Adiyaman
At the end of my St Paul Trek, I went looking for a bus to take me to Konya. As I approached the otogar, a barber came out of his shop and invited me to tea. I indicated I was looking for a bus and in fairly good English he told me he would take care of it, then re-invited me to tea. I agreed and we began talking. After a half hour or so, and a couple of teas, he got me the bus ticket I needed, and then we began talking about Rumi and Sufiism because he knew I was going to Konya. By the end of our chat, he had given me the names of two Sufi leaders that he suggested I go visit. One was in Lefke, Cyprus, and the other in Adiyaman, Turkey.
The man I was looking for in Adiyaman was Sheik Menzil, and it turns out I needed to go a ways outside Adiyaman to find him. I took a bus to Menzil, joined by a bunch of other people who were also going to visit this man too. It turns out something like seven million people visit Menzil every year. When I got there, I didn’t know where to go, so I was just milling about with my pack on. There were not too many people around, as Sheik Menzil was in Germany as it turns out. Menzil is a small town, with several shops along a main street, and a large mosque. Around the mosque are lands used for growing food, and housing for those devotees living and working there.
Outside the mosque was a man sitting in front of his store, and he approached me, and invited me to sit down. I needed a place to put my pack so I could go in the mosque and meditate, so I figured it would be good to make a friend. He didn’t speak much English but he got the idea of what I needed, and let me put my pack in his shop, and then he showed me into the mosque. He showed me how to wash, and then watched me pray for a bit, but stopped me after five minutes and brought me back to his shop. I was a bit frustrated at this point that I wasn’t being left alone, and that I couldn’t meditate in the mosque, because I felt something special about this place and wanted to be quiet to see what it was. But I felt a lot of structure too, and decided I should respect the ways of the people here.
We sat back down in front of the shop, and then a big man dressed in white came out and sat next to me. The store owner told me that the big man was the brother of the Sheik, and then he called his brother who spoke English to try and communicate with me better. My impression of this big guy was that he was full of himself. I think he expected me to bow down and kiss his hand or something, because he didn’t look at me or even acknowledge my presence for that matter. He obviously ate a lot, and I doubt he did much to earn his keep other than walk around acting important. Meanwhile, I am feeling even more like there is something here and I just want to be left alone so I can listen to it, but the storekeeper keeps handing his phone to me so I can say hello to his brother. I feel something welling up inside of me and I realize that it is forgiveness. I am feeling forgiveness for the storekeeper because he doesn’t know that he is an obstacle for me, and I feel forgiveness for this big guy, because his own self importance is blinding him. So I am watching my frustration dissolve in the face of this feeling of forgiveness, which is usually not how it works with me, and soon I am completely swallowed by it. I believe my experience was not so much about forgiving someone for doing wrong against me, but more about letting go of how I was feeling in regards to my perceptions, and feeling the joy of being free from that constraint. Sort of like letting go of the negativity I might fall into if I thought I lost my wallet.
Eventually I am offered a place to sleep, and I accept, hoping to get some quality time to mediate in the mosque. It turns out that someone is with me constantly though, and I am never given the chance. Either they didn’t trust me, or they wanted to convert me. I think it was the latter. Regardless, I left on the first bus the next morning.
Sanliurfa
Sanliurfa is a pilgrimage city. People come here from all over the Middle East (and world) to visit the cave where Abraham was born. At that location, a beautiful park has been created, holding multiple mosques. Above the park on a hill is the remains of an old castle. Around the park and castle is the old city, and around that the new city.
On my first visit to the park I discovered two things. First, there was a presence about the place that made it hard for me to think. I call this Grace, because when I mediatate I am trying to quiet my mind so I can hear all the other more subtle things that are going on with my existence. If I find a place or person who makes that easier, then that is Grace to me. The other thing I discovered is that those who commit violence against others are the ones who really need our compassion and love, because they don’t realize the struggle they are creating for themselves to undo the obstruction they are creating between themselves and love. This notion struck me at the same time I watched a mother striking her small child. My initial reaction was quite typical for me, which was to feel anger and judgment toward the mother. I wanted to physically stop her, and somehow force my will upon her that she never do it again. I’m not sure what caused me to see the self destruction the mother was inflicting on herself, but it has stuck with me, although I have my moments of weakness. On an overnight bus back to Izmir, a mother in the seat next to me was hitting her daughter and I leaned over and stopped her. I have never done that before, even in America, so it felt a bit strange. I wish I could say I did it for the mothers sake.
I have posted more photos of Sanliurfa on the photos page.
Best Tost in Konya
In Konya I stumbled upon a small shop making the best tost in Konya, or so I was told. I must say it was pretty good, along with the portakal su (orange juice) and ayran (yogurt drink), but I did not get a chance to sample any of the competition. Many thanks to my new friend Hasan for his hospitality, conversation, and generosity.
St. Paul Trail
As predicted, I am writing this from Konya. I have been here a few days organizing photos on a new Toshiba netbook, which should help with photo storage and blog posting. Trying to do everything from my phone was getting to be a bit more of a challenge than I cared for.
My trek was fantastic. I saw a part of Turkey I didn’t expect to. The countryside was beautiful, and it was great to be in the fresh air and quiet, open, spaces. I am posting a bunch of photos here.
I was hiking on the St Paul Trail, and I chose the most isolated section to travel. I did not see any other hikers, but I did see a few goat herders and some villagers. All in all, I saw a lot less people than I expected, especially toward the end.
My first night out was pretty cold. A hail storm had passed through the day before and it was cloudy, so there was still hail on the ground when I got to my campsite. The next day the sun came out and warmed everything up, and I had no more temperature issues. This was my first camp site:
Walking through a village one morning I said hello to a man and woman living in cottage right on the path. After a little bit the man tried to tell me something and then the woman came out with two flashlights in her hand. Both were broken. One looked like it was in fair condition, so I pulled it apart. There was a good amount of corrosion inside, but after half an hour of cleaning and some “chai” (Turkish tea), I got it working. The man was so impressed he said Allah had sent me. I was impressed by the fact that despite not having a lot of money, these people were living in a beautiful setting and seemed to be doing just fine despite getting on in years. No social security, no health care, no utility bills. The only stress seemed to be coming from the lack of a working flashlight…
Camping
While in Izmir, I rented an apartment, and got to test some of my camping gear.
I rented the stove from a local gas store and decided to send my camping stove home, as I didnt see needing it on any of the trekking I plan to do. I also got lucky and found a matress.
So that was my urban camp in Izmir. Now I am in Antalya and heading into the countryside for some real camping, walking the St. Paul Trail. I will be off the grid for a couple weeks, but I am sure to have lots of good stuff to share when I get back. My next post will likely be from Konya.
Shops
Izmir is a city of concrete apartment buildings. Most of them are 5 to 10 stories high, but there are exceptions. The city center has some much taller structures, for example. The bottom floor of the apartment buildings though are typically occupied by small shops. Each one is as unique as the people that run them, usually one person, or maybe a family. Every time I walk past a shop I feel like I am peering inside someones mind. Here are a few examples of what I see.
Lunch
I suspect no one will get too bored looking at images of food. Here is the fish lunch I shared with my friend Levent the other day. We got to pick the fish off a display outside, and then they cooked it and served it to us. They cook it in olive oil and lightly batter it. We had sardines and another kind of fish. The sardines were crispy, fresh, and delicious. We ate them whole (fileted). The fish was crispy on the outside and tender and juicy inside. Served with fresh tomato and cucumber salad, and bread and olive oil. All for ten US dollars.
The Soccer Game
The other day I was walking home and noticed a large gathering inside a large street level room. At first I thought it was some kind of town meeting, but then I realized it was something far more important – a football game! Or what we call soccer.
The room was packed so I had to make a bit of a scene getting in, and then when they saw I was just taking a picture I got a look or two. But I know better then to let that intimidate me, the same guys could be buying me tea and playing backgammon with me tomorrow.
Street Views
One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Turkey was the number of street cats and dogs. They all leave you you alone (unlike the rug salesmen) but if you stop near one you might get a look like, “oh, do you have some food for me?”
This guy was just waking up from a relaxing afternoon nap in the sun.
A typical major street scene near where I am staying.
The next one gives you a little feel for how Izmir sits next to the sea.
The next one is the sun setting over the south end of Izmir. It is taken from the boardwalk that runs along the waterfront.
There is really no end to the diversity of this city. There are so many neighborhoods and each is colored by the individuality of the residents and shop owners. More on this to come.
Bread Shop
I was walking down the street yesterday and I here call from behind me. One of the flower girls has spotted me! I walk over and she waves me into her parents bread shop. I take a few photos, which seems to put a smile on most peoples faces here. We are having a good time, despite the lack of a common spoken language.
