Hi there, Alen here! I live in Istanbul, Turkey.

I see myself as an open-minded and easy-going person.

I am a musician and a sound engineer. I study Sound Design in Istanbul Technical University.

I love road cycling, for now I am cycling in the city but after I gain some condition I will go on longer, interurban tours and will attend to marathons or even races. I love going anywhere with just two 2 tires and your own condition.

I love cooking. I am vegan since February 2020 and since then I discover the diversity of the plant based kitchen and it’s chemistry. I am curious about trying new, experimental things and people tasting my dishes.

I love nature. The plenteousness and variety that it contains amazes me. I believe that all the philosophy of life lays there. Seeing landcapes and listening to soundcapes of earth makes me recognize details in life.

I am interested in sea journeys and ships. My family has a boat and in summer, we go on journeys to Princes’ Islands. My dad taught me to drive the boat when I was 7 years old. Since then, with my interest in geography and ecology, I love to go on, plan and navigate sea journeys.

I do all of these to deepen my experience of living. I have been through a really battering 3 years of anxiety and depression. Throughout this timeline, I deeply questioned meaning of my life and existence of this universe. I was burnout by thinking about horrible things going on this earth every single moment. As of today, I mostly overcame these. Now I feel like I have to compensate that time passed through my hands with rising from the ashes and living the life cutthroat.

So if you want to accompany, let me know!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I joined Couchsurfing on February 2024. I am generally looking for hosts. I live with my family and therefore I can’t accept guests for now, but in the future if I can, I would really like to. I am curious about enlargening my world view. I want to deeply live this short life with sharing, communicating and travelling. Also I am a musician and a sound engineer, I record sounds of the places I visit and then edit and compose them. So if you have any suggestions about the places which have unique sounds in your area or even want me to record you, let me know!

Interests

• cooking
• vegan
• music
• cycling
• sailing
• ecology
• nature
• farming
• sound
• birdwatching

Music, Movies, and Books

Rap, anatolian and eastern music, rock, jazz, choir and church music, flamenco, latin…

The Green Mile, Hachiko, Running On Empty, Before Trilogy…

I love reading so much, especially novels. I really love Yaşar Kemal and Zülfü Livaneli.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can teach you how to play several instruments. As classical/acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums and rhytm instruments, keys, bağlama (a national Anatolian instrument).

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, France, Greece, Italy