Palace in the Field

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I started my morning off watching the new Pride and Prejudice… it was fantastic. My friend came up and we had proper tea – the first good cup since I’ve been here. Turkish tea is very bitter, loose and well not to my taste. Luckily she has Earl Grey. Yummy! So we decided to venture out, have lunch and visit the village where her boyfriend and his family live. They are Arab Alawis and so very very nice. After a 15 minute bus ride, 15 walk, we ended up down a road that was named for his grandfather. The whole road, the land and various houses all belong to his family. His house, grandmother and the gardens across the street, his aunts and cousins just a few paces further down, you get it. There are fruit trees of all kinds and tomatoes and vegetables to be freshly plucked at leisure to snack on. His family speaks Arabic first, Turkish second. His mother, with a beautiful smile, was about 10 years older than I but we could bond of children and putting the men to work. We sat, ate nuts, fresh fruit – tea in the shady grove that was his back porch. The brutal and unforgiving heat masked by grape leaves and tall trees. We talked about many things including religion. I met his wonderful grandmother who walked me across the street to this beautiful home across the dirt road – a palace in the field. She fed me (again… oh I was stuffed to be sure) – Ekmek (bread), cucumbers, oranges, olive oil w/ crumbled cheese. A luncheon feast – nevermind we had eaten before coming, at his mother’s house too - *laugh* On the farm, you certainly don’t starve. After the sun went down a bit we went swimming. Now – we didn’t know we were going so no swim shorts, only my poor dress getting soaked and my wonderful (if not a bit overpriced) keens walking on hard stones while the river ran swiftly past me. Everyone was there – children and families, men and boys jumping from rocks, splashing and laughing. I must say that I was a hit. Being the only American girl I had an audience of young Turkish men vying for attentions – one in particular caught my eye – He was a handsome boy of thirteen and spoke decent English. He was a really sweet kid and told me that my hair was beautiful. I assure you readers – it was not. It was wet and stringy and knotted like a rats nest! One of the older guys kept trying to splash him away – like shooing the fly trying to land in your honey. Only this particular pot is (a) very happily married and (b) infinitely amused by anyone thinking you can date someone you can’t even hold a conversation with. One of the guys said “I love you” – to which I responded “Yoke (no), You love my passport!” That got a myriad of laughter from the women on the banks watching the spectacle. When I had had enough I joined my friends up the cliff for a coke. I had stayed behind a bit to give them a little “alone” time. We rested, talked and then started the long walk back to the bus. But as we were heading – we stopped for Kuneffe – YUMMY stuff. I highly recommend you just try it. It was a great day.

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