POSTSCRIPT TURKEY

 
Postscript Turkey. 

 On the last day of my driving adventure in Turkey, experiencing as much as I could of the 560 miles between Cappadocia and the Mediterranean Sea, I battled my way through the traffic of the magnificent city of Konya in search of the Mevlana Museum.  I had known a few things about the 13^th Century Sufi Muslim mystic, Jelaluddin Rumi, for many years.  But of late I had been turning to him more and more as I sought to understand the soul of Islam.

Rumi is said to have said:

                “The past has vanished.

            Everything that was uttered belongs there.

            Now is the time to speak of new things.”

These are simple and beautiful words and they are also wise and hopeful words.  Something different is needed in our world than the thoughts and actions of the past.   Looking only to the past we will likely find plenty of reason for fear and mistrust.   A future of prosperity and peace requires that we strive together to find every possible good reason to believe in each other and to respect what the other believes.

Did I find such good reasons in Turkey, which was after all my primary goal for traveling there?  Absolutely!  The first day to the last my month in Turkey were filled with experiences and people and insights that declare loudly that we can COEXIST with our Abrahamic brothers and sisters.  I learned that the people of Turkey can and desire to have a very significant role in the future we are building together.

Also, and very important, I have discovered in the past ten days back in the states that my interest in Turkey and its people and its role in the world, and my interest in Islam have not declined since my return.   I have continued writing to friends in Turkey and I have continued reading books.

My new favorite book on Turkey is entitled, Crescent and Star; Turkey Between Two Worlds, by Stephen Kinzer, who for five years was the bureau chief for the New York Times in Istanbul.  Do you recall how many people asked me, “Why go to Turkey?”  This is KInzer’s answer to that question:

                “When the first edition of this book appeared in 2001, Turkey was the most fascinating country in the world.  It still is.  Other than that, almost everything about Turkey has changed.”

Kinzer believes that the future of the world is as much in the hands of  the people of Turkey as any other people.

            “For centuries they shaped world history and the not so distant memory of Ottoman glory allows them to believe they can do so again.”

Among many meanings of this affirmation are that Turkey and its people are probably the strongest force in the world for illuminating the way for Muslims who hope to be both faithful and democratic.

Will I return to Turkey?  It’s certainly possible and I would love to do so, but on the other hand the answers to questions like this—question about the purpose of our lives and our destinies—are hidden in the stars, only to be revealed at exactly the right time.  One thing I do know, if I do return to Turkey and if I do value my life I had better take my wife, Kathy, with me to be overwhelmed by the sights of Cappadocia.  Some things do not take a lot of insight to understand.

Far From Home

“Lord I’m one, Lord I’m two, Lord I’m three, Lord I’m four, Lord I’m five hundred miles from my home.  Away from home, away from home, away from home, away from home, Lord I’m five hundred miles from my home.”

The above words were from a folk song we sang in my growing up years.  The  essence of the song was whether or not the traveler could depend on God in the new circumstances of his life.  Well, could he?  Can we?  Or are we afraid to begin the journey because we don’t know how help will be given along the way?  How often do people not start out on a journey because they are afraid they will not have the necessary resources to complete their travels?

In effect that was the  motivation for my final travels across Turkey.  I was in the Cappadocian  region of Turkey and I wanted to get to the Mediterranean coast, specifically to visit a mountain gorge in the small town of Saklikent.  I also just wanted to spend some time besides the sea.  The challenge was that Urgup and Saklikent are five hundred miles apart with no direct public transportation.  I would have to rent a car and with very limited language skils navigate the roads between the cities, across a very wide and high mountain range and through two major cities, Antalya and Konya.  Wanting to minimize my  spending of remaining Turkish Lira, I would also need to get off the beaten tourist path for lodging.

Everything went very well.  I drove more than a thousand miles in three days and spent two nights beside the Mediterranean in Kemer and was surprised by the height and breadth of the mountains and took time to have tea with many strangers along the way, and spent most of a day in the very lovely and roaringly beautiful Saklikent Gorge. 

And I learned once again that I could both find my way and find help whenever it was needed—though I did have to give up on figuring out the wireless internet at my Turkish hotel.

I returned the car to Urgup in Cappadocia and stayed overnight with my new friend Gorkan and the next morning flew  back to Istanbul for my final four nights in Turkey.  Friends here are providing me a place to rest and write and work on photographs so that I can arrive back home more ready to set off on the next adventure.

I have learned more in Turkey than I could ever imagine but one thing I am certain of is this is a beautiful, safe, welcoming and amazingly diverse place for anyone to travel and to learn to trust the goodness of others and the provision of God.

A Few Photos of ballooning over Cappadocia

Yesterday's Trekking in the Valleys of Cappadocia

A Church Full of Sinners

At dinner yesterday, enjoying  lentil soup and borak and  salad and chicken wings, my guide, Gorkey, suddenly asked me a question.  “Are there much sinners in your church?”  Even though we had discussed religion and our lives quite a bit, I was caught off guard by this inquiry.  I paused for about 10 seconds trying to decide if I would say something funny about a church overflowing with sins.  I decided on a different approach.  “We don’t emphasize sin that much in our church.  Yes, people sin and with God’s help can sin less often.  But we are more interested in encouraging people to live their lives on God’s side, to be people of justice and peace and love.  Then sin more or less takes care of itself.”

In response, Gorky slapped me on the back and proclaimed, “Good for you Ken.” 

Today Gorky wanted to know why protestants call their leaders “Pastors.”  He said that pastor means shepherd in Spanish and who would want a shepherd for a leader?  Every flock of sheep and every herd of cows has a shepherd in Turkey. “Why not priest? Gorky asked.   I reminded him that a shepherd cares for the sheep and protects them and I added that the image comes from the Bible, that Jesus was the great shepherd of the people, the one they could recognize and the one they could trust.

Priest is a very different image, I added.  The priest leads rituals that represent people before God.  We believe that each person can talk to God for themselves.  You can pray and listen to God.  No one has to tell you what God says.

Gorky responded, “I like this.  Right now I am your shepherd in Cappadocia but I can teach you to see Cappadocia for yourself.”

I’ve been thinking a lot on this trip about what churches consider most important, “Job 1.”  For the first two weeks of our trip we traveled with 39 American Christians and almost all of them thought that Job 1 for the Christian is being prepared for the second coming of Christ---and He is coming soon!  That’s why they were so enthusiastic about traveling in Asia Minor to see the seven churches of Revelation for themselves.  Some of them stood in Laodicia, for example, and were thrilled to hear the scriptures read that warmed the church of Laodicia how they  must change.  For me these places were interesting and informative but I was not inspired to deep emotion.  Others were.  I on the other hand was deeply moved by the visit to Corinth and the reading of 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.  I was inspired that Paul, so long ago, sent a message of love to these Christians whom he personally loved.   We made some wonderful friends on that trip but as Christians our priorities are very different.

So, here is my list of some of the possible primary purposes of the church and of Christians.  And I can tell you, what a church/Christian decides makes all the difference in the world.  I am putting them in my order of importance, but this order is subject to change and addition,

1)       Building the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven.  Justice, peace, love.

2)      Being people of prayer and devotion.   Spiritual growth and maturing in Christ.

3)      Repentance from sin and personal devotion.  Heaven and hell.

4)      Personal holiness.  Unflinching commitment to codes of conduct.

5)      The Return of Jesus at the end of time.  Being ready for what God does next.

Please think about this.  What does each possibly priority mean for what God requires of us?

120000 Varieties of Fragile Flowers

120,000 Varieties of Fragile Flowers

The number seems hard to believe. Could there be 120,000 varieties of flowers in the entire world? Yet, this is what my guide told me in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Ankara has a Peace Park that has gathered 120,000 varieties of flowers from around the world. Think about that! How much effort would it take to gather and plant and tend that many flowers?

The symbolism of the Peace Park is that it takes less effort to gather and plant and tend 120,000 varieties of flowers from around the world that it takes to have a war. Peace requires effort and peace requires respect for the contributions of all the Peoples of the Earth. Why are we so unwilling to work at peace? The symbolism is also that like flowers, Peace is fragile and it must be nurtured with deep and loving care.
Yesterday Gorky, my guide, told me of a village is south eastern Turkey with approximate equal numbers of Syrian Christians, Jews and Moslems who live together in peace. We talked also about the latest news coming out of Egypt. Gorky believes that Turkey is a model for other Muslim countries on how to be a modern , democratic and religiously open country that celebrates its diversity.

When we arrived at my cave hotel in Cappadocia, signing in was like nothing I have heard of before. I was ushered into a beautiful Turkish lounge and seated on a bench covered with beautiful carpets. I was offered my choice of welcome beverages and chose red wine made in Cappadocia. The manager joined us to take care of a few details and welcome me warmly. Like others had done throughout the trip, he asked me about my "COEXIST" necklace. I explained and he shared with me his knowledge about another community in southeast Turkey that had chosen to celebrate its diversity and affirm people of all faiths. Doesn’t it start to seem like there are people and forces at work all over the world that work for peace?

In the Istanbul airport I bought an English copy of Time Magazine. One of the cover stories was entitled, "EGYPT: Christians and Muslims Start a New Conversation." In the wake of the Turkish Rebellion, there were sporadic outbreaks of religious violence. In response to one threat, "A group of young Muslims and Christian leaders in Cairo who had worked together during the revolution swept into Sol to address the situation. The group was building on the spirit of Muslin-Christian partnership that had developed in Tahrir Square. Day after day during the revolution, Christians locked arms to protect Muslims during prayers. Muslims did the same for Christians during Mass. Muslims and Christians linked arms to protect Cairo’s historic synagogue. The protesters even adopted an interlocking crescent and cross as their symbol of a new Egypt…A popular televangelist, Amr Khaled, often called Egypt’s Billy Graham," told the crowd, "My message today for Muslims and Christians is, ‘Let’s be one hand.’"

my hotel in cappacocia

it is phenomenal to me that i get to stay in Cappadocia for five nights with the possibility of a couple of more.  by the way i am typing on a turkish keyboard which has a lot of variations with ours.  i can get the periods about right so that may help you to read.  cappadocia is one of the most spectacular places in the world and has been in my heart to visit for a decade.  many of the rock formations and stunning features of the landscape are similar to places like the bad lands of south dakota and zion national park and other incredible places in the states.  the difference is that cappadocia also vibrates with history and spirituality and the extraordinary capacities of human beings to live in their environments.  For example today we visited eight cave churches carved out of solid rock.  i will try to post some photos tomorrow.  the cave churches were constructed between the eighth and  13th centuries and the most beautiful ones were within the complex of a monestary.  Being also the site of much education the churches were decorated with frescoes that tell most of the important bible stories plus other stories important to the religioous community.  

For example in one frescoe in the SANDAL CHURCH we see depicted the Sultan Mesud the second wearing a turban standing with and shaking hands with a  Christian saint with the usual halo surrounding the head in order to declare to their communities and to the future that moslems and christians are children of the same God.

their was a very serene and loving feeling in these cave churches...