them to see the photos of him and to read about our friendship.

It was of course harder to keep in touch with Ali when he moved back to Turkey a few years ago. I'm thankful that earlier this year one of his granddaughters with a smartphone called me via video chat when she was visiting Ali, and we spoke a couple of times over the past months.

This photo was taken in August 2014, when Ali and I went out to Brandenburg with Kerim and Betül. That was the day he mentioned he had been a member of a circus in West Berlin in the 1970s...I have wondered in the interim if that was perhaps a slightly tall tale, or maybe the language barrier got in the way. The thing is that Ali and I could never communicate in much detail, but I think our friendship was held together by a mutual enjoyment of each other's company. And what never got lost in translation was his warmth, his generosity and his zest for life. I'll miss you Ali! 

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from an unfamiliar number. It was Ali, back in Berlin after over a year in Turkey. I met him back at his old work where he’s been doing some shifts. (The customers miss him, he says!)  After he’d finished his work for the day he changed out of his more practical slacks and shirt and into yet another suit I’d never seen - a light summer number with satin lapels. He was obviously the best dressed in the cafe where we then had lunch!

Ali is back in Berlin. He called me the other week to meet up with him for a tea. I only had my 35mm film camera on hand, but I suppose analog suits him well... And just when we thought we’d seen all his suits, here he is in a shiny silver one!

It seems there's been a bit of a renewed interest in the blog the last few days, and with that people are of course wondering about Ali. He's back in Turkey at the moment with his family. He called me a month or so ago, and seemed in good spirits. For those asking about the book, unfortunately it never came to fruition, but I hope one day it will! (any publishers out there?!) In the meantime it's nice to see so many people from around the world still enjoying the photos and the story.  Zoe

Look who I ran into last night! Ali has been filling in at his old job for his former boss who has been sick. I was on my way to work to photograph a concert we had on, and so just happened to have my camera on me when I almost rode past him at the bus stop. I must say, Ali seemed quite content having just done a days work back at the shop. 

Well, it’s been a long time indeed between photos. Ali and I have been meeting up for coffee every now and then over the past few months, but this was the first time the opportunity arose to take his photo. He was in Turkey for a while, and I get the feeling coming back to Berlin has been quite hard for him this time. He really misses his home, and I believe he’ll probably move back to Turkey on a more permanent basis soon. Of course I’ll miss him, but he’s already told me he’ll book me a flight to come visit! 

Folks, I need your help! 

For a while now, I've been wanting to make a book of my photos of Ali. So I've put together a mock up, with the intention of sending it to publishers. Honestly though, I don't quite know where to start. Can anyone give me the details of someone I might contact? You can email me at [email protected]

I went to Ali's for lunch last week, and gave him one of the mock up copies. He seemed quite pleased with it, but of course I'd love to be able to present him with a proper book one day! Many thanks in advance for any assistance you can give. 

(And here is a quick flick through preview: http://instagram.com/p/ypCicVQLGG/?modal=true )

I've been asked quite a few times by the press to be interviewed with Ali. However with the language barrier, and the fact that up until recently he was working six days a week, it was always just a bit too tricky to organise. However, when NPR got in contact, I made an exception! We met with Esme from NPR News a few weeks before Christmas. You can listen to the interview here:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/01/02/370381686/age-85-and-still-stylish-on-the-streets-of-berlin

This photo was taken last week at Kottbusser Tor, as Ali and I were on our way to grab a bite to eat together.

I met up with Ali for a quick cup of tea this afternoon around the corner from his house. It was his idea to shoot the photo in the spot where we used to out the front of my old work. (And yes, that is a Mickey Mouse tie!)

It's been far too long since I've seen Ali! He has been ill, my work schedule has been a bit erratic, and then he lost his mobile phone. He's feeling better now though, and yesterday he dropped in to work just as I was finishing my shift. We took the opportunity to wander up to the Warschauer Straße bridge and get a photo with the Berlin Fernsehturm (TV tower) in the background. It's one of my favourite things about Berlin, as you can see it from pretty much anywhere in the city.

It's likely I'll have more opportunities to catch up with Ali now. He told me yesterday he will have more free time as he has stopped working...he is 85 after all!

True to his word, Ali dropped into my new place of employment yesterday to say hello. It was busy, so I didn’t have a lot of time to chat, but Ali did give me a plastic bag containing three chocolate bars…keeping me well stocked until we next meet, I suppose!

This is of course the suit Ali wore last year when we went to a Turkish wedding together < http://tmblr.co/ZaCbQui6jh4R > He seems to have found the perfect hat for it now!

I had a coffee with Ali and Kerim today at the shop. I hadn't seen them in a while, so it was nice to catch up. As I was leaving, Ali prescribed one million kisses for me, half a million for my mum and half a million for my dad. Usually he says only one hundred thousand for my dad, and so I queried the change. He said it's best not to make things complicated!

I think there was a little confusion with my last post. That wasn't the last photo of Ali, or indeed the end of the blog, just the last one taken outside the cafe where I used to work. Ali has already told me he's coming to visit me at my new job the next Sunday I'm working! 

Silky trousers and jacket, in shades of the forest. 

It's possible that this may be the last photo taken outside of the cafe that I post. After over two years there, I am moving onto another job. I'm quite excited about this, but obviously a little sad I'll no longer be seeing Ali on an almost daily basis. He seemed to take the news fairly well, and assured me that there would still be plenty of opportunities for us to see each other! 

On Sunday I joined Ali, his boss Kerim and Kerim's daughter Betül for an outing to their friend's garden house out in Brandenburg. Ali and Kerim had been there the night before, and prepared a bbq lunch for us in advance. We enjoyed a walk around a nearby lake after lunch, and I got some snaps of some local kids jumping into the water. http://zoespawton.tumblr.com/post/94525113450/lake-jumper-brandenburg

Ali was in high spirits, singing and dancing for us. He also revealed he was in a circus just off the Kurfürstendamm in the west of Berlin in the mid 1970s. Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about him...!

Three types of stripe in one outfit!

(This is one of the aforementioned suits Ali brought back with him from his recent trip to Turkey)

A return to a more classic monochromatic look from Ali here.

This photo will be part of an upcoming group exhibition I'm proud to be a part of at Galerie Pavlova here in Berlin. I'll be showing nine images from the What Ali Wore series. The exhibition opens this Friday. If you're in Berlin please do come down and have a look.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.709901672404593.1073741840.540923372635758&type=1

This Sporting Life, with Ali, Part Two...

I can confirm that this tracksuit and the one from yesterday are from the football team of his home city in Turkey.

Those sunglasses (gold, to match his watch and other jewelry of course) are something else...