The project brought together participants from 7 countries, all of them having different backgrounds, ages and jobs, but sharing at least two common interests: photography and curiosity about other cultures.

You’ve just been Mușed!
First of all, the preparations for the project and the project itself began with the many advice of my Turkish friends from Istanbul about the city of Muș, and mostly, the advice was: „don’t go there, don’t go, don’t go!” But as it usually happens, such advice leads you towards the exact opposite. So there we were, me and Sara, on the 19 of August, heading towards Muș, together with people whose dressing code announced a more traditional and conservative city than what we had seen until then in Turkey.
The project brought together participants from 7 countries, all of them having different backgrounds, ages and jobs, but sharing at least two common interests: photography and curiosity about other cultures. These two aspects were also defining the project, whose theme was the intercultural dialogue through the art of photography. Being a small city in the Eastern part of Turkey, Muș was a pretty good example of intercultural dialogue, as in its surroundings, Kurds, Turks, Arabs and a few Armenians live together. During six days, we attended workshops about intercultural tolerance and identity, combined with workshops about photography and Photoshop. The most expected activities were the outdoor ones, when we actually got the chance to take pictures of the city and to interact with its people, who sometimes were extremely eager to share their house and food with us. One of the most memorable events was the intercultural party, when we „tasted” in matter of food, drink, dances, music and images each of the cultures present and also the local wedding we attended for a short while ,enough to see and photograph some special customs.
Going back to the first days in Muș, I remember that almost all of us were disappointed by the looks and the offers of the city(that looked like a huge car park, quoting a participant), not to mention the accommodation, which was far from what such projects usually provide for the participants. Anyway, by the end of the week, none of these mattered, because the people I’ve met began to colour the city with smiles, kindness and creativity, and therefore Muș began to grow into my eyes and why not, heart.
Finally, we came up with the expression „You’ve just been Mușed”. For me, there were two moments when I felt sad: seeing Muș for the first time, at arrival, and seeing Muș for the last time, while leaving. Therefore, for all those who felt this change of feelings towards the city, I announce that you have been officially „Mușed”. (Andreea Dumitrescu)