Our visit to Antakya was another special visit. Unfortunately we had all experienced a bit of what we were calling the two week slump, lest you think every part of the trip has been smooth. (Not that we are asking any of you to feel sorry for us.) We were just very tired…tired of eating so much food, tired of not being able to communicate, tired of being ‘on’ 24 hours a day, tired of not knowing what we are going to do from hour to hour. [I’m sure that all former GSE team members and leaders are thinking, ‘Yep…that’s right.’] These are probably the best lessons we are learning; the reinforcement of the need to be adaptable. You learn to readjust your needs, shift into a different mode. Downtime is taken in 30 minute segments, you cherish the time you have to shower and get ready because it is quiet. Fortunately, the two week slump really only last about a day or less for each of us.
We only had two full days in Antakya and they were beyond packed, both with activities and food. (I think that we could all do a little bit of fasting.) I really think we’ve been truly blessed with the wealth of rich history and beautiful sights that we’ve seen. Another highlight of this visit was attending the Turkish wedding on Friday night. The father of the groom is a Rotarian and graciously invited all of us to be his guests. There were quite a few similarities, but also some unique differences. First of all there were 400 hundred people on the guest list; we had commented that it was large by American standards. They said, ‘Antakya is a small city, everyone knows everyone.’ My host family and I showed up at 8:15, the wedding started at 8 pm and we were among the first to arrive. By 8:45pm, most people had finally arrived. (I’ve discovered that Turkish time is very similar to African time.) When you arrive you are seated immediately at your table (similar to assigned seating at an American reception). If there is a religious portion of the ceremony, it takes place a couple of days prior to the wedding with just a few people. Then around 9pm the bride and groom were introduced and they made an entrance into the room where they proceeded to have their first dance. Then they were seated at a special table in the middle of the room where a government official performed a very brief ceremony followed by the signing of the marriage certificate. As all of this is going on we are dining on our appetizers, drinking, and chatting.
After the ceremony was finished the couple was congratulated by their family and everyone applauded. Then the bride and groom went around the room to every table where they were wished happiness and a wonderful life. Gifts are not given in the traditional American sense, but rather gifts of gold and money are given to the couple at each table they visit. By the end of the tour of the room, the bride was adorned with beautiful gold bracelets and necklaces. [All of us girls decided that tradition wasn’t so bad.] Immediately after the ceremony was finished they music had started and the loud music stayed with us for the rest of the evening, and all of the different courses filtered out about 30 minutes intervals until the end of the night. (i.e. the second the ceremony ends...the party begins.) The music was great and bounced back and forth from Turkish pop to Arabic. There were some amazing Arabic dancers among the crowd and we were constantly shuffling to get a good view of the amazing hip action. My host father took me out for a spin on the dance floor. He’s a total goof ball and kept telling everyone that I was his American cousin. Sarah and Vivian were thrown into the middle of a Turkish/Arabic circle dance (similar to ones we’ve seen in Greek celebrations) with Vivian leading the entire group through the chaotic mass. It was a bit challenging for them as they had to learn the dance and lead the line at the same time. Our fearless dancers persevered. At the end of a long and thoroughly enjoyable evening we all headed home, anxious for sleep.
One other thought on our travels in Turkey: we decided that we may be able to achieve world peace through our communal passion for fried dough and sugar. No matter what country that any of us have visit there has been some sort of consumption of delicious fried dough and sugar: beignets at Café du Monde in New Orleans, elephant ears at any American festival, churros with cinnamon and sugar in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico…and the list continues. If we can all bond over greasy sweetness, surely we can end all global conflict. Onto Mersin, thanks for following our journey; we can’t wait to share it with you in person. I promise to get photos up as soon as we have better access to the int
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Hi Team Turkey:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wonderful description of the Turkish wedding! Your two week "slump" and how you described sounds very familiar. Didn't we tell you about that possibility??? My Team India had it at three weeks. Try to get your host to give your team a breather. We did manaage to get an afternoon and evening to ourselve. However, your host are excited to show you "everything" and this is a real test of your flexibility, so try to go with the flow. Mary K. GSE team leader India '05.
[W]e decided that we may be able to achieve world peace through our communal passion for fried dough and sugar.It's a little known fact that 95% of all wars and international conflicts were started by people who are gluten-intolerant. They're bitter that they can't eat fried dough and sugar. :-P
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