Voices Newspaper Altinkum Didim Turkey

WE EXPLORED Istanbul those first days like kids in a candy shop thoroughly enjoying the overload to our senses. Of course not alone though, following traditions of famous Turkish hospitality someone was always with us, our initial friend had to leave us but he quickly called a cousin who came bearing gifts of baklava and a willingness to follow us girls around (imagine that) keeping us safe as we explored.

Never to be left alone, we found it very endearing but an interesting cultural difference since we come from a culture where independence is revered and would have managed ourselves for at least part of the time just fine.

But I am happy to know this side of Turkish culture, as long as it is out of kindness not control, the below the surface side. Go below the surface…

We traversed the cobble stone streets with our various buddies, all making our best attempts at communication. The recipe; a little English, a dash of Turkish, a small pocket dictionary, an open mind and a whole lot of mime work and pseudo sign language.

I find it so interesting how my senses heighten when I can’t easily communicate with language. Of course there are frustrating times too but I became so aware of people’s body language, their smile or lack thereof and especially their eyes.

Eyes really are the window to the soul and so expressive if that is all you have to work with!

The below quote is from an amazing book, Honeymoon in Purdah, An Iranian Journey by Alison Wearing. It is about a Canadian girl’s experience that she had throughout Iran and I read it while becoming acclimated to Turkish culture…

"At the top of the stairs, he pauses before opening the door to his house. 'I invite you to our home where I live with my family. I do not ask to you if you are good person. Already I see it: your heart it is sitting in your eyes'."

She and her travel companion had just met this man who invited them into his home. I find Turkish people doing this all the time. Here have some tea...let me feed you... and we will talk with our eyes, our hands and small words (although my Turkish has coming along in these years since these first experiences).

We continued in awe of the harmony found between the contradictions; the mix of old, gorgeous architecture and new, concrete sky rises, the famous split of European and Asian continents by the flow of the Marmara Sea connecting the Aegean to the Black Sea, the struggle between modern and traditional life.

Teens sporting the latest fashions trying to find their own “style” and identify like teens of any country who stroll alongside covered village women in their hand embroidered head scarves and multi-colored, multi-patterned clothing.

Old men in dark suit jackets sit and converse together twirling their prayer beads, drinking çay (tea) and smoking cigarettes. Modern business professionals, male and female hurry by while gorgeous women window shop, some with colorful silk headscarves, designer clothes and no flesh showing except a beautifully made-up face.

They shop with their friends who choose to uncover and straighten their long, thick, dark locks for all to see.

The modern tram system led us to ancient ruins of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman civilizations. Having come from the United States of America which is a new country, just a little over 200 years old. It is so interesting to think about how times were lived years, even centuries, before.

The Native American people had lived in harmony with nature, leaving little or no trace, so their legacy lives in stories instead of ruins for all to awe over (Which I do think they were on to something but that is a later story).

Turks come from all corners of Turkey, yabancılar(foreigners) to Istanbul, some yabancılar from outside Turkey too, with hopes of a better life or more prosperous at least to populate this unique city.

All trying to fit in the cracks between or build up and out over this ancient city that has been home to civilizations for thousands of years. But just about everyone has time to sit with you, look into your eyes and drink some çay.

But the modern Turkish republic is so much more than Istanbul (don’t forget so much more than Didim/Altinkum also!) So we said goodbye to Istanbul for now and found our way to Eskişehir, which means old city, but it is actually quite the opposite having two of the largest universities in Turkey located there, Anadolu and Osmangazi Universitisi. It is the young city, the student city, and a whole other story as we dug below the surface even more…