His name is 'Endar' - the 'rare one' and I am in love. He comes at the bargain price of 2 turkish lire and not only guides me throughout the amazing rock cut tombs but also carries my bag, holds my hand up the steep, steep hlllside and carefully points out the rocks that I may stumble on. (Apparently he has a good grasp of my lack of grace...). He is 11 years old and speaks 3 languages fluently. His the very picture of emerging Turkey - one foot in the traditional past, one firmly planted in the future.
This is the most incredible country. if you haven't already been here, disregard the grave govt travel warnings and come. Turkey is a wildly diverse country - ranging from the impossibly edgy and sophisticated Istanbul (do you remember your early history lessons on Constantinople? This is the cradle of civilization and 17 million people call this gorgeous, rambunctious city home) to the south eastern villages bordering on Iran and Iraq where I wore headscarf and was instructed to keep my eyes demurely downcast at all times...
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Turkey is not entirely what I expected. The infrastructure is well developed and in the western sections, bmws and audis rip down the superhighways...and in the east? those same highways are empty of cars...the odd dusty bus but more often the ubiquitous dusty donkey or tractor transport entire families, their livestock and swaying mountains of produce.
and on the mediterranean coast in the southwest? The ocean is an impossible peacock blue and bathwarm. A four day gulet (traditional wooden Turk sailing yacht) trip yieldes a magical kayak glide over the sunken city of Kevakos, sublime soakings off the island of St. Nicholas, raki fuelled belly dancing lessons in Kas and more stars than I have ever laid eyes on each night when we pulled mattresses on to the deck to sleep and escape the heat of cabin. I'm uncertain whether the sea is ultra salty here or whether I sport an alarming new layer of flab at the hands of Ahmed, the ships cook - but it feels easier to float here than at home. My toes had no problem poking well out of the water and I was able to rest both book and glass of yummy local wine on my upturned belly while bobbing about.
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Turkey is a land of entirely mystical landscapes. I am entirely at a loss adequately describe the 'fairy chimmneys' of Goreme. Google Goreme or Cappadochia and let your jaw drop. These 'chimmneys' are the result of differential erosion of layers of volcanic material and over the years have formed into what polite folks may refer to as mushrooms. Really though, they are decidely more um, er, phallic in shape and really are magical. Early Hittites carved homes and stables and churches and wine cellars (gotta love those Hittites) into them and together they cover entire valley bottoms and depending on your tastes look either like an early starwars set or slightly eerie home to gnomes and the like. After exploring these by foot for days, a hotair balloon ride at sunrise lent a whole new exciting perspective - our pilot was brilliant - not simply allowing us to rise to great height above the valley, he wove us in and out of the chimmneys literally close enough to rub their roofs.
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But I digress from my aforementioned newfound love. After we climb about thru the rock tombs and the ottoman castle that was alarmingly built right on top of them, Endar takes me back to his home for apple tea - along the way we share our
really worst jokes and pee our pants laughing and then he and his Gran take me out to their 'backyard' - a remarkably well preserved greco theatre hunkered down into the hillside. "its a good place for the goats" he mumbles - surprised at my surprise..such is Turkey...so many achingly beautiful, ancient remains that they become a good place for goats, or in the case of ancient sarchophogi (sp?) in Fethiye, somewhere to simply rest the paper towel dispenser and airhose at the local gas station.
After tea, we try to get Gran to take a picture of us....she has never seen a digital camera before and the first few shots are of the sky above our heads, the next few candidly capture our toes and then she nails it - Endar and I framed (abit crookedly) with our arms about each other, our fingers behind each other's heads raised in the traditional and highly regarded 'rabbit
ears'. of the probably 2000 photos I have taken, this is probably my alltime favourite and one that I will hang with pleasure and pride.
and then Im escorted back to the road to meet the dolmus - mini bus - back to town. I turn to wave but they have already disappeared into the whorl of dust - the epitome of conservative, headscarfed traditional Turkey and the multilingual, technically savvy new Turkey.
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this spectacular and incongruous country has been a joy from the moment I landed. I hope you are keeping well and happy and finding much to smile about each day.
> With very much love,
> Deli
