A River of Experience

Thursday, May 29, 2014 

Michelle Curtis

Traveling through Turkey is like being carried along in the swift current of a rushing river. Every bend in the river brings one new, exhilarating experience after another, and each time I think “Ok, I’m figuring this place out,” we come around another bend to something new that overwhelms me with wonder all over again. (This is in large part on account of our excellent tour guide who is incredibly knowledgeable and brings the sites to life with the information he shares about them while also balancing this with free time for hands on learning (or climbing) and lots of pictures.)

On Tuesday we visited the small, beautiful village of Şirince (which means “town of the cute people”). Turning the corner onto another cobblestone street, an ice cream vendor surprised us by clanging the bells above his stand to provoke screams. He could then sing out, “I scream, they scream, we all scream for ice cream.” Not only did he get us laughing, but he also introduced us to ice cream cut from a solid block that somehow hung in the sun without melting.

That white block he is holding is the ice cream

 Yet in the midst of this playful current, there are always pools of emotions and questions that swirl inside me. In this tiny touristy town, is it an excellent thing to put money into the local economy and support the arts here (in forms varying from handmade silk scarves to glass-blowing done on site to fresh squeezed pomegranate juice)? Or am I just a materialistic Westerner consuming pieces of Turkish culture and souvenirs? I concluded probably some of both. I also wonder: what kind of relationship can I—a wealthy western tourist—have with the Turkish people I meet? The barriers of language and wealth feel large, but I hope that in some small ways I can remove a few stones from those dividing walls to at least get my head over the barrier and say “Merhaba”—“hello”—to the person on the other side. Many of the vendors learn a little English so they can sell their goods to me, and I will confess that after simple greetings, the next Turkish phrase I wanted to learn was “How much (does this cost)?” But at the same time, I have also overcome my fear of saying things terribly wrong, and I finally feel comfortable saying “teşekkürlar”—“thanks.” Maybe I will still be a wealthy tourist, but I hope that I can also brighten the day of a few venders when I smile as I pass and speak a few words in their language.  

Yet, the current flows on as time flies by and before I could finish with all those swirling questions the next curve in the river of our day brought cooking lessons in a quaint family restaurant. We got to help chop vegetables for three dishes that the mother skillfully cooked all at once while her daughter explained what we were doing in English. Later the father showed us the wood oven where he cooked one of the dishes we made. What a pleasure to wade into another stream of Turkish culture and again learn with eyes, ears, and hands. Though it certainly had the fast pace of a restaurant, the kitchen also felt comfortable and homey as we gathered around the large marble table in the center to chop, grate, and mix. I am thoroughly enjoying Turkish food here, but the cooking lesson was somewhat of a whirlwind without nearly enough time to soak in everything we were experiencing. So, I was delighted when the daughter told us she wrote a cookbook (with lots of pictures from the family restaurant), and several of us are bringing the book home to (attempt to) share our wonderful experiences of Turkish food with you!

Chopping parsley

There's lunch, cooking in the wood oven. They make the fire at 8am, and it burns all day long. Even with our cookbooks, we won't be able to replicate this at home.

 After cooking we feasted on the extensive buffet the restaurant provided for us in which the three dishes we helped make felt like merely a drop in the bucket. It was delicious!

And you can't even see all of it

Each day the rushing water of our trip moves through new experiences that continually amaze me. I am thankful for the time we had this day to interact with the Turkish vendors and explore the cute village of Şirince. And I am delighted to have had the opportunity to learn about the delicious Turkish food I am enjoying in a hands on way. From food to exploring to learning more than I feel I should ever be allowed to learn in a few weeks, I am absolutely loving the adventure and cannot wait to see what lies around the river bend tomorrow!