Bennett Pilgrimages Eastern Anatolia Tour, September 2013

68 Pages·2013·11.67 MB·English

by  Cindy Bennett

Bennett Pilgrimages Eastern Anatolia Tour, September 2013

Introduction

The tour was planned with these objectives: to make pilgrimage to some holy
sites and places of religious significance; to visit some historical and
archeological sites having a bearing on our spiritual search; and to visit the
scenes of Gurdjieff's early life and places described in the early chapters of
"Meetings with Remarkable Men". We drew on the resources of local guides,
talked to local people participating on religious and Sufi practices, and also met
with our dervish friends in Istanbul.

Authors: ©Ben Bennett and Cindy Bennett- Bennett Pilgrimages
December 7, 2013
Thursday: Arriving

Arriving in Ürgüp early by the night bus driven by Serhat Gökpinar, our friend
and driver from last year: Ben and Cindy, John H., David H., Helen S., Azim
Looker as well as Hüseyin Karakush who is representing our tour manager
Tahsin Acer, who has had an emergency in Istanbul and will not be travelling
with us. Serhat's mother and
grandmother are hitching a ride home
from Istanbul. Also in the party is Hadal,
a young Iranian woman, who is learning
to be a tour guide. The bus left Istanbul
at 9.00pm and arrived in Ürgüp around
8.00am, stopping in Nevshehir, where we
meet Serhat's grandfather, who bids us
"Hosh Geldiniz!" (Welcome!). We pose
with the family for a picture:

In Ürgüp, Doug H, our Canadian companion as well as Øyvind and Lief from
Norway, were at the Büyük Hotel to greet us on our arrival. We also meet our
guide, whose name is Zafer Poyrazoglu, but who says we can call him Zaf.

Those already arrived spend the afternoon walking
around Ürgüp, where we meet among people, a woman
who runs a store specializing in marbled goods, she has
some lovely silk scarves and gives a demonstration of
marbling technique, in a remarkably short space of time,
she has made a beautiful marbled image of a red tulip —
the symbol of Turkey. At the end of the afternoon, Doug
wants to have a beer at a roof terrace cafe, but they tell
us they can no longer sell any alcohol. I know that this
is a result of the reforms brought in by Prime Minister
Erdogan, but can't tell from the waiter’s manner whether
he is for or against this. On previous visits, I never had a
problem buying alcohol in this region, and even getting
Turks to share it with me. Instead, we drink tea.

That evening, after meeting Laurence S, Robert D, Claire D and Terry D at
Nevsehir Airport, we have an introductory meeting that all attended. We
discuss the purpose of our expedition. We speak of visiting religious sites, the
Bektashi order of dervishes, the early Christian sites. We agree on some basic
rules for our time together and some inward exercises we can do while we are
together and with other people.
Dinner is in the hotel.

Day 1: Friday: Ürgüp

Our party consists of:

Laurence S. —France
Douglas H.—Canada
Helen S.—USA
David H.—UK/France
John H.—USA/Israel
Øyvind R.—Norway
Lief M.—Norway
Claire D.—New Zealand
Terry D.—New Zealand
Robert D.—New Zealand
Ben Bennett—UK/USA
Cindy Bennett—USA (tour leader)
Serhat Gökpinar—Turkey (bus driver)
Hüseyin Karakush—Turkey (tour manager)

Also with us as far as Erzurum, Zafer Poyrazoglu (tour guide) and Hadal, the
trainee tour guide, with us as far as Diyarbakir. Azim Looker is with us for two
days in Capadokia, before returning home to Istanbul. We will meet him there
at the end of our tour.

On our first morning together, we drive through
the famous valleys of Cappadocia, with its
extraordinary 'fairy chimneys' — strange cone-
shaped rock formations, some having mushroom-
like slabs on their pinnacle. They are the result of
soul erosion subsequent to
eruption so the two
volcanoes Hasan Dag and
Erciyes Dag. Our guide Zaf guided us around the Open
Air Museum at Göreme, with its third century churches
cut from the rock. The paintings are in good condition.
There are many images of St George, we notice some
interesting themes. The image of killing the
snake/dragon consistently always depicts him holding
his lance top left to bottom right, always at the same
angle.
The best preserved paintings are in the Elma Kilise (Apple Church). The guides
consistently refer to the paintings as 'fresco' but I am doubtful whether is an
accurate term, as this is used to denote images painted in fresh plaster, and
these images seem to have been painted straight onto the rock surface.

Cappadocia is an area about 100 miles East of Konya. There are natural caves
all over the area, and many more dwellings have been hollowed from the soft
rock. Between the 1st and 4th centuries, this was an important centre of
Christianity. This was where St Paul met and converted St Luke, author of the
Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. The Christians had to remain
underground (literally) until the time of the Emperor Constantine, and the
adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. It is
believed that the Christian liturgy adopted at the Council of Nicea was created
right here in Cappadocia. To the north lie the Central Anatolian highlands, the
area known as Galatia, which took its name from a tribe of Gauls migrating
eastwards, and settled following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC.

Azim, who has visited this area many times, has some interesting things to tell
us about the local mythology, notably that in this area, the snake is considered
a symbol of wisdom. I connect this with the dragon of St George. What is the
significance of the killing of these dragons? St George is depicted many times
over in the images on the church walls. There are many possible
interpretations of the story of St George and the Dragon, and Azim offered one
that was new to me—that, as St. Patrick cast out the snakes from Ireland, St
George had eradicated a pre-Christian snake cult from this region.

Our visit was followed by a picnic lunch under some willow trees just off the
road. Then we went on to the Ihlara Valley where we walked down a long flight
of 365 steps to the valley floor. It was very pleasant to walk along the canyon
floor by the stream and see the ancient rock churches. The valley is a natural
steep-sided canyon about 13 kilometers long. As the sun falls on the water
and the willow trees along the banks, it almost seems like a natural Garden of
Eden. Some scenes from Star Wars, episode IV were filmed in this village at the
rocky end.

A fairly long drive back, during which I read from "Gurdjieff: Making a New
World". Dinner was in the Büyük Otel dining room. After dinner, John and I,
Helen, Doug and Laurence went to the Turkish evening, in an underground
cave, which John thought was artificially constructed but was actually carved
from the rock. After a memorable evening on our visit last year, this was
somewhat of a letdown, the folk dances passably executed but uninteresting,
but the belly dancer was very good. I noticed that a lot of her hand gestures
and bodily movements imitated the action of a snake, reminding me of Azim's
remarks about the local significance of snakes, and it suddenly occurs to me
that she is representing Lilith, she first wife of Adam, who refused to be
subservient to Adam and left the Garden of Eden. Lilith is considered a
demoness in Jewish mysticism, and often represented as a snake figure, hence
the snakelike arm, torso and finger movements. But she is also a succubus,
tormenting men in their sleep and using her feminine power to control them
through their lust. But this woman's dances, though seductive, are not lewd or
vulgar.
Helen is not at all impressed with any part of the performance and goes out to
nap in the bus. Laurence and Doug the octogenarians on the other hand say
they feel energized by the music and dancing.

Day 2: Saturday: Ürgüp

Helen got up early and took a balloon ride which she enjoyed very much and
came back elated.

After breakfast, we drove to Hacibektash where we visited the tomb and
museum of Haci Bektash Veli. Azim is recognized and greeted warmly by the
museum staff, not asked for the 3TRY entry fee, and gives us some
commentary on what we are seeing. There is a
sacred spring, from which we all drank, in the
cloister next to the kitchen. In the next
courtyard and the türbe beyond it, there is a
progressive drop in seven meter stages, from
the Tekke, then to the tomb floor, and then to
the floor of the sarcophagus of Haci Bektash.
There were many pilgrims, and we sat quietly
at the back of the room where the sarcophagus
is kept. Hüseyin who is an Alevi, was visibly
moved, and reverently kissed the sarcophagus. Outside, Azim shows us a very
ancient mulberry tree. The legend holds that Ahmad Yesevi took a stick from a
tree in Khorasan, Persia and threw it westwards, instructing the young Haci
Bektash to follow it and set up his centre wherever it landed. Apparently it
travelled over one thousand miles to land at this very spot and took root. Azim
showed us the semahane, describing the significance of all the special sitting
places, which corresponded to the special roles played by members of the
Cem—community, and the unusual structure of the roof, made of wooden
beam. The famous symbolic picture of Haci Bektash hangs there.
Azim mentions that the Bektashis had not really wanted the mosque that had
been built, but in the seventeenth century their order had been placed under
the administrative rule of some Naqshbandis, who are Sunni, and the mosque
had been mandated

.

Leaving the museum we buy a picnic lunch at a very modern supermarket in
the town. We drive to Çile Hane hill where we eat our picnic lunch, but it is
very windy. A lot of trash blowing around (some of which we try to collect and
bin.) On the hill are statues of notable Bektashis and Alevis—Asik Veysel, the
last ashokh, and Yunus Emre, the wandering poet and disciple of Haci
Bektash. Others I do not recognize.

Over our picnic lunch, Azim gives a talk about Haci Bektash Veli, saying that
Çile represents purgatory, or a place of transformative suffering, where Haci
Bektash Veli used to come often to pray in solitude and communicate with
Khidr. Azim tells a story of a time when Haci Bektash came to the hill with a
companion. He asked the companion to wait for him. While his companion
was waiting for Haci Bektash to come back, a horseman arrived and told the
companion to hold his horse for him while he spoke to the Haci, which he duly
did. While he was waiting, the man suddenly reappeared, leaped onto his horse
and in three bounds the horse shot into the sky and was gone. Only then did
the companion realize that he had been holding the horse of Khidr. When Haci
Bektash came back, he told him that Khidr is the protector of those on the sea
and he had just learned that a ship was in trouble on the Kara Deniz, (Black
Sea) and that Khidr needed to protect the sailors in peril. For this reason he
had had to depart hastily.

The hoof print that the horse left is still to be seen on the rock. We could put
our hands into the hole, leave a pebble, and join hands through the opening.
Judging by the size of the hoof print, I'd surmise that Khidr was mounted on a
largish Clydesdale.

Below that is a rocky outcropping which has two openings, a larger one at the
bottom and a small one at the top. The legend is that every good Bektashi must
pass through the smaller hole at least three times in his lifetime to achieve
piety. The hole adjusts itself to reflect the inner purity of the seeker. If he has a
heavy burden of sin, he will have difficulty passing through, and nobody must
help him or her. We watch while some stout Turkish ladies struggled to come
through it, some with considerable difficulty, but all with their headscarves in
place. Then we try it ourselves and it is not easy to pass through. David
Hitchcock has the easiest passage, so we assume that his heart is purest (he is
also very slim.) Cindy tells me afterwards that she experienced this as a
symbolic rebirth, leaving the dark and unpleasant rocky hole and escaping
through the narrow opening to come out into the light.
From Çile Hane hill, we go to visit Ulusoy Dede, the record keeper of the
Bektashis, who greeted us very kindly although he was in the middle of a
practical work project in his front yard (he is a retired architect and was
wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap). He broke out two bottles of some
local wine which is very delicious, and more fruity than the European and
American style wines we are used to. He talked a little about his work and
Bektashiyya in general, but dodges some questions.

As we drive away, Azim points out to us a Bektashi house, which had a large
structure on its roof, symbolizing the eight-paneled hat which Bektashis wear.
We say goodbye to Azim in the centre of the village, whence he will catch a bus
back to Istanbul via Nevsehir.

Back at the hotel we share the dining room with a large party of Russian
priests and their wives, apparently visiting the sacred places of early
Christianity. We have a meeting in the back room after dinner.
Day 3: Sunday: Gaziantep

We leave Ürgüp early but not as early as we wanted to as David H is AWOL
after a balloon trip, leaving his bags behind in the lobby. From Ürgüp we drive
ax South-East across the central Anatolian plain, and then climbing through
passes in the Taurus Mountains with many tunnels. To Gaziantep via Adana,
where we stop for a nice lunch of Adana kebab, the local specialty.

Adana is the centre of the modern Turkish cotton industry and has boomed
since World War 2; all the buildings seem to have at least ten stories but after
we finish lunch we pass out through the old part of town. Laurence says testily
that nobody is looking at the interesting things, but talking instead. There is a
huge modern mosque, built in the style of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, but
taller. I find its proportions rather unsightly. Apparently, its construction was
entirely paid for by a wealthy Turkish family.

En route to Gaziantep, we pass through the town of Birecik, on the Euphrates
(Turkish name: Firat) We stop for brief visit to a sanctuary for Bald Ibis, a
severely endangered species —only 127 birds left alive in the world. They are
migratory, and apparently they have been migrating South and never coming
back.
I took this photograph of the Euphrates: