The Power of Baaaa

This story took place on Day 10 of the tour, at the local farmers’ market in the small town of Korkuteli.

Gökalp told us that most of the sellers would not know any English, so he showed us how to count from one to ten and taught us a few key phrases. I had my phrase book in my hand as I went from vendor to vendor to purchase food for a group picnic we were planning. I got some muzler, portakalar, yesil zeytinler, ve incirler (bananas, oranges, green olives and figs).

There were many stalls selling a variety of cheeses. Some came in tin cans, others in animal skins, still others in plastic containers. I wanted to buy some goat cheese — beyaz peynir — so I made my way to a cheese seller's stall.

"Beyaz peynir, lutfen," I said to the women behind the table, smiling all the while. The woman smiled back, but it was obvious she didn't understand me as she rattled off a string of Turkish words I didn't recognize. I tried again, adjusting my accent. The woman was friendly enough, but it was clear she did not understand what I was trying to convey.

Inspiration hit. I called, "Baaaaa!" Yes! THAT she understood and began talking rapidly using words I could only guess meant cow or goat.

I later learned that beyaz peynir literally means white cheese, not goat cheese. That might have been part of the communication snafu. Now I could point to the different cheeses and ask if it was "moooo" cheese or "baaaa" cheese. We all laughed and enjoyed our connection. With the animal sounds and a few Turkish words, I was able to successfully purchase biraz nefis peynir (some delicious cheese)!

Sean is a hit with the children

People Make The Experience

Journeying to a distant land and seeing historical sites and unique geological structures are highlights to any trip. Yet, for me, it is the people that make it a vibrant and joyous experience. In this section I share images and stories of the many women and men I met in Turkey. What a rich experience!

Gökalp Kasim was our tour guide. His name is a bit challenging to pronounce and he encouraged us to call him Alp. "It's easy to say and perhaps you'll believe that I own the Alps. They were named after me!" That Alp, he's such a kidder.

Haṣmet Aslan is the owner of Naturel Müzik on Galipdede Cadde, next door to the Galata Tower. As Haṣmet and I got to know each other, I learned he splits his year in two; half time in Istanbul running his music store, and the other time in -- Ohio! operating his Turkish restaurant.
L to R: Mine and Fariyeh. Mother and daughter opened their home to us, prepared a lovely traditional meal in their tandor (pit oven.)
Mine (pronounced mee-nay)
Ramazan is the Imam of Büyük Kilise Camii (mosque) in Guzelyurt. (Photo courtesy Linda and Steve Malone.)
Ramazan spoke eloquently about his faith and through our guide and translator, Gökalp, answered our questions about Islam and Sufism.
My friend Shams had been to Turkey 4 months before me. She recommended The Grand Vizer, a cafe near Hagia Sophia. In her photos of the place was this woman. While searching for the cafe, I saw this same woman making the popular cheese pancakes (gözleme) at an outdoor cafe. I learned she used to work at Grand Vizer. Haha! I never the found The Grand Vizer, but I found the chef!
Fellow tour member, Sean Roache, was as much of an interest to the children we encountered on tour, as the ancient sites were to us. Here is a group of school children touring Topkapi Palace and going wild for Sean. They called out "Obama!" and Sean, hometown Vancouver, BC, replied, "Canada!" We were in Istanbul just two weeks after President Obama's visit in April 2009.
These men are just two of the multitudes of fishermen that line the top deck of the double-decker Galata Bridge.
Meg, Renee, Eileen, and Sean at Topkapi Palace. Galata Tower is in the distant background.
Hasmet and me.
Gökalp Kasim tells us about life in the Harem at Topkapi Palace.
In Istanbul's Spice Market, I purchased a spice mixture and some apple tea from Yusef (center). Each vendor is equipped with a vacuum sealing machine, sealing purchases for a safe trip back home.
Tour guide, Tankut Aran, speaking with tour members Renee and Eileen Barron outside Hagia Sophia.
Gökalp, 'Red' and Fuat took us on a 4-mile hike through the Cappodocia countryside. Red and Fuat are two of the family that own and operate The Old Greek House where we were staying. Staying in family-owned guest houses was part of what made this trip so authentic.
My bits of Turkish got me only so far in communicating with these cheese sellers. Read my humorous story (this page) about buying cheese from them.
At the Korkuteli Farmer's Market, Amy and Alethea have no trouble purchasing oranges and strawberries for our picnic lunch.
After visiting Ramazan's mosque, tour member, Linda Malone visited with local children. The flower wreath in Linda's hair was made by the children. (Photo courtesy Linda and Steve Malone)
Eileen, Renee, and Sean pause during their tour of Topkapi Palace grounds.

Ramazan sings the Quran

In Güzelyurt, we had an illuminating visit with Ramazan, the Imam (Muslim counterpart of Christian priest or Jewish rabbi) of Büyük Kilisa Camii (mosque.) Four years of study are required to become an Imam in addition to learning the Quran by heart.

Prayers from the Quran are not simply read; they are sung. There is no written musical notation for the prayers. When the muezzin sings the call to prayer, he uses a different macom for each time of day. A macom could be compared to a scale in Western music, but truly it is so much more than a simple scale. In this 24 second video, Ramazan sings a prayer for us in his mosque. (Source video courtesy Linda & Steve Malone.)

Throughout our tour, the children we saw at the historic sites always became so excited to see six-foot-five Sean Roache. While many Turkish people are a little darker than most in our party, we hardly saw any other black people. Whether Sean was a curiosity to the youngsters or they were reminded of President Obama's visit to Turkey just two weeks prior to our visit, we'll never really know. Sean was good-natured about all the attention. This very short (20 seconds) video shows a little bit of what that attention was like.

Meg Grace traveled with the Rick Steves' Best of Turkey in 13 Days tour, April 20 Istanbul to May 2 Kusadasi, 2009. Self-guided tour of Istanbul (Galata Bridge, Galata Tower, and Beyoglu neighborhood) April 19, 2009.