A Village Project - Yeşilöz

This week we were driven to a village about 60 miles outside of Ankara, where we had provided student lockers and classroom bookshelves for an elementary school. It was a lovely fall day, warm and sunny; and it was very pleasant to drive out of Ankara up into the hills where the village is located. Some of the leaves were turning, and it was lovely.

We visited the school along with the mayor of the village and saw the lockers and bookcases in use. The younger students were beautiful in their blue uniforms and were amazingly well-behaved. (They were very proud of their locker keys, as the boy is showing us.) Starting in grade 6 the boys wear suits and ties to school and the girls wear uniforms with skirts, vests and ties. Their behavior in class reflects the formality of their attire, but on the playing field they are probably just like other children! The headmaster gave us a little plaque in front of a large group of students, and we got to say a few words, translated by our trusty interpreter, of encouragement to the kids. The school serves 5 villages, none of which can support the rising generation because of a lack of available land, so the parents and children are highly motivated to make education the path to success. The headmaster said more than 75% of the students go on to higher education after high school. It was very satisfying to be helping a school that is so successful.

The mayor and his wife hosted us for lunch in a little park by the river. We could hear the bells of the sheep grazing across the river – very peaceful and pleasant. The mayor’s wife cooked traditional soup and a kind of vegetable and lamb stew, and they served us fruit from their own garden, which they pointed out to us before we left the village.

After lunch we took a short walk. We visited and walked on a new suspension bridge and then walked closer to the caves in the mountainside across the stream. The mayor said the caves were from the 1st Century but no one knows who lived in them. We wish we had been properly dressed to climb up and go in the caves, but we agreed that next time we’ll bring some other clothes so we can. Everyone was so gracious; we had a wonderful day. We hope to do another project for the school, and maybe one for the village. (If they can find a suitable area, we might be able to provide fruit trees for a source of income to the community.) It is very satisfying to work with a community which works together so well for their common good.

An International Wedding

Last night we went to an international wedding at a fancy hotel. Marina, a Ukrainian girl from our Turkish class, married her Turkish boyfriend. It was great fun, since we were seated with classmates from our last class, whom we really enjoyed. Our teacher, Arzu (Turkish), Selma (Bosnian), Jasmine (Russian) and Karen (German) and their spouses were at our table. It was wonderful to see everyone again.

It was truly an international event. The couple was married while seated at a table with a government official in a red satin coat. She said “Da” and he said “Evet”, both meaning “yes,” of course. Then they signed papers and were officially married. There were both Turkish and Urkainian customs; the parents presented the couple with their first meal of bread and salt. Their table had both their flags on it. The first dance was an old American waltz (“Fascination Waltz”), and one of the first wildly popular dance sets was a medley of 1950s rock and roll—starting with “Rock Around the Clock” and ending with “Blue Suede Shoes.” Dancers loved it and ran to the floor. When the band played an especially rousing version of “House of the Rising Sun,” I turned to my German friend and said I knew the words to that song. “Everyone in the world knows that song,” my friend replied. Later there was Russian and Turkish music, and the dance floor was jammed with happy people dancing wildly.

Although there were elements of tradition at this wedding, it was not a traditional wedding, our Turkish friends told us, but a “rich” wedding. A traditional village wedding will last three or four days and include a drum and pipes and marching from one place to another. There will also be a night when the women henna the bride’s hands. This wedding could have been in the US, except for the table next to us filled with elderly women relatives of the groom, all of whom were completely covered and wore head scarves.

The traditional gift for any major occasion (like a wedding, a baby’s birth or a young boy’s circumcision) is a piece of gold. We purchased one from a jeweler with the help of our interpreter. It looks like a coin with a loop and ribbon on top, and in villages, guests pin it to the bride’s dress. When the bride wears a western-style fancy dress, she carries a little purse, and we put the gold coin in the purse. The groom also wore a sort of bandolier, to which his friends pinned gold pieces. Later, when the young couple needs to buy something big, they may cash in the gold pieces.

We feel very comfortable in this Muslim country where family ties are cherished and where social gatherings are wholesome and family-oriented. Many people do not drink alcohol, and it is never a problem to decline tea or coffee when we say it is a “religious rule.” The people are very warm and hospitable. We are so grateful for our dear friends who are making our experience here so wonderful.