How We Met

Claudia and Sami met in South Beach, May 23, 2024, underneath the Brazilian beauty-leaf trees of Meridian Avenue. Sami had just arrived from Istanbul two weeks prior. In Flamingo Park they started talking about photography, life in America, art and literature. The conversation drifted in many directions, but her eyes lit up when he mentioned Brave New World. She brought out two tangerines from her purse and offered one to him. They talked on the sand at the beach until late, and later spent half an hour walking up and down Washington Avenue looking for her car because Claudia had forgotten where she parked. Later that night, he posted about the experience on Twitter.

The following week, she invited him on a roadtrip to Gainesville for her birthday. They paddled down Rainbow Springs and went snorkeling in Devil’s Den. They started meeting up regularly at coffee shops around Miami to work and talk.

Sami was supposed to return to his life in Istanbul on July 3rd, but he decided to change his ticket and stay a few more weeks to continue spending time with Claudia. That sweltering month of July, they went dancing with her friends a few times and explored the absolute best of Miami together. One night, they literally danced in the rain.

At the end of July, and again thanks to a friend who secured an extra ticket, they went to Nashville, Tennessee together for the Bitcoin Conference 2024, and unexpectedly ended up nearly front row to a Trump speech.

It was a colorful summer.

Sami returned to Istanbul in August 2024 and invited Claudia to meet him in London the following month. They kept talking and FaceTiming nearly every day. Claudia met him in London, and they explored the city and the English countryside for two weeks.

She followed him to Istanbul and met his friends, family, and his extended relatives. In Türkiye, they went road tripping too, and spent a few days in the ancient city of Cappadocia at a cave hotel.

Claudia returned to Miami after 6 weeks of traveling together and wrote this poem about the experience, unsure where the relationship was going, but he said, “We can do this.” A couple of months later, the same year, Sami returned to Miami Beach. The rest has been a whirlwind romance of mythic proportions. They have lived together in Miami, Istanbul, and Los Angeles, and thus far have overcome many challenges and conflicts: distance, careers, family, lifestyle differences, our own minds, and many surprises that have tested the core of our faith. Our journey together has been nothing short of our own Odyssey; epic challenges and endless waiting. We are humbled by the lessons and ask God to continue guiding us. We are still here. And we want to share our story with you.