Ours is not a Caravan of Despair

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13th Century, Altinkum, Anthony Hopkins, Jelaluddin Rumi, Meet Joe Black, Mevlana, Mevlevi, Mevlevi Order, Muslim, Nay, Poet, Religion, Sufi, Temple of Apollo, Turkey, Whirling Dervis

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“Theres not an ounce of excitment, not a whisper of a thrill and this relationship has all the passion of a pair of Titmice. I want you to get swept away out there. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture & dance like a Dervish”

Those are the words uttered by Anthony Hopkins in his portrayal of William Parish in the film “Meet Joe Black”. Its his definition of ‘love’.

In this particular scene, he is talking to his daughter about the difference between, her current unexciting relationshipand, finding true love. Although I understood what he meant, I had no idea at the time what a Dervish was and I have to say it was one of those things on my ’discovery’  list.

That was some 12 years ago now.

As I sat on the smooth worn steps of the Apollon Temple last year watching the Mevlevi Order whirl in perfect harmony with their belief, I remembered the quote from the film and had a perfect moment of clarity.

The feeling was timeless, catptivating and somewhat voyuristic, watching these men leave us behind in this realm and find their own personal audience with God. In that moment, shining out from each and every pore of their faces, was the pure and utter joy of finding true love.

I’ve been lucky enough to experience many things in my life but really, living here in a country with so much ancient history, we are presented with more opportunities than we would, under normal circumstances encounter. And yet, as I glance around at my fellow audience, there are only around 200 or so other culture vultures in attendance..

I am sitting under the starlit canopy of night, surrounded by Towering Pillars that are centuries old. I’m listening to the haunting melody of the ‘Nay’ as it dances lightly through the air and I am watching a religious order twirl in perfect rapture as they connect with the Divine. The cost? 60ytl. The experience? Priceless!

After the performance the troup retired to a local restaurant and were happy enough to chat. I have to say, they were delightfull and of course you would expect that from men and boys so in tune with the Divine.

I learned that night that the cloak they wear represents the ‘toprak’ or the earth underneath which we are buried, the white dress becomes the soul and the terracotta hat denotes the cemetary. For someone like me that likes to romaticise, it gives me plenty of inspiration for the endless writing I occupy myself with. However, I have to say, I preferred the image of them in full cerimonial dress than I did sitting at the table in Jeans and Adidas Tshirts.

So, in the words of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi:

“Come, Come, Whoever you are

Wanderer, Idolator, Worshipper of Fire

Come, even though you have broken your vows a thousand times

Come and Come yet again

Ours is not a Caravan of Despair”

NB: The Mevlevi Order orginated from 13^th Century Turkey from Sufi Mystic Poet Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi:

Nay: A reed flute which is a symbol of the human soul that needs to be completely void so it can resonate. A channel for the Divine.

 

A Crime of Fashion at the Pearly Gates?

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christian, fashion, life in Turkey, living in turkey, Muslim, Religion, travel turkey

Rifling through my ‘bits and bobs’ box the other day, I came across a necklace that my son had bought for me years ago. A time when he was young and cute and not demanding ‘loans’ all the time. The necklace consists of a black rope on which hang silver letters that spell ‘Love Mum’ and, in the middle of the words is a little silver cross. I chose this as the days fashion statement and tied it around my neck.

We were just about to leave the house when Murat (my husband) spies my necklace and hovers by the front door, hand on knob but not turning. He is staring at my neck, like a thirsty vampire.

‘What’s wrong’ I ask him.

“Canim, kizma yok tamam’ he says, at which I shake my head, agreeing not to get angry.

He then tells me that he does not want me wearing the necklace.

“But why’ I protest, thinking he may think it’s childish and not befitting a 40 something woman.

It turns out that it has nothing to do with age but everything to do with the cross itself and It dawns on me then that he is looking at a religious symbol, not a fashion accessory.

This gets me thinking.

I also have a lovely necklace that is a silver circle with a Muslim symbol in the centre. It was chosen for its design and appearance not is symbolic message but, when I wear it, I often feel Muslim eyes on my neck as they stare, eyebrows drawn together in silent question. I suppose if I wore a Star of David some people would think me a “Jew”. Wrap a Rosary ‘Madonna’ style around my neck and I would be considered a “Catholic”. Dangle a little bald man with a fat belly between my cleavage and I’d become ‘a Buddhist’ (or a porn star I guess).

And so it goes on, although tokens like these are worn as fashion accessories all over the world, just like we wear designer labels and worship at the temple of Armani & Gautier and I do wonder as we parade along the catwalk of life displaying these symbols as fashion, are we favoured by our chosen Icon of the day? Will we really reap our rewards in their kingdom purely because we were a walking advert for them?

In the afterlife will our fashion accessories earn us points like that of a religious club card, swiped on the day we die to access our points and decide in whose kingdom we will spend eternity?

I can imagine standing in line at the Pearly Gates waiting to have my club card swiped. A booming voice will announce:

“Kym Ciftci, born on (none of your business) died on (whenever that may be), you have 6,750 Christian points, 4,420 Muslim points, 2,500 Catholic points, 3,000 Taoist points, 250 Atheist points and the remainder of your days were non-committal. Do you have any questions?”

Ill mull it over and ask about the Taoist and Atheist points and I’ll be reminded of my Ying Yang bracelet and the days I wore a question mark on my t-shirt (jeez I think, I wore that t-shirt 250 times!?).  I would have to ask if I could trade points with other people in the queue, otherwise I will be spending eternity in the Christian Kingdom when I want to be admitted to the Muslim one so that I can nag my husband in the afterlife.

I wonder what the penalties will be for us, guilty of a lifelong Crime of Fashion?