TRANSITIONING TURKIE

We spent a wonderful week in Ankara, Türkiye with Elder and Sister Thayn who are the new Area couple that support Türkiye. They live in Izmir. We needed a couple that could live in country instead of us flying back-and-forth between Frankfurt and Türkiye. We will meet again in a few weeks in the Hatay region to visit the earthquake rebuild project cities. We have mixed feelings as we will miss these dear people we have come to love during the last six months. But we rest assured that we leave Türkiye is very capable hands.

We visited our friends at Turmaks and FZA, the companies that built our mobile medical clinics and school donations. We toured AFAD (the center for emergency response).

We met with Omur Fatih Karakullukcu, advisor to the Minister of Education to discuss the schools that were inaugurated last fall and our hope for future collaboration. Here we were honored to be offered holy water from Mecca. It came from the Zamzam water well in the valley of Abraham, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The well is located inside the holy mosque there.

We introduced the Thayns to the mayor of Etimesgut to discuss the possibility of a project in a village nearby. He wants to set up a center for women to make rugs to help them be self-reliant and keep their culture alive. We also discussed the possibility of these women raising angora rabbits to produce angora wool. The city of Ankara was once known in Europe as Angora because Angora rabbits were first bred in this Anatolian metropolis.

We visited the park where the Young Single adults from our church planted trees last October. We talked to dog walkers who told us how much they appreciate this new gathering place in their neighborhood. The municipality had added lights and park benches since our last visit. As you can see, we had snowy weather in Ankara.

We were invited to attend a rock’n’roll & blues concert held at the Turkish American Association. The purpose of the association is to promote understanding between Turks and Americans, to strengthen the friendship and the cultural relations between the two countries, and to provide a meeting place where a variety of activities can take place. Language classes are offered here in English and Turkish, lectures, art exhibits, social gatherings and concerts are hosted here.

We came home with a suitcase full of roasted nuts and dried cherries. Have I mentioned how much I love the cherry juice and cherry jam in Türkiye?! We have a favorite shop in Ankara where the nuts are roasted on the sidewalk. The smell brings you in and the Turkish salesmen clench the deal by offering tastes of a variety of food. We always buy many more things than we went in for.

And of course, we experienced the ever present warm Turkish hospitality and excellent food with our friends. ‘Afiyet Olsun’ means ‘may it be good for you’ It is the Turkish equivalent of ‘Bon Appetit’