5.23.06 Konya, Turkey

OK, I’m convinced. Turkey really is a secular society. The first large, glass enclosed billboard we saw in the Ataturk Airport when we arrived in Istanbul last night said WELCOME and showed a woman reclining on her back, with a short skirt, and her legs, apart, hanging down. Now that wasn’t the sort of welcome I expected to a Muslim country!

We only saw a little of Istanbul (we return for the last two days of the trip), but it was long enough to see numerous risqué billboards.

We had a wonderful dinner running from 10:30 to midnight. Everything they brought was delicious—and they kept bringing one thing after another, including icli kofte (a delicious meatball wrapped in a kind of pastry), various pitas, a kebob with sensational lamb and plum (I had never before had grilled plums), and kunefe, a fabulous dessert that had baked cheese in a crust topped with pistachio. We also had, for the first time, the popular Turkish drink Ayran, yogurt with water. I sort of liked it, but the yogurt is unflavored and I’m sure I would have liked it more with some fruit flavor. Tired as we were, it was one of the best dinners we have had.

Following a solid four hours of sleep, we were up at 5 AM. The Holiday Inn had a very good breakfast spread. The fresh cherries were particularly good. And they had an amazing honeycomb dripping honey.

We had to go through two rounds of security at the Istanbul Airport before boarding our flight to Konya. The plane flew low over the Sea of Marmara and then above some very high, snow-covered mountains soon after we had crossed to the Asia Minor side. I had a great conversation on the plane on tolerance and understanding with Serdal Kirmizialtin, one of the Turkish Muslim members of our interfaith trip.

Konya is noted as a conservative religious stronghold, with 100% of the population being Muslim. The tour guidebooks suggested that women visitors dress conservatively and cover their heads. There certainly were many women dressed traditionally on the streets and in the mosques, but there was also a substantial number of women in modern Western attire, and a fair number in incongruous combinations, such as tight jeans with sequins and a chador covering the head. There are billboards with women in short skirts, but none of the very risqué kind seen in Istanbul.

Konya was the capital of the Seljuk Turks’ empire. It is located on the Anatolian Plain, over 3000 feet above sea level. The reason for our stop here is that Konya (the name derives from ekonya, icon) became the center for thirteenth-century Muslim mystic Rumi (Mevlâna Celalledin), who has a wonderful philosophy of tolerance and worldwide love, which he expressed through his poetry. Rumi is best known, in addition to his poems, which remain very popular today, through the whirling dervishes. The mosque, museum, and tomb of Rumi are beautiful.

Before we went into the Mevlâna Museum and Tomb, we dealt with some street vendors. One of them handed Anne clicking spoons to dance with and she did. After she finished, the man gave her the spoons and refused to take any money for them.

At a shop in Konya, Anne and a few others in the group bought trinkets to ward off the evil eye. It suddenly struck me that the real evil is “The Evil I.” I’m sure I’ll be able to make use of that concept.

After a great lunch of etli ekmek, very long, narrow, thin bread suffused with goat cheese or beef and mildly hot peppers, on which you sprinkle parsley, we went up to a restaurant on a high hill overlooking the city. There I had Turkish coffee for the first time. It is like espresso with some sort of flavoring and is very good. One thing we noticed from this vantage point above the city was that every house had solar panels on the roof. Why aren’t we doing that in the United States? While we were there we used the WC and it was the first time some members of our group had encountered a Turkish toilet. Percy Watson was particularly taken aback by it. Anne said she is beginning to get the hang of it.

Late in the afternoon, we visited an educational institution that offers a university preparation course and is run by the group sponsoring our trip. What they are doing to prepare students, especially from poor backgrounds, to take the national exams to be admitted to universities (there is room in the universities for only about 10% of those who want to attend) is very impressive.

- RSM