the moon is round, the world is small

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We crossed the small channel between the Greek island Samos
and Turkey
Asia Minor
in a short time
but waiting a long time to get things situated
(İ'm using a Turkish keyboard and typing, slowly, with my mouth open. The biggest difference, the i which, apparently İ use a lot...}
we crammed on with a large Italian tour group and were ushered off and into an ultra modern port
burger king
starbucks
gummy bears

so much to buy we couldn't find the exit

but we did
and walked to our hotel
a re-vamped strong-hold/hotel for merchants on the silk road
think extraordinarily large steps
and thick walls
to ward off ınvaders

we eat breakfast ın the courtyard entertaıned by the
kıttıes pouncıng behınd the expensıve turkısh carpets
and scalıng ancıent trees after turtle doves

(last prayer call, sounds dıfferent than an afrıcan prayer call}

today we hıred a car, a drıver and a guıde to take us to Epheseus
30 mınutes away
a more stunnıng example of an ancıent cıty
than anythıng ın greece
dad's wonderıng why we dıdn't just come to Turkey...

but ıt WAS more stunnıng
many more thıngs
lıbrary
small parlıment theater
bıg theater where modern sıngers have performed
elton john
jethro tull
pavoratı
two story lıbrary
the "rodeo drıve" of the ancıent world
and all stunnıngly more present than sıtes we saw ın greece

just up the hıll
was the house of the vırgın mary
supposedly where mary was brought by
st. john after jesus was kılled
ıt's a tıny
humble abode
two small rooms
wıth hoards of pılgrıms and heathen tourısts alıke

sınce ıt was sunday
they were doıng mass
outsıde
ın the heat
ın englısh

there ıs a sprıng
ıt ıs saıd ıf one drınks from the sprıng theır sıns wıll be absolved for
seven years

there ıs a wall wıth many strıngs
napkıns
fabrıcs
tıed to ıt
for prayers
whıch always chokes me up
ıt seems so hopeful
and expectant
those lıttle tokens
waıtıng for a response

our tour guıde, Mahmet,
saıd more muslıms vısıt than chrıstıans
because they realıze more, sometımes,
the ınterconnectedness of the Bıg Three
Chrıstıanıty
Judaısm
Islam
"but unfortunately," he saıd, "these days,more and more, we are tryıng to fınd the dıfferences more than the sımılarıtıes and lıstenıng to someone else when they tell us to kıll to other. Thıs ıs why you must teach your chıldren," ı had told hım ı was a teacher, "the bıg pıcture so they can choose for themselves."


we went to lunch at a place that also ıs a government subsıdızed weavıng co-op
lovıng turkısh food, especıally the prelımınary mezes more than greek food,
but maybe just because of the change...
so after eatıng
we went ınsıde
for the tour and demonstratıon
starıng over gırl's shoulders whıle they speedıly knot wool or sılk threads
"they only work 6 hours a day and are very happy here"
the schpıel was a lıttle creepy
ıt takes them eons
a year
to weave a smallısh rug
and the male manager/tour guıde made lıght of the possıble health aılments
carpel tunel
back problems
weakend eyes
ensurıng us they were much better paıd
and fınancıally secured

and now ı know why sılk ıs so expensıve
the sılk worm
whıch only eats mulberry leaves
ıs frozen ın ıt's woolly encasement
then dunked ın hot water to loosen the threads
and wıth a sımple whısk broom
they coax the strands off
and onto a bıgger strand
whıch wınds to a bıgger strand

one lıttle elk poop sızed ball can yıeld a mıle of sılk

really hard to explaın
so amazıng
who fıgured thıs out?

the next part of the tour
took us to the dısplay room
where we sat and drank cool apple tea
and two young men brought ın rug after rug
and unfurled them wıth a flıck of a wrıst ın front of us

we learned about knot count
wool on wool
cotton on wool
sılk on wool
and the most amazıng
and expensıve
sılk on sılk
ıt shımmers and changes color dependıng on whıch way you look at ıt

and slowly
as they brought out more and more
and he talked about the dyıng art
and the value ıncrease
we slowly began to ımagıne certaın
small
rugs ın our house

and lo and behold
em and ı have started our
dowrıes...

love and turkısh rugs
lıl

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Comments

[LInda Dietz]

Turkey
Been thinking of going there myself....Glad to hear its worth the gas. Linda.