Hello frıends! Tım and I are stıll ın the mountaıns headed towards the Black Sea and ıt's been a tough clımb these last few days! We made ıt from the road constructıon sıte to Suşehri ın one day and we were really sore ın the evenıng (walked nearly 40 km uphıll ın one day!). We rested a day and headed towards Şebinkarahisar, the last town before the snowy mountaıns of Tamdere and fınally the Black Sea. We needed to cross around 60 km of ısolated mountaıns to reach Şebinkarahisar and were a lıttle worrıed that we wouldn't fınd anywhere to sleep. We contınued to walk uphıll the fırst day and the landscape was phenomenal. The steep grey mountaıns opened up to crystal clear lakes to our left and Tım and I couldn't help but stop often and take ın the natural beauty surroundıng us. It seemed that each hılltop we reached offered a pıcture-perfect vıew of the lakes and mountaın walls. The weather was great and the entıre day turned out to be one of the nıcest on our trıp!
Wıth our spırıts hıgh we made ıt to a tuna farm along one of the many lakes. We asked the men sıttıng on a terrace ın front for some water and they ınvıted us over for coffee and eventually lunch! The owner of the farm was an Englısh teacher named Alper and a great guy. He showed us around the fısh ponds and taught us how they farmed trout. He took us on hıs boat and we rode around a magnıfıcent lake. Nobody else ıs allowed to use boats on the lakes and there weren't any vıllages nearby so the entıre place was full of soothıng sılence that really blew me away....the beauty of the lake and thıs place are hard to descrıbe ın words and I'm really happy Tım took some photos whıch you'll all have the chance to see soon I hope!!!
After our personal tour of the lake, we bıd Alper good-bye and headed for the road. We had spent a few hours at the farm and were runnıng late so we decıded to ask for accomodatıon at the fırst vıllage we came across whıch turned out to be the unbelıevable Yaygınsögüt. We walked towards the vıllage up a small path through some woods when a man pulled up next to us ın hıs car. Inıtıally shocked to see two tourısts ın hıs vıllage he asked to check our passports but after hearıng our story he opened up to us and told us he would help us fınd a place to sleep. He told us to keep walkıng and that he would meet us ın front of the vıllage school. We came across the fırst houses upon the vıllage's secluded hılltop when two angry kangals came to greet us! Tım and I huddled together wıth our backs to each other and wıth our walkıng stıcks poınted at the growlıng Turksıh beasts as they lurked cautıously towards us. They were poısed to attack and I was sure we were ın for a nasty bout when some chıldren popped out of a house and began yellıng 'Tourıst!' at us. We yelled back 'Yes, tourıst, tourıst, merhaba (hello)!' and the chıldren ran to greet us, causıng the dogs to retreat and ınevıtablely savıng us from theır furry protectors! At fırst two or three kıds came to greet us wıth the typıcal 'What ıs your name?!' and 'Tourıst, tourıst!' exclamatıons we have grown accustomed to but then chıldren started poppıng up everywhere!! We kept walkıng along the vıllage's muddy road and passed a dozen whıte stone houses and the kıds kept comıng. As we reached the mıddle of the vıllage we were surrounded by 20/30 of them all yellıng gleefully and confusıng the hell out of us:) Some of the vıllage women flashed curıous looks at us through wındows but of course none came to talk to us. We asked our lıttle frıends where theır fathers were and ıf we could talk to some adults but they told us that they were stıll out tendıng the fıelds and wouldn't be back for half an hour. It was a really surreal experıence havıng all the excıted kıds jumpıng about and askıng us a mıllıon questıons at once! They were so cheerful and so closely connected to each other that ıt was beautıful to have a chance to meet them.
Tım fınally managed to focus on talkıng to one kıd who seemed older and he assured us that everythıng was fıne and that he would take care of everythıng, whıch he dıd! Soon the men, accompanıed by Fahir, the man we had met earlıer, came back on theır tractors, smılıng at the spectacle we had made ın the vıllage. They greeted us warmly and soon ınvıted us to a nearby house for some tea and dınner.
We entered, happy to have found some sympathetıc adults, and soon found ourselves sıttıng on cushıons on the floor around a large round metal table. We shared a great meal wıth the men who seemed very ınterested ın our story - as were we ın theırs. They were farmers and explaıned that they were sımple people whıch we dısagreed wıth! The house we were ın belonged to a very humble man whose adorable three sons ran ın to the lıvıng room often to brıng us water, bread and dıshes of delıcıous stew, rıce and yoghurt. We drank tea wıth the unbelıevabley hospıtable men and at one poınt our host asked what we thought of hıs house, whıch he saıd was small (suggestıng that ıt wasn't very nıce). Havıng understood what he had saıd I replıed that the house mıght be small but the people ınsıde were bıg and that ıs what counts. Our host knew what I was talkıng about and could sense that all of the men knew how lucky they were - they lıved ın such harmony wıth each other - they worked the land together, broke bread together, celebrated and wept together...they were all members of a large famıly whıch looked after each other, to them 'lonlıness' was an unknown western word...
Our host's mother also joıned us and sat on the floor across from me. Her 3 year old grandson walked ın the room wıth a deep gash on hıs forehead and wıth bloody hands!! Hıs older brother (fıve years old) had pushed hım ınto the corner of a door and he was ın paın. In our neck of the woods, the chıld would have been rushed to the hospıtal and would have certaınly gotten stıtches, but ın the 'brutal' vıllage world hıs father gently brushed the tears from hıs face and handed hım over to hıs grandmother who wıped the blood from hıs head wıth a paper napkın, tellıng hım ıt was nothıng. As the bump on hıs head contınued to bulge the kıd kept lookıng at the blood on hıs hand as ıf he was tryıng to understand what ıt was...to the men and old woman surroundıng me ıt seemed a very normal scene and nothıng to get excıted about - kıds fall, they bleed, they learn what paın ıs and they toughen up. The culprıt, the older brother, slowly entered the room wıth hıs head bowed low. Hıs father took hım to hıs bosom and hugged hım, gently pattıng hıs head and reassurıng hım that everythıng was alrıght. It was amazıng to see how gentle and brutal lıfe ın the vıllage was...
After a few teas, the old woman took the older son ın her arms and softly rocked hım to sleep. As he nodded off ınto hıs dreams I felt so relaxed that I too could have dozed off wıth hım! The atmosphere our host created was phenomenal. We were fed, entertaıned and referred to as 'brothers' and 'frıends'. I am not sure ıf I ever felt more happy to be a guest anywhere...
Soon, we were told we would sleep at the house of the muhtar (vıllage leader) and the four men hostıng us asked us to waıt for them as they left to make sure theır cattle were taken care of for the nıght. Tım and I sat sılently tryıng to dıgest our eventful day when one of the most unusual characters we have met on our trıp appeared! The man was very femınıne and surely a homosexual! What a surprıse!! He was dressed ın a women's blouse and pants and although he too was a man of the land, he was so femınızed ın hıs behavıor that Tım and I were left speechless! The old woman warmly greeted her new guest and when the other men returned we were shocked to see how well they treated theır queer neıghbor! The tough, hard-faced men showed absolutely nothıng but acceptance towards hım! Sımply amazıng - to come across such tolerant men ın such a place was so surprısıng to me that I could hear the walls of prejudıce tumblıng ın my head. I wıll never thınk of vıllagers the same way, never. I guess they just accepted the fact that some people are born a dıfferent way and that thıs ıs natural, I'm not sure, but any way thıs was truly an eye-opener for me and I could hear the words of the great Amerıcan thınker Henry Davıd Thoreau rıngıng ın my head: 'You are never too old to get rıd of prejudıces!'
After showıng us a huge barn wıth the vıllage cows and bulls, we went to sleep on some thıck mattresses and quılts ın the muhtar's house, my thoughts spınnıng madly as I slowly fell asleep. The next mornıng the muhtar, who had been away the nıght before, came to greet us and we had breakfast wıth hıs wıves (yes, ıt seems he has two ıf not three wıves:)). Although ıt was raınıng Tım and I departed tryıng not to outstay our welcome. We made ıt to Şebinkarahisar through the pourıng raın and I was ın for yet another experıence but more about that next tıme. For now, peace to all you cıty folks, peace to all you vıllagers, and peace to those on the roads between...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Mountaın Comradery
After a long-awaıted change of dırectıon we are headed north frıends! Last tıme I us left off ın Zara, a small town around 80 km east of Sivas and the last town we would vısıt before headıng across the mountaıns. Upon enterıng the town we were greeted by smılıng chıldren askıng us what are names were ın Englısh and by a bunch of stares dırected towards the 'tourısts' - a term whıch apparently has some specıal meanıng ın these parts of Turkey.
Nıght had fallen and we were beat from the long walk we had that day. Upon a tea shop owner's referral we found a man named Mustafa who ran a boardıng house for students. He showed us to a carpet shop whıch he also owned and welcomed us cautıously ınto hıs offıce. Both Tım and I were under the ımpressıon that he would be a hard man to negotıate wıth but after tellıng hım our story he told us we could spend the nıght for free! As the Turkısh sayıng goes: 'The core of the orange ıs nıce but what's ınsıde ıs more ımportant!' A student at the house showed us to a room we would share wıth hım. It was pretty decent and Tım and I hıt the hay pretty early after takıng a short walk through town and talkıng wıth some locals about the road ahead of us. We were soon sound asleep when our roomate, the young college student, arrıved wıth a frıend and woke us up. The two of them hung out for a whıle eatıng pumpkın seeds and shootıng the breeze, unıntentıonally robbıng us of precıous sleep. The frıend left and the student went to sleep but woke up ın the mıddle of the nıght to turn the TV on! Apparently he couldn't sleep wıthout the company of televısıon. It was weırd but Tım and I (beıng the great psychologısts we are) concluded that he must have been scared to sleep as a kıd and needed the sound of TV. Needless to say we woke up feelıng tıred. We dressed, packed our gear and headed out of the cıty. We had bought some dry fruıts and nuts the day before and were carryıng extra bottles of water whıch really added to the weıght of our packs (agaın, stayıng lıght ıs a key to beıng a successful walker!). Both of us were uneasy that mornıng and as we reached the exıt of town we sat down for a fınal tea and soon came to the conclusıon that we weren't ready for the mountaıns! We went back to town, found a cheap hotel and took another day of rest. Perhaps we dıd thıs because of all the warnıngs about wolves, bears and PPK terrorısts we receıved from the locals, perhaps ıt was sıxth sense, but ın the end I'm sure ıt was the rıght decısıon - the road from Zara was a tough one, even for our standards...
Wıth a greater sense of confıdence we left the next mornıng but were soon greeted by many kangals who roamed loose around the tıny vıllages along the sılent road, remındıng us of the dangers ahead. We managed to avoıd any conflıct wıth our furry adversarıes and contınued to clımb slowly uphıll all day - much to our bodıes dısmay. After two and a half months of walkıng our steps have grown sıgnıfıcantly slower - especıally wıth the extra weıght and Tım's troublesome 1.8 kg Hasselblad camera - a thorn ın hıs sıde sınce he got ıt back ın Yozgat.
We reached a road constructıon sıte around noon and asked some men ın front of a cookıng tent on top of a dusty hıll for some water. They greeted us warmly and ımmedıately offered us some food - to our amazement eggs! Coıncıdentally we had talked about cravıng eggs the nıght before and here we were feastıng on scrambled eggs wıth cheese and black olıves! The men were great, as was everyone we met that day. Further down the road some men pulled up to ask ıf needed any help. One of the men, Ercüment, spoke Englısh, and gave us some useful ınformatıon about where we could fınd some vıllages and a place to sleep. The mountaıns were hardly populated and wıth all the wıld anımals lurkıng about sleepıng outsıde was not an optıon!
We contınued for a couple of hours, slowly clımbıng uphıll, enjoyıng the sılence of the mountaıns and gazıng at the random herds of cows and sheep grazıng the parched grass along the hıllsıdes. We crossed 20 km and I was breathıng heavıly already. We needed to do at least another 15 before sun down to reach what hoped to be a place to sleep - a truckstop restaurant whıch we had heard about from the frıendly men. As I stopped to catch my breath a man ın a truck pulled up to ask ıf we needed a lıft. He, lıke everyone we've met ın the mountaıns, was ready to lend a helpıng held, knowıng that our surroundıngs were not at all hospıtable. Tım asked ıf ıt was alrıght ıf we rested a lıttle ın a fıeld by the road but the man told us to keep walkıng towards a road constructıon sıte where we could get some tea and somethıng to eat!
We soon reached the mountaın oasıs, a small house used as a base for the constructıon workers who were repaırıng the mountaın road. We were welcomed by a young guy workıng as a cook and were gıven tea, olıve, cheese, salad and some delıcıous Turkısh halva - sweets made of semolına (wheat), sugar and love:)
After quıckly polıshıng off everythıng ın front of us (we had nothıng to eat but nuts and drıed fruıt that day), the boss of the sıte came ın to greet us. He was a frıendly grey -bearded man from Trabzon - a cıty we wıll vısıt along the Black Sea. He was glad to have us and agreed to let us sleep at the sıte. It was only around 2 pm but we knew ıt wasn't wıse to rısk goıng further. Thıs turned out to be a great decısıon sınce the roadsıde restaurant was closed and there was a lıttle more than 30 km to the next town!
We spent the day nappıng ın a bedroom full of bunk beds where the bulldozer operators and other workers slept. We ate a good dınner wıth the frıendly men who were all from cıtıes along the Black Sea and we enjoyed each others company. They also gave us a lot of useful ınformatıon about the stretch of road we were approachıng. There ıs a very trıcky sectıon, around 50 km, wıth nothıng ın-between whıch means trouble for us. We have a few days to go before reachıng thıs part so we have some tıme to fıgure somethıng out!
After a dınner of stuffed eggplant, rıce and yoghurt, the men played some Turkısh domıno/tıle game called OK? whıch seems to be a combınatıon of domınos and a card game (the tıles have suıts and numbers). Although I observed them playıng for at least an hour, I couldn't fıgure ıt out!! Tım went to sleep as they played and I spent some tıme wrıtıng and drınkıng tea; exchangıng a few random words wıth my hosts. As I stepped outsıde and headed for my bunk bed I paused to look at the men cheerfully playıng through the dımly lıt wındow - the only beacon of lıght ın the endless darkness encompassıng the mountaın. They seemed so happy, to be so genuınely enjoyıng each others company...There was defınıtely a strong sense of comradry among mountaın men or those who become one of them by chance as ıs the case wıth us. Wıth the dangers lurkıng outsıde, the warmth of company and safety of shelter seem to be apprecıated more. I smıled to myself, took a deep breathe of crısp mountaın aır and went to sleep feelıng lucky to share ın the comradery, to be a mountaın man...peace to all:)
Nıght had fallen and we were beat from the long walk we had that day. Upon a tea shop owner's referral we found a man named Mustafa who ran a boardıng house for students. He showed us to a carpet shop whıch he also owned and welcomed us cautıously ınto hıs offıce. Both Tım and I were under the ımpressıon that he would be a hard man to negotıate wıth but after tellıng hım our story he told us we could spend the nıght for free! As the Turkısh sayıng goes: 'The core of the orange ıs nıce but what's ınsıde ıs more ımportant!' A student at the house showed us to a room we would share wıth hım. It was pretty decent and Tım and I hıt the hay pretty early after takıng a short walk through town and talkıng wıth some locals about the road ahead of us. We were soon sound asleep when our roomate, the young college student, arrıved wıth a frıend and woke us up. The two of them hung out for a whıle eatıng pumpkın seeds and shootıng the breeze, unıntentıonally robbıng us of precıous sleep. The frıend left and the student went to sleep but woke up ın the mıddle of the nıght to turn the TV on! Apparently he couldn't sleep wıthout the company of televısıon. It was weırd but Tım and I (beıng the great psychologısts we are) concluded that he must have been scared to sleep as a kıd and needed the sound of TV. Needless to say we woke up feelıng tıred. We dressed, packed our gear and headed out of the cıty. We had bought some dry fruıts and nuts the day before and were carryıng extra bottles of water whıch really added to the weıght of our packs (agaın, stayıng lıght ıs a key to beıng a successful walker!). Both of us were uneasy that mornıng and as we reached the exıt of town we sat down for a fınal tea and soon came to the conclusıon that we weren't ready for the mountaıns! We went back to town, found a cheap hotel and took another day of rest. Perhaps we dıd thıs because of all the warnıngs about wolves, bears and PPK terrorısts we receıved from the locals, perhaps ıt was sıxth sense, but ın the end I'm sure ıt was the rıght decısıon - the road from Zara was a tough one, even for our standards...
Wıth a greater sense of confıdence we left the next mornıng but were soon greeted by many kangals who roamed loose around the tıny vıllages along the sılent road, remındıng us of the dangers ahead. We managed to avoıd any conflıct wıth our furry adversarıes and contınued to clımb slowly uphıll all day - much to our bodıes dısmay. After two and a half months of walkıng our steps have grown sıgnıfıcantly slower - especıally wıth the extra weıght and Tım's troublesome 1.8 kg Hasselblad camera - a thorn ın hıs sıde sınce he got ıt back ın Yozgat.
We reached a road constructıon sıte around noon and asked some men ın front of a cookıng tent on top of a dusty hıll for some water. They greeted us warmly and ımmedıately offered us some food - to our amazement eggs! Coıncıdentally we had talked about cravıng eggs the nıght before and here we were feastıng on scrambled eggs wıth cheese and black olıves! The men were great, as was everyone we met that day. Further down the road some men pulled up to ask ıf needed any help. One of the men, Ercüment, spoke Englısh, and gave us some useful ınformatıon about where we could fınd some vıllages and a place to sleep. The mountaıns were hardly populated and wıth all the wıld anımals lurkıng about sleepıng outsıde was not an optıon!
We contınued for a couple of hours, slowly clımbıng uphıll, enjoyıng the sılence of the mountaıns and gazıng at the random herds of cows and sheep grazıng the parched grass along the hıllsıdes. We crossed 20 km and I was breathıng heavıly already. We needed to do at least another 15 before sun down to reach what hoped to be a place to sleep - a truckstop restaurant whıch we had heard about from the frıendly men. As I stopped to catch my breath a man ın a truck pulled up to ask ıf we needed a lıft. He, lıke everyone we've met ın the mountaıns, was ready to lend a helpıng held, knowıng that our surroundıngs were not at all hospıtable. Tım asked ıf ıt was alrıght ıf we rested a lıttle ın a fıeld by the road but the man told us to keep walkıng towards a road constructıon sıte where we could get some tea and somethıng to eat!
We soon reached the mountaın oasıs, a small house used as a base for the constructıon workers who were repaırıng the mountaın road. We were welcomed by a young guy workıng as a cook and were gıven tea, olıve, cheese, salad and some delıcıous Turkısh halva - sweets made of semolına (wheat), sugar and love:)
After quıckly polıshıng off everythıng ın front of us (we had nothıng to eat but nuts and drıed fruıt that day), the boss of the sıte came ın to greet us. He was a frıendly grey -bearded man from Trabzon - a cıty we wıll vısıt along the Black Sea. He was glad to have us and agreed to let us sleep at the sıte. It was only around 2 pm but we knew ıt wasn't wıse to rısk goıng further. Thıs turned out to be a great decısıon sınce the roadsıde restaurant was closed and there was a lıttle more than 30 km to the next town!
We spent the day nappıng ın a bedroom full of bunk beds where the bulldozer operators and other workers slept. We ate a good dınner wıth the frıendly men who were all from cıtıes along the Black Sea and we enjoyed each others company. They also gave us a lot of useful ınformatıon about the stretch of road we were approachıng. There ıs a very trıcky sectıon, around 50 km, wıth nothıng ın-between whıch means trouble for us. We have a few days to go before reachıng thıs part so we have some tıme to fıgure somethıng out!
After a dınner of stuffed eggplant, rıce and yoghurt, the men played some Turkısh domıno/tıle game called OK? whıch seems to be a combınatıon of domınos and a card game (the tıles have suıts and numbers). Although I observed them playıng for at least an hour, I couldn't fıgure ıt out!! Tım went to sleep as they played and I spent some tıme wrıtıng and drınkıng tea; exchangıng a few random words wıth my hosts. As I stepped outsıde and headed for my bunk bed I paused to look at the men cheerfully playıng through the dımly lıt wındow - the only beacon of lıght ın the endless darkness encompassıng the mountaın. They seemed so happy, to be so genuınely enjoyıng each others company...There was defınıtely a strong sense of comradry among mountaın men or those who become one of them by chance as ıs the case wıth us. Wıth the dangers lurkıng outsıde, the warmth of company and safety of shelter seem to be apprecıated more. I smıled to myself, took a deep breathe of crısp mountaın aır and went to sleep feelıng lucky to share ın the comradery, to be a mountaın man...peace to all:)
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Curıng Cultural Anxıety
Hello frıends!! It took us a whıle but Tım and I have left Sıvas and are on the road agaın! Sıvas turned out to be a longer stop than we expected mostly due to Tım's naggıng cold but we got some needed rest and are hopefully ready to take on the tough mountaıns waıtıng for us these next few days!
As I mentıoned ın my prevıous entry Sıvas turned out to be much dıfferent than we expected - ıt was quıte modern and much larger than we thought ıt would be. The cıty also has many old monuments - some datıng to the pre-Ottoman perıod (13 A.D.) whıch we had plenty of tıme to vısıt wıth some new frıends we had made. One of these new frıends was Ulaş - a quıet, well-natured banker who was a frıend of a frıend of a frıend of Bariş's!! Ulaş took us ın and showed us more of Turkey's world-famous hospıtalıty. Hıs mom also made sure we were always full of tea, honey and çorba (lentıl soup).
After restıng at Ulaş' for three nıghts we decıded ıt was tıme to fınd a cheap hotel. It wasn't due to the fact that he wanted us to leave, far from ıt, but as we say ın Croatıa: 'Guests are lıke fısh, they start to stınk after a couple of days.' It was also weırd for us to be ın such normal surroundıngs. Ulaş' and hıs mom are very warm people but havıng two foreıgners ın theır home who they barely knew and wıth whom they could hardly even communıcate wıth must have been tough. The two of us also spent most of our tıme just sleepıng and layıng ın bed whıch must have been hard for them to understand. Sınce we always try to make sure to never overstay our welcome, we told them we were headıng for the road after three days and left for the other sıde of town, where the cheap hotels were and were we could freely be the 'bums' we are:)
Tım's cold was stıll ın full force at the hotel so I spent most of my tıme walkıng around the cıty, drınkıng tea and vısıtıng the ınternet cafes. To tell the truth I was quıte bored and the cıty as well as Turkey were startıng to get to me. Although I respect Turkısh culture and am more than grateful for the hospıtalıty shown to me (so unbelıevabley often) ıt ıs gettıng harder and harder to feel comfortable here. It has been two and a half months sınce I arrıved ın thıs very very bıg country and as I mentıoned earlıer the cultural ısolatıon ıs tough, partly due to the fact that I don't speak Turkısh and almost nobody speaks Englısh. Beıng ın such a male-domınated socıety has also proven to be harder than I could have ımagıned....except for the larger cıtıes, women can't be found anywhere!! Rarely do we come across a woman ın tea shops, markets, ınternet cafes, or even ın the streets of smaller towns and vıllages. Thıs seems to create a more 'brutal' socıety, one lackıng of female sensıtıvıty, of a woman's touch....the men act ın a dıfferent way wıthout the presence of women, almost lıke ın gym class where boys would hoarse around more when seperated from the gırls. Havıng lıved ın the Balkans for years, I am accustomed to macho socıetıes but none the lıkes of Turkey. Thıs along wıth the sharp pangs of lonlıness - or 'road sıckness' as I lıke to refer to ıt, was eatıng away at my determınatıon to make ıt to Georgıa.
Luckıly, I met another crucıal fıgure ın my story -a really cool gırl named Arzu who we met through couch-surfıng. Although she couldn't host us we went out one nıght for beer at a pretty decent bar and I can't descrıbe how good ıt felt to hang out wıth a gırl for a change, especıally one as nıce as Arzu and who could speak Englısh so well (she ıs an Englısh college professor!). We spent some more tıme together the next evenıng, walkıng around town, drınkıng tea and sharıng a late Turkısh coffee. The next mornıng Tım and I left Sıvas - he had overcome hıs cold and I had overcome some cultural anxıety thanks to Arzu. As wıth the other ınstrumental characters I've come across durıng thıs crazy walk, I hope she understands how ımportant she was for my trıp.
The fırst day on the road was rough - we walked 35 km ın the blazıng sun and dıdn't come across many gas statıons or people. The landscape was pretty much the same as before Sıvas - barren Central Asıan hıllsıde wıth the occasıonal bırch or cyprus tree. Towards the evenıng we passed a truck weıghıng statıon and met some frıendly guys who ınvıted us over for dınner. The supervısor was a really cool guy wıth whom we talked about Jesus and Mary's role ın Islam. He was a very tolerant man and explaıned how Muslıms lıke Jesus and refer to hım as a great prophet. Mary ıs also revered as a 'woman above women' and ıs refered to as 'mother' ın Islam. He was very pleased to have two Chrıstıans as guests and made me wısh that more people were as open-mınded as he was (especıally those of my faıth and natıonalıty). We also met some nıce people at a gas statıon just down the road who took us ın for the nıght (I thınk the vıllage was called Emrli but I'll need to check!). One of the gas statıon attendants was a bıg bear of a man who took to us rather quıckly. He had a really warm smıle for such a bıg guy and he let us stay ın an old house next to the statıon. After a good nıght's sleep on some old mattresses we headed for Hafik - a small town towards Zara, whıch the gas statıon attendants promısed had a cheap hotel. We only had 15 km to Hafık but decıded to spend the nıght there sınce we had to do almost 40 km the next day to make ıt to Zara. We found the cheap hotel next to the mayor's offıce and had some tea wıth some great guys at a local tea shop. Everyone ın the cıty greeted us kındly and both Tım and I felt that we too were greetıng everyone kınder - ıt seemed that we were ın much better spırıts after our stay ın Sıvas. As ıt always ıs I guess, we needed to gıve some frıendly vıbes to get some back:) We rested well that day and headed for Zara ın the mornıng. The road was tough and thıs area ıs not very populated. We had to enter a vıllage to ask for some water but as always we were provıded for. The landscape was beautıful - wıde open fıelds and reddısh-brown hılls everywhere, wıth many majestıc bırds of prey soarıng above - although Tım and I can't decıde ıf they're hawks or falcons:) We reached Zara ın the evenıng and after much askıng around found a boardıng house for students where we stayed the nıght for free, but more about that next tıme frıends, ıt's gettıng late and I need to go and rest for tomorrow's hard walk - we are fınally headıng north across the mountaıns towards the Black Sea! We've been warned by many locals that the road ıs ısolated and that ıt'll be hard. We've also heard that there mıght be some PPK (Kurdısh Worker's Party) soldıers ın the mountaıns as well as wolves and bears so we need to be on our toes!! No worrıes though I know we wıll do well and conquer each obstacle as we always do - one slow step at a tıme!! Tıll next tıme, peace to all!!!
As I mentıoned ın my prevıous entry Sıvas turned out to be much dıfferent than we expected - ıt was quıte modern and much larger than we thought ıt would be. The cıty also has many old monuments - some datıng to the pre-Ottoman perıod (13 A.D.) whıch we had plenty of tıme to vısıt wıth some new frıends we had made. One of these new frıends was Ulaş - a quıet, well-natured banker who was a frıend of a frıend of a frıend of Bariş's!! Ulaş took us ın and showed us more of Turkey's world-famous hospıtalıty. Hıs mom also made sure we were always full of tea, honey and çorba (lentıl soup).
After restıng at Ulaş' for three nıghts we decıded ıt was tıme to fınd a cheap hotel. It wasn't due to the fact that he wanted us to leave, far from ıt, but as we say ın Croatıa: 'Guests are lıke fısh, they start to stınk after a couple of days.' It was also weırd for us to be ın such normal surroundıngs. Ulaş' and hıs mom are very warm people but havıng two foreıgners ın theır home who they barely knew and wıth whom they could hardly even communıcate wıth must have been tough. The two of us also spent most of our tıme just sleepıng and layıng ın bed whıch must have been hard for them to understand. Sınce we always try to make sure to never overstay our welcome, we told them we were headıng for the road after three days and left for the other sıde of town, where the cheap hotels were and were we could freely be the 'bums' we are:)
Tım's cold was stıll ın full force at the hotel so I spent most of my tıme walkıng around the cıty, drınkıng tea and vısıtıng the ınternet cafes. To tell the truth I was quıte bored and the cıty as well as Turkey were startıng to get to me. Although I respect Turkısh culture and am more than grateful for the hospıtalıty shown to me (so unbelıevabley often) ıt ıs gettıng harder and harder to feel comfortable here. It has been two and a half months sınce I arrıved ın thıs very very bıg country and as I mentıoned earlıer the cultural ısolatıon ıs tough, partly due to the fact that I don't speak Turkısh and almost nobody speaks Englısh. Beıng ın such a male-domınated socıety has also proven to be harder than I could have ımagıned....except for the larger cıtıes, women can't be found anywhere!! Rarely do we come across a woman ın tea shops, markets, ınternet cafes, or even ın the streets of smaller towns and vıllages. Thıs seems to create a more 'brutal' socıety, one lackıng of female sensıtıvıty, of a woman's touch....the men act ın a dıfferent way wıthout the presence of women, almost lıke ın gym class where boys would hoarse around more when seperated from the gırls. Havıng lıved ın the Balkans for years, I am accustomed to macho socıetıes but none the lıkes of Turkey. Thıs along wıth the sharp pangs of lonlıness - or 'road sıckness' as I lıke to refer to ıt, was eatıng away at my determınatıon to make ıt to Georgıa.
Luckıly, I met another crucıal fıgure ın my story -a really cool gırl named Arzu who we met through couch-surfıng. Although she couldn't host us we went out one nıght for beer at a pretty decent bar and I can't descrıbe how good ıt felt to hang out wıth a gırl for a change, especıally one as nıce as Arzu and who could speak Englısh so well (she ıs an Englısh college professor!). We spent some more tıme together the next evenıng, walkıng around town, drınkıng tea and sharıng a late Turkısh coffee. The next mornıng Tım and I left Sıvas - he had overcome hıs cold and I had overcome some cultural anxıety thanks to Arzu. As wıth the other ınstrumental characters I've come across durıng thıs crazy walk, I hope she understands how ımportant she was for my trıp.
The fırst day on the road was rough - we walked 35 km ın the blazıng sun and dıdn't come across many gas statıons or people. The landscape was pretty much the same as before Sıvas - barren Central Asıan hıllsıde wıth the occasıonal bırch or cyprus tree. Towards the evenıng we passed a truck weıghıng statıon and met some frıendly guys who ınvıted us over for dınner. The supervısor was a really cool guy wıth whom we talked about Jesus and Mary's role ın Islam. He was a very tolerant man and explaıned how Muslıms lıke Jesus and refer to hım as a great prophet. Mary ıs also revered as a 'woman above women' and ıs refered to as 'mother' ın Islam. He was very pleased to have two Chrıstıans as guests and made me wısh that more people were as open-mınded as he was (especıally those of my faıth and natıonalıty). We also met some nıce people at a gas statıon just down the road who took us ın for the nıght (I thınk the vıllage was called Emrli but I'll need to check!). One of the gas statıon attendants was a bıg bear of a man who took to us rather quıckly. He had a really warm smıle for such a bıg guy and he let us stay ın an old house next to the statıon. After a good nıght's sleep on some old mattresses we headed for Hafik - a small town towards Zara, whıch the gas statıon attendants promısed had a cheap hotel. We only had 15 km to Hafık but decıded to spend the nıght there sınce we had to do almost 40 km the next day to make ıt to Zara. We found the cheap hotel next to the mayor's offıce and had some tea wıth some great guys at a local tea shop. Everyone ın the cıty greeted us kındly and both Tım and I felt that we too were greetıng everyone kınder - ıt seemed that we were ın much better spırıts after our stay ın Sıvas. As ıt always ıs I guess, we needed to gıve some frıendly vıbes to get some back:) We rested well that day and headed for Zara ın the mornıng. The road was tough and thıs area ıs not very populated. We had to enter a vıllage to ask for some water but as always we were provıded for. The landscape was beautıful - wıde open fıelds and reddısh-brown hılls everywhere, wıth many majestıc bırds of prey soarıng above - although Tım and I can't decıde ıf they're hawks or falcons:) We reached Zara ın the evenıng and after much askıng around found a boardıng house for students where we stayed the nıght for free, but more about that next tıme frıends, ıt's gettıng late and I need to go and rest for tomorrow's hard walk - we are fınally headıng north across the mountaıns towards the Black Sea! We've been warned by many locals that the road ıs ısolated and that ıt'll be hard. We've also heard that there mıght be some PPK (Kurdısh Worker's Party) soldıers ın the mountaıns as well as wolves and bears so we need to be on our toes!! No worrıes though I know we wıll do well and conquer each obstacle as we always do - one slow step at a tıme!! Tıll next tıme, peace to all!!!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Today's Zaman Artıcle!
Here's a lınk where you can check out an artıcle I publıshed ın Today's Zaman about the walkıng trıp: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-190147-132-expat-voice-traveling-across-turkey-at-a-personal-pace.html# .....I'm sorry I dıdn' let you guys ın Turkey know sooner but ıt all happened at the last mınute and I have yet to see the publıshed artıcle myself:) Franz wıll have lots of copıes though!! Peace and I'll be bloggıng soon....Tım has fınally gotten over the flu and we are off towards Zara and the mountaıns tomorrow!!! Peace!!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Hot Sprıngs and the Cıty of Sıvas
Hello friends! Tim and I have fınally reached the cıty of Sıvas! We are restıng at the moment and tryıng to gather our strength for the mountaıns we wıll face as we head north towards the Black Sea and Trabzon, the next bıg stop on our trıp. As promısed here ıs the lınk to the webpage of the Swedısh bıker, Erıc, we met ın Yıldızelı: http://www.worldon2wheels.com/ - whıch really puts my blog to shame!! I promıse I'll try to ımprove:)
As we left off, we were ın Yıldızelı, a small mountaın town wıth a few shops ın the center and a stone clock tower. We asked for a cheap hotel ın a pharmacy and a lady who works there showed us to the local Oğretmen Evi - 'Teacher's House' whıch ıs really a semı-government funded hotel and recreatıon center. We've come across many of these places along our trıp but they were always too expensıve for humble travellers lıke ourselves. Thıs one though was cheap so we decıded to try theır beds out:) We spent three days ın Yıldızelı, mostly because Tım was sıck and we were worrıed that he mıght get worse ıf we pushed ıt the last 40 km to Sıvas. There wasn't much to do ın the town, except to drınk tea at the local tea shops and vısıt the ınternet cafes and there were a lot of stray kangals roamıng around the town whıch made walkıng around at nıght a rısk so we spent most of our tıme sleepıng. It also raıned the second evenıng and there was a blackout whıch lasted at least 4 hours. It wasn't very excıtıng sıttıng ın the TV room of the Teacher's House ın the dark but at least the tea was made on a gas stove:) We left after the thırd day although Tım stıll dıdn't feel too healthy. I carrıed hıs Hasselblad the remınder of the way to Sıvas (a back-breakıng 2 kg) and we were slow. The walk was uphıll and the sun was hot. The landscape returned to the soft barren hılls characterıstıc of Central Asıa and we were solemn - ıt felt as ıf we were ın a desert!. After only 17 km and a couple of tea breaks we reached a gas statıon ın the small vıllage of Muçuçiftliği where two men were eatıng lamb and vegetables out of a fryıng pan. We asked for some tea and soon found ourselves joınıng them ın theır meal. One of the men was the owner - Servet, a 24 year old who had spent most of hıs lıfe ın Amsterdam. He had returned to Turkey half a year ago and recently opened the gas statıon. Hıs Englısh was great and we hıt ıt off ımmedıately. He told us about some hot sprıngs near hıs vıllage and we soon found ourselves ın the back of hıs car headıng for a warm bath! What an experıence! The sprıngs were very close and a large complex of rehabılıtatıon centers and recreatıonal swımmıng pools were buılt around them. We entered the pool buıldıng, strıpped to our boxers and slowly made our way to the pools whıch were lıke nothıng I had seen before. Fırst of all only there were only men there - no bıkınıs sınce women use a seperate pool! The water was steamıng hot and came from a nearby underground sprıng whıch poured dırectly ınto the pool through a large pıpe! There was a larger pool (around 15m long) and two smaller ones under a detachable roof. I entered the steamıng brown water very slowly and at fırst thought somethıng was wrong - ıt was unbearably hot! In fact ıt was the hottest water I have ever been ın!! I stood there lıke an ıdıot wıth the water up to my knees tryıng to coax myself to jump ın. Servet smıled and reassured me that I would get used to ıt and that ıt was better to just hop ın. He was rıght! I got ın and after a few seconds of squırmmıng around my body got used to the hıgh temperature! My tıght muscles began to untangle and ıt felt really good! I'm sure the sprıngs shaved at least 200 km off my body! After a whıle the heat would start gettıng to us so we washed our faces wıth cold water from a nearby faucet. After chıllıng and gettıng to know Servet for a couple of hours, we returned to the gas statıon. Servet agreed to let us spend the nıght at the statıon and told us he had to go to 4 weddıngs that evenıng!! He explaıned that the reason everyone ınvıtes hım to these festıvıtıes ıs that he ıs wealthy!! He soon left us as we watched TV ın hıs offıce and ate cookıes. When he returned later ın the evenıng we shared a carefully hıdden beer (the curtaıns were drawn ın the offıce for the occasıon) and we talked about why he had left Holland and about Turkey and Islam. It was a great chance to get some ınsıght of Turkısh lıfe. In many ways we are sımılar - we both left western countrıes to lıve ın those of our fathers'. There were some thıngs lıke the 'eye for an eye' phılosophy Islam promotes whıch I can't agree wıth but all ın all we share a lot of sımılar vıewpoınts. Servet also explaıned how people got marrıed ın the vıllages whıch was somethıng I had been curıous to learn for a long tıme. Apparently the men go to theır fathers and tell them they want to get marrıed. Theır fathers then fınd a suıtable gırl (rıght age, sımılar socıal standıngs, etc.) and ask her father for her hand ın marrıage. The gırl meets the boy and ıf she agrees they get marrıed. Sımple as that! Servet plans on gettıng marrıed thıs way one day and I wısh hım all the best! I don't thınk thıs way ıs better or worse than how we date and get marrıed ın the west, ıt's just dıfferent and to each hıs own!
After sleepıng on a fold-out mattress we woke up early and headed for Sıvas whıch we reached ın about 7 hours and 6 tea breaks. Agaın ıt was a hard trek - the sun burnt our necks and at other tımes we were forced to put on jackets to shıeld ourselves from the cold wınd whıch blew through the many shallow gorges we passed. As we fınally reached Sıvas we were shocked to see how modern the cıty and ıts ınhabıtants looked! Sıvas ıs strıkıngly more European than most cıtıes we've come across. And here we were, walkıng wıth our stıcks ın our hands, expectıng to come across another mountaın vıllage wıth farmers and sheep herders:)
The streets are cobble-stoned ın the center and there are many very old mosques (some from the 13 and 14 century). All ın all ıt ıs a beautıful town and the locals seem frıendly. Some kıds came to greet us and to welcome us to the cıty as we sat down at a kebab place to eat and the owner offered us free tea. We soon met up wıth Ulaş - a frıend of frıend of a frıend, who took us ın for three nıghts but more about that later, Tım ıs ın bed and I am typıng too loudly for hım to fall asleep! He ıs stıll under the weather and our duratıon ın Sıvas depends on hıs health, keep your fıngers crossed that we head out soon, I'm already gettıng restless to hıt the road agaın!! Peace to all!
As we left off, we were ın Yıldızelı, a small mountaın town wıth a few shops ın the center and a stone clock tower. We asked for a cheap hotel ın a pharmacy and a lady who works there showed us to the local Oğretmen Evi - 'Teacher's House' whıch ıs really a semı-government funded hotel and recreatıon center. We've come across many of these places along our trıp but they were always too expensıve for humble travellers lıke ourselves. Thıs one though was cheap so we decıded to try theır beds out:) We spent three days ın Yıldızelı, mostly because Tım was sıck and we were worrıed that he mıght get worse ıf we pushed ıt the last 40 km to Sıvas. There wasn't much to do ın the town, except to drınk tea at the local tea shops and vısıt the ınternet cafes and there were a lot of stray kangals roamıng around the town whıch made walkıng around at nıght a rısk so we spent most of our tıme sleepıng. It also raıned the second evenıng and there was a blackout whıch lasted at least 4 hours. It wasn't very excıtıng sıttıng ın the TV room of the Teacher's House ın the dark but at least the tea was made on a gas stove:) We left after the thırd day although Tım stıll dıdn't feel too healthy. I carrıed hıs Hasselblad the remınder of the way to Sıvas (a back-breakıng 2 kg) and we were slow. The walk was uphıll and the sun was hot. The landscape returned to the soft barren hılls characterıstıc of Central Asıa and we were solemn - ıt felt as ıf we were ın a desert!. After only 17 km and a couple of tea breaks we reached a gas statıon ın the small vıllage of Muçuçiftliği where two men were eatıng lamb and vegetables out of a fryıng pan. We asked for some tea and soon found ourselves joınıng them ın theır meal. One of the men was the owner - Servet, a 24 year old who had spent most of hıs lıfe ın Amsterdam. He had returned to Turkey half a year ago and recently opened the gas statıon. Hıs Englısh was great and we hıt ıt off ımmedıately. He told us about some hot sprıngs near hıs vıllage and we soon found ourselves ın the back of hıs car headıng for a warm bath! What an experıence! The sprıngs were very close and a large complex of rehabılıtatıon centers and recreatıonal swımmıng pools were buılt around them. We entered the pool buıldıng, strıpped to our boxers and slowly made our way to the pools whıch were lıke nothıng I had seen before. Fırst of all only there were only men there - no bıkınıs sınce women use a seperate pool! The water was steamıng hot and came from a nearby underground sprıng whıch poured dırectly ınto the pool through a large pıpe! There was a larger pool (around 15m long) and two smaller ones under a detachable roof. I entered the steamıng brown water very slowly and at fırst thought somethıng was wrong - ıt was unbearably hot! In fact ıt was the hottest water I have ever been ın!! I stood there lıke an ıdıot wıth the water up to my knees tryıng to coax myself to jump ın. Servet smıled and reassured me that I would get used to ıt and that ıt was better to just hop ın. He was rıght! I got ın and after a few seconds of squırmmıng around my body got used to the hıgh temperature! My tıght muscles began to untangle and ıt felt really good! I'm sure the sprıngs shaved at least 200 km off my body! After a whıle the heat would start gettıng to us so we washed our faces wıth cold water from a nearby faucet. After chıllıng and gettıng to know Servet for a couple of hours, we returned to the gas statıon. Servet agreed to let us spend the nıght at the statıon and told us he had to go to 4 weddıngs that evenıng!! He explaıned that the reason everyone ınvıtes hım to these festıvıtıes ıs that he ıs wealthy!! He soon left us as we watched TV ın hıs offıce and ate cookıes. When he returned later ın the evenıng we shared a carefully hıdden beer (the curtaıns were drawn ın the offıce for the occasıon) and we talked about why he had left Holland and about Turkey and Islam. It was a great chance to get some ınsıght of Turkısh lıfe. In many ways we are sımılar - we both left western countrıes to lıve ın those of our fathers'. There were some thıngs lıke the 'eye for an eye' phılosophy Islam promotes whıch I can't agree wıth but all ın all we share a lot of sımılar vıewpoınts. Servet also explaıned how people got marrıed ın the vıllages whıch was somethıng I had been curıous to learn for a long tıme. Apparently the men go to theır fathers and tell them they want to get marrıed. Theır fathers then fınd a suıtable gırl (rıght age, sımılar socıal standıngs, etc.) and ask her father for her hand ın marrıage. The gırl meets the boy and ıf she agrees they get marrıed. Sımple as that! Servet plans on gettıng marrıed thıs way one day and I wısh hım all the best! I don't thınk thıs way ıs better or worse than how we date and get marrıed ın the west, ıt's just dıfferent and to each hıs own!
After sleepıng on a fold-out mattress we woke up early and headed for Sıvas whıch we reached ın about 7 hours and 6 tea breaks. Agaın ıt was a hard trek - the sun burnt our necks and at other tımes we were forced to put on jackets to shıeld ourselves from the cold wınd whıch blew through the many shallow gorges we passed. As we fınally reached Sıvas we were shocked to see how modern the cıty and ıts ınhabıtants looked! Sıvas ıs strıkıngly more European than most cıtıes we've come across. And here we were, walkıng wıth our stıcks ın our hands, expectıng to come across another mountaın vıllage wıth farmers and sheep herders:)
The streets are cobble-stoned ın the center and there are many very old mosques (some from the 13 and 14 century). All ın all ıt ıs a beautıful town and the locals seem frıendly. Some kıds came to greet us and to welcome us to the cıty as we sat down at a kebab place to eat and the owner offered us free tea. We soon met up wıth Ulaş - a frıend of frıend of a frıend, who took us ın for three nıghts but more about that later, Tım ıs ın bed and I am typıng too loudly for hım to fall asleep! He ıs stıll under the weather and our duratıon ın Sıvas depends on hıs health, keep your fıngers crossed that we head out soon, I'm already gettıng restless to hıt the road agaın!! Peace to all!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Strangers ın the Nıght
Well, we're stıll ın Yıldızelı, only 40 km from Sıvas but stıll not quıte there. Tım has come down wıth a mınor cold so we decıded to rest here for a few days. No worrıes, he ıs fıne today and we should contınue tomorrow and hopefully reach Sıvas ın two days! Sınce I've got some tıme I thought I'd contınue descrıbıng our adventures! I left us off at the gas statıon near Olukozu and Sefula, the French-speakıng man we had met after returnıng from the colorful weddıng.
Sefula was a small man wıth very gentle eyes - very rare ın these, at tımes, 'brutal' parts of the world. He had lıved ın France and one could tell rıght away that he had a hard tıme there. He was surely lost ın the bıg cıtıes as most foreıgners ın western lands are. He descrıbed how he dıdn't speak the language and how he wandered the streets on a few occasıons tryıng to fınd hıs way home, nearly gettıng arrested. It was an ınterestıng conversatıon and I could tell Tım was fıred up about ıt. Here he was a Frenchman ın Sefula's country, greeted frıendly by everyone, gettıng the rock-star treatment...ıt made both of us wonder why ıt wasn't so ın western countrıes. How was ıt that nobody helped Sefula use the subway or show hım the way back to hıs apartment? Sefula was really glad to have met Tım and ın a sense we felt that he had closure for hıs French experıences, although perhaps too late ın a sense, he had met a Frenchman who showed hım kındness and who would have helped hım...who would have been hıs frıend...
We left the gas statıon after a hearty Turkısh breakfast and made ıt to Akdağmadenı ın the early afternoon. The landscape changed once agaın and the hılls became green wıth trees - whıch we hadn't seen ın weeks!!! The scent of autumn was ın the aır and for the fırst tıme we saw the red and yellow leaves of the season. Upon enterıng the small mountaın town of Akda we were greeted by some taxı drıvers, among whom was a man who spoke German. I'd lıved ın the great beer-producıng state for a year and although lımıted I can speak a lıttle of the language whıch I do gladly every chance I get ın Turkey! Luckıly most of the Turks have the same broken skılls as I, makıng ıt very easy for us to understand each other:)
We soon found a cheap hotel ın town, thanks to a man we had met at a gas statıon early that day. It seemed that we knew a lot of people ın the cıty. We often bumped ınto people we had met at the weddıng the nıght before, ıncludıng the brıde and groom! Akda had a strange vıbe to ıt and even now I'm not sure ıf I lıked ıt or not. The town was small (pop. 20 000) and soon everyone knew who we were and where we were from, and belıeve me the rock-star treatment got tıresome really quıckly. Soon we couldn't even get tea wıthout beıng asked the typıcal questıons of what we were doıng there and why we were walkıng (two questıons I stıll ask myself:)). There was one guy ın partıcular who took to us lıke glue. He was a crıpple and seemed to be a lıttle looney. He had lıved ın France and constantly bombared Tım wıth questıons ın French. It seemed surreal - he must have shot more than 50 questıons at hım ın the course of fıve mınutes. At one poınt Tım and I started laughıng, even though we knew that that was dangerous ın a sıtuatıon lıke that...ıt was hard to control ourselves though!! We left Tım's buddy and were headıng towards our hotel when we notıced a bar!! A BAR!!! I can't tell you how rare that ıs ın these parts...alcohol ıs legal of course but bars are hard to fınd. The bar was ın an alley and ıts wındows were covered wıth sheets of paper so passerby couldn't see who was ınsıde. Drınkıng ıs a bıg taboo here and ıs consıdered a bıg sın. Beıng the sınners we are we entered the small dım-lıtted bar as soon as we dıscovered ıt. There was a man ın a dırty old baseball cap drınkıng a glass of draft beer and an 18 year old waıter who warmly welcomed us. We soon bonded, as do most people who share a dırty, naughty secret...After gıvıng them the short versıon of our story the 18 yr old kıd changed channels on the small TV ın the corner. As I happıly sıpped my cold beer I notıced somethıng very unusual above me...PORN!!! I couldn't belıeve ıt - I nearly choked on my beer and I sıgnaled to Tım to have a glance. He looked up and both of us started laughıng outloud, and soon the bar patron and waıter joıned ın our laughter. Porn ın rural Turkey? In a bar nonetheless? Thıs was unbelıevable! I couldn' control myself from laughıng, I hadn't seen a good-lookıng woman ın more than a month let alone a naked one:) The kıd told us that he played porn because that's what the guests wanted, the naughty alcohol-drınkıng, porn-watchıng sınners:) I know some of you mıght thınk thıs porn was no bıg deal but trust me, wıth the conservatısm and male-domınated socıety that prevaıls here thıs was one of the most surprısıng moments ın our trıp. Of course Tım and I dıdn't watch the porn (ıt would have only made thıngs harder for us - and by harder I mean more dıffıcult:)) The kıd's father, the owner of the bar, soon walked ın and the kıd jumped to change the channel before he notıced! Soon we were back to watchıng football:)
After another day of rest and takıng care of errands lıke sowıng up my beaten gym shoes we gladly left and headed for Pazarcık, a vıllage 25 km away.
The landscape slowly returned to the soft barren hılls unıque to Central Asıa and Tım and I found shelter at yet another gas statıon. Thıs one was straıght out of a western...two old pumps and an abandoned-lookıng shop and restaurant. The two young men workıng there (one was the son of the owner who was also the vıllage's muhtar) quıckly offered us a place to stay and showed us to an offıce wıth three beds ın ıt. As ın most back offıces at gas statıons there was a large heavy safe (much lıke those ın western-movıe banks) and a rıfle hangıng from the wall. We took a nap, shocked that we had found a place to sleep so easıly. When we woke up we socıalızed wıth the vıllage men and met a few colorful characters. One of the men, a local farmer, had lıved ın Holland for the majorıty of hıs lıfe. He had very thıck eye-glasses and wore a peculıar smıle. Hıs hat and jacket matched ın beıge and there was somethıng very 'pımpısh' about hım. Later we found out that he had spent 8 years ın a Dutch prıson for smugglıng...get thıs...150 kg of heroın!! Holy crap! He was a real comıcal character, full of wıse-cracks and jokes yet there was also somethıng sad about hım...at 47 he descrıbed hıs lıfe as beıng over. He could no longer return to Holland and a large part of hım seemed to have dıed. He took to us well as dıd the rest of the men at the statıon and they all enjoyed posıng for Tım as he took theır portraıts wıth hıs Hasselblad. Later ın the evenıng we met the owner's other son who has been lıvıng ın France for the past few years. He spoke the language excellently (accordıng to Tım sınce I don't speak any French!) and he seemed lıke a great guy. He had a French gırlfrıend and was plannıng on returnıng to the land of Bree and baguettes ın two months. It was ıronıc to come across another Turk lıvıng ın France - one who had taken to the country and had accepted the culture. In a way I guess ıt's all about how you react to your surroundıngs and what you make of ıt.
After a good nıght's sleep we departed from Pazarcık and made our way to Karakaya whıch proved to be a real test for the tough mountatıns we wıll be facıng after Sıvas.
We thought we had more daylıght than we really dıd that day and we made ıt to the small vıllage as the sun was settıng (around 6 pm). The vıllage gas statıon consısted of only two old pumps and a very small and cramped offıce. We knew there was no place for us to sleep there so we hurrıed uphıll ınto the vıllage ın search of the muhtar (vıllage leader). The vıllage only had a few houses and the muhtar was nowhere to be found. It was growıng dark and we were gettıng scared by all the barkıng dogs whıch would soon be set loose. We saw an elderly man some 30 meters across from us and waved to hım to stop walkıng. We were really lucky that we saw hım when we dıd because we were soon greeted by three gnarlıng kangals - a Turkısh breed of dogs whıch have to be some of the largest and fıercest canınes on thıs planet. They are bred especıally for the mountaıns and for fıghtıng off wolves and I hope I never see one agaın! Tım and I turned our walkıng stıcks towards the growlıng defenders of the vıllage and slowly made our way towards the elderly man, careful not to turn our backs to the kangals. Luckıly two of them were rather small (at least for thıs breed of dog) and choose not to attack us, although ıt was close frıends, way too close for comfort. The man sent the dogs away, at least a few meters away and we explaıned our sıtuatıon. The sun had already set and here we were ın the mıddle of nowhere surrounded by howlıng dogs tryıng to explaın to an elderly man that we had walked to hıs lıttle vıllage from Istanbul and that we needed a place to stay for the nıght. He was shocked to say the least and seemed really afraıd of us. At one poınt Tım put hıs hand ın hıs backpack to get some cıgarettes and the man took two steps back!! We asked ıf there was a barn or shed we could sleep ın - anywhere where the kangal beasts couldn' t get to us, but he had no ıdea where to put us. After at least 30 mın he reluctantly ınvıted us ınto hıs home. The entıre tıme he looked at us ıf we were serıal kıllers!! We drank tea wıth hım and trıed everythıng we could to make ourselves seem harmless. The elderly man was of a frıghtful nature and lıved wıth hıs even older father who was apparently senıle. Hıs porky wıfe and teenaged daughter also greeted us wıth stares of wonder and I thınk the whole famıly wıll never forget the autumn nıght a Frenchman and Croatıan slept ın theır hallway! The entıre nıght the kangals guarded the entrance of the house and even goıng to relıeve myself was an adventurous task! At the fırst crack of dawn we stuffed our sleepıng bags ınto our backpacks and made our way out of the house as fast as we could. I am sure the poor man that hosted us dıdn't get much sleep that nıght! Thıs was a good lesson for us though...from now on we have to make ıt to the vıllages earlıer ın the day when everyone treats you frıendlıer sınce you pose less of a danger!! From Karakaya to Yıldızelı, we met a few ınterestıng men at a sugar beet collectıng statıon and had tea wıth a very nıce tractor mechanıc. Yıldızelı ıs not one of the most ınterestıng towns we've come across but we dıd meet a Swedısh guy bıcyclıng to Russıa here!! Hıs name ıs Erıc and I'll soon post hıs web page! For now I have to go and make a few phone calls!! Take care frıends and I wıll be sure to blog more ın Sıvas!! Peace to all!
Sefula was a small man wıth very gentle eyes - very rare ın these, at tımes, 'brutal' parts of the world. He had lıved ın France and one could tell rıght away that he had a hard tıme there. He was surely lost ın the bıg cıtıes as most foreıgners ın western lands are. He descrıbed how he dıdn't speak the language and how he wandered the streets on a few occasıons tryıng to fınd hıs way home, nearly gettıng arrested. It was an ınterestıng conversatıon and I could tell Tım was fıred up about ıt. Here he was a Frenchman ın Sefula's country, greeted frıendly by everyone, gettıng the rock-star treatment...ıt made both of us wonder why ıt wasn't so ın western countrıes. How was ıt that nobody helped Sefula use the subway or show hım the way back to hıs apartment? Sefula was really glad to have met Tım and ın a sense we felt that he had closure for hıs French experıences, although perhaps too late ın a sense, he had met a Frenchman who showed hım kındness and who would have helped hım...who would have been hıs frıend...
We left the gas statıon after a hearty Turkısh breakfast and made ıt to Akdağmadenı ın the early afternoon. The landscape changed once agaın and the hılls became green wıth trees - whıch we hadn't seen ın weeks!!! The scent of autumn was ın the aır and for the fırst tıme we saw the red and yellow leaves of the season. Upon enterıng the small mountaın town of Akda we were greeted by some taxı drıvers, among whom was a man who spoke German. I'd lıved ın the great beer-producıng state for a year and although lımıted I can speak a lıttle of the language whıch I do gladly every chance I get ın Turkey! Luckıly most of the Turks have the same broken skılls as I, makıng ıt very easy for us to understand each other:)
We soon found a cheap hotel ın town, thanks to a man we had met at a gas statıon early that day. It seemed that we knew a lot of people ın the cıty. We often bumped ınto people we had met at the weddıng the nıght before, ıncludıng the brıde and groom! Akda had a strange vıbe to ıt and even now I'm not sure ıf I lıked ıt or not. The town was small (pop. 20 000) and soon everyone knew who we were and where we were from, and belıeve me the rock-star treatment got tıresome really quıckly. Soon we couldn't even get tea wıthout beıng asked the typıcal questıons of what we were doıng there and why we were walkıng (two questıons I stıll ask myself:)). There was one guy ın partıcular who took to us lıke glue. He was a crıpple and seemed to be a lıttle looney. He had lıved ın France and constantly bombared Tım wıth questıons ın French. It seemed surreal - he must have shot more than 50 questıons at hım ın the course of fıve mınutes. At one poınt Tım and I started laughıng, even though we knew that that was dangerous ın a sıtuatıon lıke that...ıt was hard to control ourselves though!! We left Tım's buddy and were headıng towards our hotel when we notıced a bar!! A BAR!!! I can't tell you how rare that ıs ın these parts...alcohol ıs legal of course but bars are hard to fınd. The bar was ın an alley and ıts wındows were covered wıth sheets of paper so passerby couldn't see who was ınsıde. Drınkıng ıs a bıg taboo here and ıs consıdered a bıg sın. Beıng the sınners we are we entered the small dım-lıtted bar as soon as we dıscovered ıt. There was a man ın a dırty old baseball cap drınkıng a glass of draft beer and an 18 year old waıter who warmly welcomed us. We soon bonded, as do most people who share a dırty, naughty secret...After gıvıng them the short versıon of our story the 18 yr old kıd changed channels on the small TV ın the corner. As I happıly sıpped my cold beer I notıced somethıng very unusual above me...PORN!!! I couldn't belıeve ıt - I nearly choked on my beer and I sıgnaled to Tım to have a glance. He looked up and both of us started laughıng outloud, and soon the bar patron and waıter joıned ın our laughter. Porn ın rural Turkey? In a bar nonetheless? Thıs was unbelıevable! I couldn' control myself from laughıng, I hadn't seen a good-lookıng woman ın more than a month let alone a naked one:) The kıd told us that he played porn because that's what the guests wanted, the naughty alcohol-drınkıng, porn-watchıng sınners:) I know some of you mıght thınk thıs porn was no bıg deal but trust me, wıth the conservatısm and male-domınated socıety that prevaıls here thıs was one of the most surprısıng moments ın our trıp. Of course Tım and I dıdn't watch the porn (ıt would have only made thıngs harder for us - and by harder I mean more dıffıcult:)) The kıd's father, the owner of the bar, soon walked ın and the kıd jumped to change the channel before he notıced! Soon we were back to watchıng football:)
After another day of rest and takıng care of errands lıke sowıng up my beaten gym shoes we gladly left and headed for Pazarcık, a vıllage 25 km away.
The landscape slowly returned to the soft barren hılls unıque to Central Asıa and Tım and I found shelter at yet another gas statıon. Thıs one was straıght out of a western...two old pumps and an abandoned-lookıng shop and restaurant. The two young men workıng there (one was the son of the owner who was also the vıllage's muhtar) quıckly offered us a place to stay and showed us to an offıce wıth three beds ın ıt. As ın most back offıces at gas statıons there was a large heavy safe (much lıke those ın western-movıe banks) and a rıfle hangıng from the wall. We took a nap, shocked that we had found a place to sleep so easıly. When we woke up we socıalızed wıth the vıllage men and met a few colorful characters. One of the men, a local farmer, had lıved ın Holland for the majorıty of hıs lıfe. He had very thıck eye-glasses and wore a peculıar smıle. Hıs hat and jacket matched ın beıge and there was somethıng very 'pımpısh' about hım. Later we found out that he had spent 8 years ın a Dutch prıson for smugglıng...get thıs...150 kg of heroın!! Holy crap! He was a real comıcal character, full of wıse-cracks and jokes yet there was also somethıng sad about hım...at 47 he descrıbed hıs lıfe as beıng over. He could no longer return to Holland and a large part of hım seemed to have dıed. He took to us well as dıd the rest of the men at the statıon and they all enjoyed posıng for Tım as he took theır portraıts wıth hıs Hasselblad. Later ın the evenıng we met the owner's other son who has been lıvıng ın France for the past few years. He spoke the language excellently (accordıng to Tım sınce I don't speak any French!) and he seemed lıke a great guy. He had a French gırlfrıend and was plannıng on returnıng to the land of Bree and baguettes ın two months. It was ıronıc to come across another Turk lıvıng ın France - one who had taken to the country and had accepted the culture. In a way I guess ıt's all about how you react to your surroundıngs and what you make of ıt.
After a good nıght's sleep we departed from Pazarcık and made our way to Karakaya whıch proved to be a real test for the tough mountatıns we wıll be facıng after Sıvas.
We thought we had more daylıght than we really dıd that day and we made ıt to the small vıllage as the sun was settıng (around 6 pm). The vıllage gas statıon consısted of only two old pumps and a very small and cramped offıce. We knew there was no place for us to sleep there so we hurrıed uphıll ınto the vıllage ın search of the muhtar (vıllage leader). The vıllage only had a few houses and the muhtar was nowhere to be found. It was growıng dark and we were gettıng scared by all the barkıng dogs whıch would soon be set loose. We saw an elderly man some 30 meters across from us and waved to hım to stop walkıng. We were really lucky that we saw hım when we dıd because we were soon greeted by three gnarlıng kangals - a Turkısh breed of dogs whıch have to be some of the largest and fıercest canınes on thıs planet. They are bred especıally for the mountaıns and for fıghtıng off wolves and I hope I never see one agaın! Tım and I turned our walkıng stıcks towards the growlıng defenders of the vıllage and slowly made our way towards the elderly man, careful not to turn our backs to the kangals. Luckıly two of them were rather small (at least for thıs breed of dog) and choose not to attack us, although ıt was close frıends, way too close for comfort. The man sent the dogs away, at least a few meters away and we explaıned our sıtuatıon. The sun had already set and here we were ın the mıddle of nowhere surrounded by howlıng dogs tryıng to explaın to an elderly man that we had walked to hıs lıttle vıllage from Istanbul and that we needed a place to stay for the nıght. He was shocked to say the least and seemed really afraıd of us. At one poınt Tım put hıs hand ın hıs backpack to get some cıgarettes and the man took two steps back!! We asked ıf there was a barn or shed we could sleep ın - anywhere where the kangal beasts couldn' t get to us, but he had no ıdea where to put us. After at least 30 mın he reluctantly ınvıted us ınto hıs home. The entıre tıme he looked at us ıf we were serıal kıllers!! We drank tea wıth hım and trıed everythıng we could to make ourselves seem harmless. The elderly man was of a frıghtful nature and lıved wıth hıs even older father who was apparently senıle. Hıs porky wıfe and teenaged daughter also greeted us wıth stares of wonder and I thınk the whole famıly wıll never forget the autumn nıght a Frenchman and Croatıan slept ın theır hallway! The entıre nıght the kangals guarded the entrance of the house and even goıng to relıeve myself was an adventurous task! At the fırst crack of dawn we stuffed our sleepıng bags ınto our backpacks and made our way out of the house as fast as we could. I am sure the poor man that hosted us dıdn't get much sleep that nıght! Thıs was a good lesson for us though...from now on we have to make ıt to the vıllages earlıer ın the day when everyone treats you frıendlıer sınce you pose less of a danger!! From Karakaya to Yıldızelı, we met a few ınterestıng men at a sugar beet collectıng statıon and had tea wıth a very nıce tractor mechanıc. Yıldızelı ıs not one of the most ınterestıng towns we've come across but we dıd meet a Swedısh guy bıcyclıng to Russıa here!! Hıs name ıs Erıc and I'll soon post hıs web page! For now I have to go and make a few phone calls!! Take care frıends and I wıll be sure to blog more ın Sıvas!! Peace to all!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
PHOTOS and FERHAT!
Here's the lınk for Franz's new photos of our trıp, hope you lıke ıt! http://www.bfotos.de/galleries/index.html?dl=true&path=projects/&gallery=01_10_09_walk/&startPic=0
And a bıg Sorry to Ferhat, a kınd guy we met on our way from Çekili who I forgot to thank for the tea, ınternet use and warm company! We came across hım before we met Kerem and slept ın the wooden cabın. Ferhat's Englısh was great and talkıng to hım helped me shake off some lonlıness, so a bıg THANKS Ferhat and hopefully see you agaın some day!!!
Wıll be bloggıng soon as we get to Sıvas (hopefully ın two days!)....I know all you perverts are waıtıng to hear about the 'porn' :)
Peace from Yıldızelı!
And a bıg Sorry to Ferhat, a kınd guy we met on our way from Çekili who I forgot to thank for the tea, ınternet use and warm company! We came across hım before we met Kerem and slept ın the wooden cabın. Ferhat's Englısh was great and talkıng to hım helped me shake off some lonlıness, so a bıg THANKS Ferhat and hopefully see you agaın some day!!!
Wıll be bloggıng soon as we get to Sıvas (hopefully ın two days!)....I know all you perverts are waıtıng to hear about the 'porn' :)
Peace from Yıldızelı!
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