Lingo

What is the most valuable phrase when learning to speak a new language? In learning to speak Nepalese, it seemed to me to be "How do you say (insert the word) in Nepalese?" "What is that?" was a close second. And right behind that was, "Could you repeat that, more slowly?"

In Turkish, "Could you please repeat that," is "Luften, tekrarlar misiniz." OK. And "I don't understand" is, "Anlamiyorum." That'll come in handy.

Oh yes, and "Pardon," is "Anlamadim." I wonder if that's the "pardon" of "excuse me," or the "pardon" of "I didn't understand"--or didn't hear. Or maybe I have it all wrong and it's the "pardon" of "I have committed an offense and hope you will not throw me in jail." Yikes!

I'll make some flash cards tonight and read them on the plane and while waiting in line and working this week. And if I am lucky, I'll find someone who wants to practice a few phrases.

And last, but not least... the word for Turkish coffee, "Turk kahvesi" unless it has cardamon, in which case it appears to be 'old fashioned coffee,' and is called mirra (muhr-ra). Yum.

You Are Everything You Love

you are everything you love--
the earth,
the children playing in the fields,
the rain,
the sun,
the river moving
below the thousand shades of green called spring.

you are the snow
sleeping against the soft shoulder
of the mountain,
the thousand flowers
beneath the vast ocean of sky.

without hope
give yourself completely
to every stranger,
without exception
in life,
in death,
in waking from the dream.

the first cry of birth,
the last breath,
the long nights in between
--you are everything you love.

Turning

Jelabies, Çelebis - Sweet

When I lived in Nepal, I studied thangka painting for some time. After class, I'd walk to the bazaar with some of the other thangka painters and we'd have tea and a snack. I usually had plain, black tea and Jelabis (pronounced "che-lay-bees").

Jelabies are small, saffron coloured pastries drizzled from a pastry tube, cooked in ghee and soaked in sugar syrup. Sound sweet? They are!

I rarely ate desserts the years I lived in Nepal, but I will never forget visits to the tea stalls, sharing a plate of Jelabies with my painter friends. Honey bees swarmed the dessert cases and landed in droves. They walked drunkenly on giant mounds of Jelabies, warmed by the late morning sun shining through the glass on the dessert case.

Out in the street in front of the sweet shop, young boys stood and stirred huge vats of milk tea. From time to time they'd fill a glass with tea and pour it in a magical arc from that glass to another, aerating the tea, making it thick and frothy.

Jelabies were my favorite sweet, all those years. Now I am thinking to follow a route created by a man named Çelebis.

...Seems delicious, seems sweet.

Who in the World is Evliya Çelebi?

Til now, I'd never heard of Evliya Çelebi, the son of the imperial goldsmith, Dervis Mehmed Zilli, in Turkey.

According to Wikipedia, Evilya was born in 1611, in Istanbul, as the son of a jeweler of the Ottoman court.

He seems to have been a Sufi. Evilya loved to travel and he loved to write. In 1640, he traveled from Istanbul and logged notes about the architecture, culture and people he encountered in 10 robust volumes called the Seyahatname (Book of Travels).

Separated by almost 400 years, Evilya and I still manage to have a few things in common. He was most likely a Sufi and I am a student of the Vajrayana, a mystical sect of Buddhism. He liked to write--or at least he wrote--and I do, too. He liked to go places, and I can't think of a better way to spend the day than wandering around some remote and dusty corner of the earth.

Of course we are also probably quite different. I am a woman, an American. I was born into the working class, not nobility, and my father was a logger, not a jeweler. I've been on a horse more than once, but I'd hardly call myself a rider.

I've never been to Turkey, but I lived in Nepal for a few years. I wonder if Evliya loved tea as much as I do--if he loved to sleep under the stars and build a fire by a river and listen to the wind as it crosses the hills.

I wonder who he was, really, just like I wonder who I am. Maybe in Turkey, I could meet us both.

The Document

Today I received a document about The Great Anatolian Ride, a long-distance riding project with a cultural mission to identify something the document said would be called The Evliya Çelebi Way. Its purpose, the document said, is to be "an international project of historical re-enactment and cultural re-connection that will establish a Cultural Route through Western Anatolia."

The writer continued:

The Evliya Çelebi Way is primarily an equestrian route designed to generate interest in Turkey’s vanishing horse culture, thereby reconnecting Turkish people today with their heritage. Combining the romance of horseback travel in remote but stunning landscapes with rediscovery of Turkey’s historical past, it must appeal to all who are concerned to preserve Turkey’s heritage through sustainable tourism.

The Evliya Çelebi Way (EÇW) will be realised in 2 phases:
·Phase I: the Evliya Çelebi Ride (EÇR) a long-distance horseback ride along the route for the purpose of navigating it and gaining familiarity with local conditions
·Phase II: the establishment of the EÇW on the basis of the experience gained on the EÇR


The Evliya Çelebi Way: the Concept
The EÇW will be a marked route winding its way through open countryside amidst the burgeoning population centres of western Turkey. It will be an invitation both to local people to escape the town and gain a wider appreciation of the region in which they live, and also to visitors from further afield. It passes through countryside that seems familiar, yet is visited only by the few who choose to venture away from the main thoroughfares. The EÇW offers access to magnificent landscapes of towering mountains, rich agricultural valleys and hillsides, forests, marshes and little-known villages. These are ideal conditions for short or long treks, on horseback or on foot.

The establishment of the EÇW will:
·encourage preservation of the region’s natural and historical landscapes and unique cultural environment
·promote economic prosperity through sustainable tourism
·act as a catalyst for local development projects in the impoverished countryside
·provide an educational and recreational resource for local young people
·promote knowledge about vanishing indigenous horse breeds and equestrian traditions, and raise awareness about the value of their preservation
·foster a sense of history by means of projects to record the stories of the villagers and townsfolk whose lives have depended on horses, and who continue to keep them

Somebody's Big Idea

The idea came over a cup of coffee with a friend.

I had browsed through books in the Turkish coffee shop and seen photos. I liked everything about them. As usual, the pictures of the countryside felt more inviting than the cities, and the mountains were more magnetizing than the sea. The shop owner's charming wife had suggested I plan a trip to Turkey, and I liked the idea. I wasn't sure how I'd come up with the money--but good ideas have a way of funding themselves.

Then on another morning, I talked with the shop owner about his home country and I began to get a feel for it. I'd like to walk, I said. I'd like to be away from the cities. I'd like to spend time with ordinary people, doing ordinary things. I needed a break and I knew it. I felt the tug of a good idea.