the very first day!
“I read a book one day, and my whole life was changed.”
I visited an artist residency one day, and my whole life was changed.
Yes, just like that.
In April 2014, when I visited my choreographer friend Jodi Lomask, who was an artist-in-residence at Djerassi Residency, I could never have imagined that one day we, too, would have our own residency — a place surrounded by nature, where we would welcome artists from around the world. The seed of that beautiful idea was planted that day. That seed, even at times when I was not fully aware of its existence, stayed alive within me — quietly, persistently.
In April 2022, when we first saw the land that would become DAA, that long-sleeping seed began to stir again. And the idea of bringing that dream to life in Türkiye, in Bodrum, gave that seed new joy — it started to grow, to branch, to blossom.
I will never forget that rainy day when we saw this beautiful land for the very first time. Although we were mesmerized by its beauty, we hesitated at first. It was much too big for us to handle. We did not even have plans to stay in Türkiye. As we were leaving that day, we thanked Ali for showing us around and told him, “We hope that whoever buys it will be someone who truly connects with this place.”
We couldn’t have known then that Dağbelen would anchor itself so deeply in our hearts and one day we would sell our home in San Francisco to come and live in this magical place.
Aynur
A blurry photo taken on that very first visit to Dağbelen.