Halil Babilli

Halil Babilli was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1979. He was the firstborn of his parents who came from a multicultural background. His paternal grandfather was a refugee from Kosovo, and his maternal grandparents came from Egypt. Halil grew up in Bakirköy which is one of the last actual multicultural neighbourhoods of Istanbul. He has Turks, Armenians, Greeks and Jews in his friend circle since the times he was a toddler. He learned curse words in different languages while playing in the streets as a child before learning them in his mother tongue. Growing up in such an environment played a substantial role in his character development. He studied English, German and science in high school and Electrical Engineering in University. As soon as he obtained his passport as an adult, Halil made an overland trip to Tibet over Iran, Pakistan and India. He was 18 at the time. He still remembers the experience vividly. That trip was the start of his wanderlust. He has always been interested in computers and electronics. His university nominated him to participate in a science contest held in Istanbul. His project drew attention during the showcase, and he was invited to Munich to work on an electronics project. After finishing the project, he was recruited by another engineering company, and he started to spend half of his time in Grenoble, France. In 2006, he moved to the Netherlands permanently… At least he thought so at that point. Wanderlust won again, and he moved to Australia in 2011. He lived there for some time. Bu in less than a year, he found himself in Brazil and after that, in New York. Halil liked New York and picked-up writing there, just to see if he can do it and maybe, to leave something persists through time. Still, he was calling Australia his new home, and he moved back to Down Under at the end of 2013, settling in Brisbane. Halil is married, with a dog, two cats and lots of tomatoes, capsicum, eggplants and various herbs. He is improving his gardening skills.