Photo
by Jamie Blair Gould.
Below
texts were written by Jamie Blair Gould.
After
an evening buffet accompanied by Cappadocian wine, Mert's chosen Raki and
Colin's excellent highland malt, the morning started slowly! The stop at
country Mosque was the right spiritual move! The Imman, Emir, was not the
bearded, cloaked sage the West so readily imagines but a handsome young
man in a leather jacket with cell phone in hand. Much more the in the image of
the young married Vicar the Church of England is trying to recruit today -
compassionate and in touch.
Photos
and text by Jamie Blair Gould. Our next stop thrilled me. After years
of reading of the fabled 'spice road' and guiding at the Rialto In Venice I
was surprised to find an existing Caravanserai - resting station and in
good nick! Dating from 1229 it actually housed the great Marco Polo on one
of his legendary travels!
Photo
by Jamie Blair Gould. Our overnight stop in the conservative town of Konya
from the Greek 'Iconia' deriving from Icons was the home of Mevlana Rumi - he
of the Whirling Dervishes. This philosophy, we learned, has been
recognised as an influential sect of Islam but the poets message was open
to all - a spiritual way. We toured the Court House where he presided as Judge,
and where the first whirling took place. It is now his Mausoleum and a
section adapted as a Mosque - a major shrine for Islam for the great
'inclusive' poet.
Watch Rick Steves video of
Western Turkey released in fall 2014 for more insight into Rumi and Whirlling
Dervishes:
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