The Simit Seller

I confess that while I’ve eagerly waited for the simitci to arrive in the street near my Istanbul home—a tray of simit atop his head—I’ve never seen one on a bicycle. Arif’s simitci manages to navigate a cobblestone street (which I sometimes find challenging to even walk on). Turkey’s answer to the bagel, simit is a circular bread typically encrusted with sesame seeds. It’s a popular breakfast food eaten with jam, cheese, and black tea. (Tea, by the way, is consumed in Turkey in huge quantities similar to coffee in America.)

Typical of Arif’s focus and empathy for Ayvalik’s downtrodden, his simitci doesn’t face his morning with a smile, despite being accompanied by his dog and spots of sunlight dappling his path. Arif’s deceptively simple line drawing presents a wealth of details, like Ayvalik’s wrought-iron balconies, beautiful arched doorways, and the simitci’s classic plastic slip-ons.