Yesterday (Ha, really it was three weeks ago! It's taken me a bit longer to get back to this post.)was my first day off for the Bayram holiday. While other foreign staff decided
to head out on a Blue Cruise on the Aegean, I decided to stick around Tarsus,
Mersin, and Adana for the break. I figured not only do I have papers to grade,
but I also have yet to really explore these three cities.
My first
unplanned day quickly became jammed packed.
It started with a trip to one of the local mosques. On Monday of this
week, Rüştü, one of the
Turkish staff members, gave some of us a historical tour of Tarsus. Our last
stop was at the mosque, and we were extremely lucky as the imam there let us
inside. There were only a handful of people, so we were given an impromptu
tour. Additionally, we were led to a special area where officials and heads of
states usually pray.
Historically,
people have been killed while worshipping, so a special area was built. It is an
elevated area about eight feet high with a narrow staircase that leads to a
platform. Most of the current officials don’t use the area any more as they
claim they want to be closer to the people (sounds like a politician), but my
guess is that the staircase is a bit too steep!
After the
tour on Monday, Donna and I were able to arrange a time to come and take
pictures during the day with better lighting as our original tour was in the
evening. We met Wednesday morning only to find that we were the only ones there
– no imam and a heavily locked door.
We decided
to take pictures of the outside of the mosque and figured something had been
lost in translation; after about an hour, an elderly gentleman found us and led
us to the opposite side of the mosque to a grave. It was obvious he wanted us
to see it and attempted to explain its importance to us. We have no idea what
he told us, but in the end we asked if we could take his picture. He obliged and
posed stoically and military like.
Donna had a
brilliant idea that she would set the timer on her camera and get all three of
us in a picture. She set the timer, we posed, she joined us. Just before the camera clicked, the
gentleman’s arm quickly went around my shoulder into a tight grasp. A picture
was taken. Donna checked the photo and noticed it was a bit dark. We tried
again.
My gut was
a bit hesitant, but I figured what the heck. It’s just one more photo. Again,
Donna set the timer, we posed, she joined us.
His arm quickly came around my shoulder this time a bit tighter. Picture
taken. Donna checked again, and it’s still too dark.
As I’m telling her in English that I’m not
posing again, the gentleman attempts to kiss me on the cheek! Ewww! “Yok, yok,
yok!” I yell. (A negative response a bit more stern than “No.”) Ahhh, yes a fun start to a busy day. As I
write, I honestly don’t know where he ran to, but he was nowhere to be found as
we headed to the front of the mosque.
However, an
imam had arrived and unlocked the doors. We were led inside and allowed to take
as many pictures as we wanted. A payoff well worth the unwanted kiss…..well,
maybe not, but Donna seemed to get a good chuckle out of it. It was amazing to
be inside the mosque with our cameras during daylight hours. We profusely
thanked the imam and went on to take some pictures of daily life on a Wednesday
in Tarsus.
From
there…tennis lesson at noon, Mersin at 3:00. Camera shopping and dinner at
Subway. Yes, I did enjoy a spicy Italian sandwich with a Belgium beer.
Delicious! Beer at Subway needs to
happen in the States. I have to say day one of break turned out to be more than
alright…despite the kiss. 