The third photo I have posted with this blog entry has my guide,Gokhan Yaramis, and his friend hanging out and about to share a cup of tea. Gokhan was a "guide's guide" and other guides often called him or stepped up to him seeking information or insight for the tourists they were leading. Every time we visited a new sight our visit would include tea and time with friends. One evening, when I was staying at Gokhan's house, we got back from a dinner theater event about 11:30. I was totally exhausted but he politely asked me if it would be OK for him to go next door to spend some time with friends. Gokhan returned two hours later.
Six nights of my last two weeks in Turkey were spent staying in the homes of friends. Hospitality was extraordinary. Often the evenings were spent in the town with groups of Gokhan's friends, talking about everything. A national election was coming up and everyone was taking seriously their responsibility to think about politics and to vote. In other words, these conversations over tea or Turkish coffee--and sometimes the national alcoholic beverage, Rakhi--meant something. They meant friendship and they meant dialog about decisions that counted.
On the other hand, no one in any of the homes I visited, ever turned on the TV. Rarely were Turks too busy for each other and rarely were they too busy for tea. Even long trips in the car were punctuated by tea breaks. I myself took a couple of these breaks while driving across the mountains to the Mediteranean Sea. Everyone has time for Tea but within present day Turkish culture, few people have time for endless and meaningless entertainment.
What does this cultural difference between the USA and Turkey suggest to you about your life? To me about my life? I've been wondering if I could declare Fridays, for example, to be Teadays by setting time aside just to be with the tea, and with you. What do you think?
Yes, our plug-in drug! When will we wake up? Thanks for the stark comparison.
ReplyDelete