İNŞAAT

sediment,
exertion,
embodiment.
GÖKHAN the carpenter

My name is Gökhan. I was born in 1986. I started this job seeing it

from my father. My father was a carpenter as well. I started that way
and I enjoy doing it now. More importantly than earning money, one
should enjoy what they are doing. I enjoy this job, I like dealing with
wood. Of course the financial matters of the job challenge us. Not
only in Sinop, I did this job abroad as well. I worked in Tajikistan,
Dushanbe. Then I got married here and came back to my hometown.
I work and do not complain too much. We start the work at 8 in the
morning. For the evening, there is not an hour limitation. Whenever
it gets dark, we finish. So, it changes in winter and summer. Why?
Because if the sooner we finish our job, the quicker we get our money.

Education is a must. You can only reach a certain point by working

in an atelier. But education gives you another perspective. I studied
in the university until the 2nd grade. I had to quit in the 2nd grade.
Education gives you a lot, I wish I could have continued. I wanted to
become a teacher of furniture. I was in a vocational school. Then I was
planning to finish it with a 2 year more education. I could not get my
diploma. It was only 3 more months for my diploma. There are some
private reasons.

I like to build something. When I finish a project, I say “I did this!” That
is the pleasure I get out of my job.

Years ago, I am not that old but I know it from my father, we had a
100% gain. We charged 200 Lira for a job of 100. Now our gain is only
25%. I believe if the economy changes for the better, everything will
work. We do not have any troubles about materials. But, for example,
the dollar is rising, the cost is rising. You give a price for a job to a
customer. You do not give the expenses of the materials, but put them
on the account. You do not charge the customer in advance. Then
the retail shop does not give you the price on the day you got the
materials, but on the day you actually pay. Then you lose money.

I am here since the foundation is constructed. Before, here were only

ruins. Only the entrance floor was here. Then they made the digging,
masons built the walls. I have put effort to every wooden work here.
Not alone of course, with frieds. I did all the wood inside here. There
is a material in the walls that we call badadit. There are metal cables
around it. Then the cement on it. I made all the doors and windows
in my atelier. I have an atelier. You cannot do them here, you need
machines. My atelier is in Ordu Köyü. Near the industrial area. Not in it.
The stop of the construction means that the jobs of masons,
plumbers, and carpenters also stop. We do not only to restorations.
We also do furniture and boards. We are trying to balance ourselves
that way. New construction means new jobs for us. Not only me, for
all my colleagues. I have a child. How can I provide for him? Everyday
gets harder. We wait for it to get better everyday, but it is becoming
worse.
MEVMET the restaurator
I am a master’s teacher on restoration. My speacialities are old
artifacts and Unmoveable Cultural Properties. This application
here is an application of the Ministry of Culture. I am both a
master and an educator. We are conducting many restorations
here in the city, near towns and other cities in the region. As I
am an employer, my working hours start at 8. We do not have a
time limit. Our working schedule is between 8-5. But our hours
continue 7/24. I have worked as a master’s teacher in European
Projects. I am also a master and I like doing that better. But, I
don’t have enough time for that. I like to give life to old artifacts
again. This building was in ruins, now we are making it come
to life again. We mainly work on preservation. Our community
has a greater consciousness now. The old artifacts are not in
their previous situations anymore. I would like that people were
more consious about this. The situation with the construction
plan did not affect us too much. I hope that the new plan would
be better for the city. The new maps to be drawn, we hope,
would be better. It could also go worse. Sinop’s underground
is also a history. People dig in and find old artifcats. On the
other hand, some men demolish the sidewalks and build new
buildings there. As a humble son of this city, I wish that the new
plan would be more academic and professional. This cannot go
forever.

My main material is wood. Other materials are different. I do

not know if you know this but in old artifacts all the material
are prepared after a material analysis to make it original to its
actual form. My main material is wood, I like that. For others,
for example stones, I am not that talented. Other places, for
example there is a castle in Ordu. Another one in Bafra.

I mainly work in the Black Sea Region. Generally here in this

area. It is a complicated process. We first wash the building.
Elevate it with a jack. Because the materials are getting dryer as
the time passes, the humidity decreases. The wood becomes
stiffer. A part of the building was demolished, for example. In
such a situation we use a jack. The wood needs to work as well
while we are elevating it. Now we stopped washing, as it has
been raining a lot. Normally we use hoses.
ANONIMOUS
the plumber
I think it is not necessary to give my name. I am a plumber.
We start working at 8 in the morning, finish around 6 or 7,
accordingly with the work. I started this job in İstanbul, while I
was doing my military service. They taught me there. Generally
we use plastic materials and their apparatuses. Now I am doing
roughly water pipes of the building. I also do detailed work as
well. It depends on the people how much you can finish in a day.
When the floor is ready and you have a good apprentice with
you, you can finish one or one and a half flats a day. All the water
pipes and the heating. You first need to love what you do. You
need to love your job and do your best. I have worked outdoors
my whole life. This is where we make our bread, even though it
is outdoors. I do not have any concerns for the cancellation of
the construction plan. Our job is a precise job. Our cycle turns
somehow no matter what happens. Of course it affected our
jobs as the constructions stopped. But you need to learn to be
okay with the little you have.

SUAT AND MUSTAFA
ceramics installers
Mustafa: We come here to work around 8.30 - 9.30 in the
morning. Then we start working. We give a lunch break between
12-1 o’clock. We make tea whenever we want. We eat biscuits
as you see. We finish around 7-8. Sometimes we leave around
6, as it is our own job. Sometimes we charge for square meters.
We do as we please; start early leave left. This is our style.
Suat: I learnt the job from my uncle. Approximately for 20 years
I am doing this. Back then when we started we were green. It is
12 years that I started ceramic. Before that I was doing plaster.
We then started this job. This is a lighter work then plaster, that
is why we chose it I guess.
Mustafa: I learnt the job from my father. He was a ceramic
master. I started when I was 14-15; I have been doing it for 23-
24 years.
Suat: Here we work with a brand “Karebodur”. Then started
“Çanakkale Ceramic”. After that “Kütahya Ceramic”. Now there
are multiple national brands. We generally buy from Turkish
firms.
Mustafa: I rarely came across foreign brands. The foreign ones
are generally 1st quality materials. Depends on the construction.
Contracters generally do not use first quality materials, but they
use 2nd quality. They use 1st quality only for their own houses.
Mustafa: We complete 20-25 meter squares a day. This is for the
ones that are already plastered. Normally we do the plaster as
well.
Suat: When we are doing a job and finished doing it, and we
take a look back to what we did; if we like it, if it is proper, then I
enjoy it.
Mustafa: Generally we try to do it properly. This is our job,
brother.
Suat: We are already making them accordingly with the
technology, the latest innovations. For example, we did not have
these back then. There were smaller sizes. Then came the 30 x
60’s and then 60 x 60’s, and at the end 60 x 120’s. Now we even
have 120 x 240’s. As the sizes grow, materials change. Whatever
technology brings, we use it.
Mustafa: As the material grows in size, the detailed works are
needed more. When people look at it they say the material is big
so the labour is easier. In reality the opposite is the case. The
smaller size is easier.
Mustafa: Concerning the construction stop in Sinop, our boss is
the one dealing with it. He tells us to work and we do.
Suat: We do work. But of course the situation affects us. When
does it resolve in the future? For example, winter is coming.
Normally we also do repairs. We demolish inside the houses and
rebuild. You cannot do these jobs in winter. Normally we do it in
summer. And in winter we do the constructions. It does affect us
of course.
SUAT VE MUSTAFA
seramik ustası
Mustafa: Sabah 8.30 - 9.30 gibi işe geliyoruz. Ondan sonra işe
başlıyoruz. Saat 12-1 arası yemek molası veriyoruz. Canımız
istediği zaman çay demliyoruz. Yanında bisküvi gördüğünüz gibi.
Saat 7-8 gibi işi bırakıyoruz. Bazen 6’da çıkıyoruz kendi işimiz
olduğu için. Bazen metre kare işi alıyoruz işimizi kendi istediğimiz
gibi bırakıyoruz ya da erken başlıyoruz. Çalışma stilimiz bu.
Suat: Amcamın yanında öğrendim. Aşağı yukarı 20 sene oldu
bu işe başlayalı. O zamanlar daha çıraktık. Seramiğe başlayalı
12 yıl oldu daha önce sıva yapıyorduk inşaatlarda, kaba inşaat
yapıyorduk. Mesleğimiz sıvaydı sonradan bu işe döndü. Bu iş
biraz daha hafif olduğu için daha rahatımıza geldi demek ki.
Mustafa: Ben babamın yanında yetiştim. Babam seramik
ustasıydı. Ben 14-15 yaşında girdim aşağı yukarı 23-24 yıldan
beri seramik işiyle uğraşıyorum.
Suat: Bizim şimdi burada karebodur marka vardı Çanakkale
Seramik’in onla başladı. Ondan sonra Kütahya seramik, şimdi
çok değişik türk firmaları var. Yani genelde bizim gittiğimiz hep
türk firmaları. Yaptığımız işte türk markaları ağırlıklı. Yabancı çok
az denk geldim ben.
Mustafa: Yabancılar genelikle birinci sınıf malzeme. İnşaatına
göre değişir. Mütahhitler genelikle birinci sınıf malzeme
kullanmaz. Genelde hep ikinci sınıf kullanır. Birinci sınıfı genelde
şahıs kendisi yapar.
Mustafa: Günlük ortalama 20-25 m2 civarında iş yapıyoruz. Bu
sıvası yapılmış yerler için geçerli. Normalde sıvasını da kendimiz
yapıyoruz.
Suat: Biz bir işi düzgün yaparsak arkasına geçtiğimiz zaman
baktığımızda eğer düzgünse, düzgün çıkarabildiysek o işten zevk
alıyorum.
Mustafa: Genelde düzgün çıkarmaya bakıyoruz. Bizim işimiz bu
kardeşim.
Suat: Zaten teknolojiye göre yani yeniliklere göre yapıyoruz.
Mesela önceden bunlar yoktu. Daha küçük ebatlar vardı. Sonra
bu 30x60’lar çıktı daha sonra 60x60’lar çıktı sonradan da
60x120’ler çıktı. Şimdi 120x2.400 seramikler çıktı. Şimdi ebat
büyüdükçe bunların malzemesi de değişiyor. Teknoloji neyi
getirirse biz de onları kullanıyoruz.
Mustafa: Malzeme büyüdüğü için daha incelikli işçilik istiyor.
Vatandaş baktığı zaman diyor ki bu malzeme büyük, işçiliği
kolay. Halbuki tam tersine malzeme küçüldüğü zaman işçilik
kolaylaşıyor.
Mustafa: Bu konuyla bizim patron ilgileniyor. Adam bize çalışın
diyor biz de çalışıyoruz.
Suat: Çalışıyoruz ama bu iş bizi tabiki etkiliyor. İleriye dönük bu
ne zaman çözülür? Mesela önümüz kış. Normalde biz tadilatta
yapıyoruz. Mesela evin içini kırıp tadilat yapıyoruz. Kışın bunlar
olmuyor. Genelde yazın ağırlıklı oluyor. İşte kışın da böyle inşaat
ağırlıklı çalışıyoruz. Bu işin böyle olması bizi etkiliyor tabi ki.
 is living in America as a refugee. By that time if you were living
in Turkey for a year you had the chance to go to America as a
refugee. I came Amasya(a city in Turkey) I became a refugee.
Than I stayed here. Trump is president now and he doesn’t want
muslims.

I came to Turkey at 2013. Back then I had 75 thousand dollars

and you were staying in Turkey for a year than move elsewhere.
You have three interviews. After that it is America or Canada
or Australia. So I didn’t work. Than I was late. I got married in
İstanbul at 2014. She was from my home town, she was my
girlfriend.

Then I came to Sinop at July 2014, everything happens in July.

I had 5 thousand Turkish Lira when I came. Then I had to work.
I immediately became a foreman. The job is easy and there isn’t

ADIL*
drywall craftsmann
many clever person in here. I became a foreman. This job is
good thanks God.

Life is good. People are good. Everyone believes in Islam. So no

problem. City is small, I Iiked it. Baghdat was like Istanbul. I am
My work is about decoration. I do all drywalls. Because I am a sick of that city. I like calm cities. My boss, my friends are cool.
refugee I had to find a job. I found this job, and I’ve been doing Turkish people is cool, no problem. the one thing is you work for
this for 5 years. I used to be a journalist back there. nothing. You pay food, bills etc. And that’s it. That bothers me.

During ‘Saddam War’ I gratuated from Tourism University.

Then I studied Media, I chose journalism branch at the last
year of university. I gratuated at 2009. I had a shop for selling
stationary and office supplies. I worked there for 3 years then I
got a problem with a tribe. There wasn’t any war at my city but
neighbouring cities had. There was disagreement between Shia’s
and Sunni’s. I had to leave there. I went to Kurdistan first. Then I
thought they might came there also, they were a tribe, you know.
It was like a mess after Saddam. I escaped for Iran, stayed there
for 2 months. I had a friend who was living in Turkey. Now he
ADIL*
alçıpan ustası
vardı. O zaman 100 Dolar 200 TL zaten. Mecbur kaldım çalıştım.
Ama çalıştığım zaman hemen usta oldum. Çünkü işler kolay
yani. Burada biraz akıllı insan yok. İş kolay, usta oldum , çalıştım.
Meslek çok iyi Allah’a şükür.
İşe başlıyoruz. Benim meslek zaten dekorasyon mesleği. Yani
bütün alçıpanlar, dekorasyonlar bende. Ben mülteci olduğum için
mecburen iş aradım burada. Bu mesleğe girdim, 5 senedir bu
mesleği yapıyorum. Orada gazeteciydim ben.

Sıkıntı yok benim için. Saddam savaşı zamanında 2004’te turizm

üniversitesini bitirdim. Sonra Medya Bölümünü okudum, son
sınıfta gazetecilik alanını seçtim. 2006’da girdim, 2009’da bitird-
im. Kırtasiye dükkanım vardı. Sheraton Otel’e girdim. Orada 2-3
sene çalıştım. 2013’te aşiretle ilgili bir sıkıntı çıktı. Bizim orada
savaş yoktu o zaman, çevre şehirlerde vardı. Emniyette polisler
falan sıkıntılıydı. Bölünme de olmuştu Sunniler ve Şiiler arasında.
Mecburen oradan çıkmam gerekti. 2013 Ağustos’ta önce Kürd-
istan’a gittim. Sonra oraya kadar da gelebileceklerini düşündüm
çünkü bunlar aşiretti. Saddam’dan sonra biraz sıkıntı çıkmıştı.
İran’a kaçtım, orada 2 ay kaldım. Sonra Türkiye’de bir arkadaşım
vardı, şimdi o arkadaşım Amerika’da mülteci olarak yaşıyor.
O zamanlar bir sene yaşayınca gidebiliyordun mülteci olarak.
Amasya’ya geldim mülteci oldum. Sonra kaldım burada. Trump
başkan oldu müslümanları istemiyor şimdi.

2013’de geldim ben. O zaman 75 bin dolar var bende. O zaman-

da bir sene kalıyorsun sonra çıkıyorsun yurtdışına. Ankara’da üç
mülakatı yapıyorsun. Ya Amerika çıkıyor o zaman ya Kanada ya
da Avustralya. Ben de çalışmadım. Zaten 75 bin doların her ay
bin dolarını harcarsan 2-3 sene geçinirsin. Ben de öyle yaptım.
Bir buçuk sene çalışmadım. Geç kaldım.

2014’te evlendim, kız oradan geldi. Benim sevgilimdi zaten,

Param bitti. İstanbul’da evlendim, Sinop’a geldim. 2014 Tem-
muz’da, hep temmuzda oluyor zaten. Sinop’a geldim 5000 TL *Some names have been changed for privacy reasons
İNŞAAT
sediment,
exertion,
embodiment.

Ana Filipovic and Philipp Mecke

Curators: Asli Serbest and Mona Mahall

Special thanks to: Mert Karaçikay, Yiğit Kaya, Cagatay Simsek,

Ezgi Ülkü, Erkan Akliman, Hülya Civlez.

Sinopale 7