The One and Only

In the far north of Chile, near the borders of Peru and Bolivia, the small, isolated village of Putre rests high in the Andes near the foot of the Taapaca Volcano. Though the Chilean government is working hard to transform the village into a base station for exploring the Lauca National Park, Putre has historically been home to a small indigenous population dedicated to high-altitude pastural living.

This man is happy to see the village around him grow and prosper, and even though the drying climate in northern Chile makes pastural living harder than it has ever been, he chooses to live the life his parents nurtured for him, and their parents before them.

At the edge of the factory district in the city of Gaziantep, this man, and dozens like him, have all set up table-top shops that line the sidewalk. They come here every weekend to sell their personal collection of hidden treasures in hope of turning a profit. For this man, everything on the table is about a dollar, give or take a Türk Lira. Except for the lemons. The lemons are for lunch.

Early every morning this man buys fresh greens at the wholesale market to then sell throughout the day. He sets up shop wherever foot traffic is steady, and he’ll work all day until everything is sold. His produce table is made of plastic bags and his chair is nothing more than a fine sense of balance.

Age has not worn him down or changed him one bit, except for having made him a realist. He no longer dreams of opportunities for a better life, but simply of ways to live his best life. Maybe this is all that changes when we get older, or all that really needs to. ― Become a realist and keep your balance.

Among the Kurds of Diyarbakir, this man is one of the most beloved people in city. He has worked in this market ever since he was young, building his business and helping his community grow and prosper. Through the years he has become a friend and mentor to all the men and boys who have ever worked here, or who were ever in need of guidance or help. He has always been here for them.

If you were to sit in this market for even just a little while you’d think that every man and boy was his son or grandson. Everyone will visit with him for at least a part of their day, and no one will pass him by without a respectful wave or gentle embrace. Among the Kurdish people of Diyarbakir, this man is loved.

The territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is entering its 11th month of ceasefire. While tensions continue to persist, they are on the other side of the country and far from this quiet street in the city of Vanadzor.

There may not be any real danger here, no threats of violence or signs of unrest, but this fine man ― a lieutenant colonel in the Armenian army ― continues to guard the streets each day. He carries no weapon and commands no fear. The comfort he provides is the gentleness of his presence and the kindness in his heart.

This woman lives in Vanadzor, the capital city of Lori province, and this is her shop near the city centre. She doesn’t pretend to be an expert on cleaning products, this is just a good line of business for her that doesn’t need a clever pitch or a hard sell. All she really needs to make it work are two things: products and personality ― and she’s got both.

For some reason, this old man walks three kilometres or so every day, all the way along this path from the top of the valley down to here at the bottom. And then back. Every day. He says it’s because he has work to do, but I think he just has a life to live.

This man runs a small automotive repair shop in the city of Gaziantep in eastern Türkiye. The shop is attached to his home, connected to the living room where he sits now. A wood-burning stove anchors the room while bottles of motor oil seem as perfectly placed in the cluttered space as any ornament, teacup or propane tank.

As you might imagine, he’s the kind of person who is bothered by little and who feels at ease wherever he goes. It’s his general disposition in life. Important things come first. He’s more interested in art than politics, in his neighbours than his nation, in what he has than what he has not. The clutter in his life is not deliberate, it’s just the way things fall.

Seventy years ago, at the age of 16, this man began apprenticing with an elderly tailor who owned a shop just down the street from here. The elderly tailor soon retired, and this man took over the business, eventually moving to this location in the late 1960’s where he has been mastering his craft ever since.

Now, at 86, having learned so much about being a tailor, he comes to work every morning full of hope that an enthusiastic and determined young man will walk through the door and ask to become his apprentice.

This Macedonian man lives on the Albanian side of lake Ohrid, the most beautiful lake in the Balkans and shared by both countries. Every day he sits on this bench, selling herbs and vegetables from his garden to visitors who have come to this sleepy town of Pogradec that sits right at the water’s edge, just like he sits now.

At the end of the day he may have sold a few dollars’ worth of his goods to passers-by. Or not. It doesn’t really matter. For him, sitting here is less about the money and more about the stories he shares with strangers and friends. It is about the perfect view, from this very bench, across the lake and back in time to the land of his youth.

This man has been a stained-glass artisan in the Türk city of Mugla ever since he was a young man. He learned the craft right here at this table, apprenticing with his father and where the two of them worked together for much of their lives. But this is now his shop, and it is the last of its kind in the city.

This man runs his own shoe repair business in the old market district of Sanlıurfa. His shop is roughly the size of a closet, just big enough to house his industrial sewing machine that he brings inside at night, and carefully rolls out again every morning when he starts work.

For the past 50 odd years this is the one and only sewing machine he has ever owned, and with it, he has earned his living and supported his family and become one of the many shopkeepers that help keep this old city market an essential part of modern-day life.