now, occasionally some characters appear in your story that just seem
to write themselves. Ahmet was just such a character.
accustomed by now as we are to following the Red and White and
deciphering the cryptic trail notes, we still find ourselves in a
small debate regarding these artistically painted markers. With one
half of our duo "convinced" the trail does not follow them, there is
nothing left for it but to investigate anyway. we round the corner
and discover Ahmet, his 30 goats, his 2-room open-air treehouse and
one of his three wives. a remarkably generous and excitable host,
Ahmet proceeds to ply us with all manner of goodies, from cheese and
yogurt procured from his beloved animals to bread, tea, biscuits and
turkish delight. for starters. we are then treated to a
well-rehearsed poetry recital, which despite being in Turkish still
gets us a little choked up. topping the performance off with a few
serenades and a livelier number that Ahmet dances to rather vigorously
(the man can move those shoulders) we attempt to bid a farewell from
the lofty heights of this house in the trees. in a sporadic outburst,
Ahmet races off, returning with buckets of paint and a brush
splattered Red and White. clever sausage! the mystery markers were
indeed Ahmet's doing, bringing unsuspecting trekkers into his
maelstrom of hospitality; personally i think he likes to perform.
Ahmet then guides us onward to the real trail until we reach the
perfect place for a photo shoot by the setting sun, another of his
penchants we guess. he eventually departs, leaving us with a bouquet
of flowers and a request to come back to his treehouse next year to
get married. the man moves fast. no wonder he has three wives.
Ahmet, you are a model of Turkish entertainment, and will be missed.
this episode belongs to you.
hugs and love from a Treehouse in Turkey. gobble gobble.
j
