FusunA's Open Salon Blog

Entertainment for all ages

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:08:35 -0400

~*~*~

The following is a post which I had linked to my previous one on Bursa and the Great Mosque, an exquisite example of Ottoman artchitecture. I received numerous comments in personal messages suggesting I should repost it. Much has changed since two years of my original post - the best of which has been my opportunity to visit Karagöz Müzesi in Bursa last July, and to delight in an up close look at not only the two main characters who have entertained millions of children and adults for centuries, but also their companions in their almost life-sized, colourful costumes.

Here is the story of Karagöz and Hacivat, followed by a demonstration of making these puppets out of leather. But first allow me to introduce some of the secondary characters.

Civan

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French Puppet

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Nigar

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Some of these marionettes were given as gifts by the ambassadors of other countries some of which are shown. They too have taken their place of honour along their forefathers, the unimitable, delightful, unforgettable duo, born in Bursa. Today they live not only in our memories, but also in a beautiful museum along with all their friends and their paraphernalia.

~~~

Karagöz and Hacivat are part of the folklore of a brief childhood I spent in Turkey, and they make up the threads of tapestry of who I am today. Perhaps it is the wonder of my child's eyes, or the uniqueness of these outrageous characters which performed on a shadow stage that have influenced me so much that when I look back, I fill with nostalgia and amazement at the creativity and the origins that I never questioned when I watched them with my parents. As an adult, I like learning and spreading about my roots and culture as much as possible.

According to Evliya Celebi, a 17th century Turkish writer, Karagöz was first performed at the Ottoman palace during the reign of Sultan Bayezid I (1389-1402). These two characters are said to be based on real people who lived during the reign of Orhan Bey (1324-1360). At that time Bursa was the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and a mosque was being built in the city. Among the labourers were Karagöz and Hacivat who kept distracting each other and the other workers by their witty repartee. The result of this was that the construction of the mosque took far longer than it was planned. When the Sultan heard about this, he was angry and ordered Karagöz and Hacivat to be executed.

This saddened the townspeople who dearly missed the duo. Thus a man named Seyh Kusteri made images of Karagöz and Hacivat from camel hide and started performing puppet shows.

Over time Karagöz came to represent the common man on the street- trying to look forthright and trustworthy. He is virtually illiterate, often unemployed, nosy, tactless, often deceitful and inclined to lewd talk. Like his European counterpart Pulcinella, he frequently resorts to violence, and beats Hacivat and the other characters.

Karagöz literally means “black eye”. He is the illiterate, uneducated but witty hero of the Turkish shadow play. He often gets the better of his gentle friend Hacivat, who, despite his education and refinement, is no match for Karagöz's wit and street savvy. These two characters have fascinated Turkish audiences for centuries by their antics, which on the surface look like simple everyday plots.

On a deeper level, however, they represent the society at large. Karagöz represents the public morals and common sense. He is the ordinary man in the street – straightforward, reliable but often kind of rude. One can recognize him by his turban, his bald head and his black beard. His character is dyed more in green tones. Illiterate and usually unemployed, he embarks on money earning projects that never work. He is not refined at all. Hacivat, on the other hand, is educated in Islamic theology, speaks an Ottoman Turkish and a literary, poetic language besides being extremely intelligent. The artists have selected more red dyes to distinguish him.

The shadow play puppets are semi-transparent, colored with Indian ink or natural dyes, and have jointed limbs. Light from a lamp behind the stage reflects their images onto a muslin curtain, around which there's a border of floral material. This curtain is known as the ayna (mirror) and the light as a sem'a (candle), which consists of an oil lamp with a cotton wick or a string soaked in beeswax.

The puppets are made from camel or water buffalo hide. The hide is worked until it is semi-transparent and then it's cut into the desired shape with a special knife, before it's painted with vegetable pigments. The joints are made by threading gut strings through the perforations made with a special needle. The puppets are usually 14 to 16 inches high.

Karagöz plays consist of four parts - the introduction with Hacivat's entrance moving to the rhythm of the tambourine; his singing a song and reciting a prayer; calling Karagöz to the stage for some entertainment and declaring that he is searching for a friend. Then Karagöz makes his entrance and the play and complication (entertainment) start. Of course, at some point in the play, there's always a fight.

There other characters such as the drunkard Tuzsuz Deli Bekir carrying a wine bottle; Uzun Efe with his long neck; Kanbur Tiryaki the hunchback opium addict with his pipe; Alti Karis Beberuhi the eccentric dwarf; the half-witted Denyo; the spendthrift Civan, and Nigar, who spends her time chasing after men.

There is one puppeteer, known as Karagözcü, assisted by an apprentice, who installs the curtain and presents the puppets in order of their appearance. The apprentice learns his craft from the master, and eventually sets up on his own. In the past, the apprentice was assisted by the sandikkar, responsible for the chest (or sandik) which held all the equipment.

The songs were sung by another member of the team, known as the yardak, and the tambourine was played by the dairezen. Before the advent of cinema and radio, Karagöz shadow plays were one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Turkey.

Today a limited number of artists continue the studies related to the art of Hacivat and Karagöz, and they are conducted by the Presidency of Turkey National Center of International Puppet and Shadow Play Union UNIMA and the Ministry of Culture.

My other posts on Turkish culture can be found here and here.

Here is a video demonstrating the making of shadow puppets from skin.

~~~

All words and images are the intellectual property of Füsun Atalay© 2012
Location: Bursa, TURKEY
~~~

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The original title of the post is "Out of the Shadows"

Below are the original readers' comments and my replies.

. . .

Comments

Post a comment

Play's the thing.

FusunA

May 31, 2010 01:08 AM

Nice post. I had never heard of them before and I love to learn all about new things.
rated with hugs

Linda Seccaspina

May 31, 2010 01:41 AM

A very rich, cultural post Fusun. We all do well to learn something new each and every day and I, for one, did enjoy learning more of your culture and heritage today. Thank you!

Little Kate

May 31, 2010 02:13 AM

Very similar to the ancient puppet plays they do in Indonesia. The island of Bali was amazing when I visited in the seventies. Crowds of villagers crowded around the lantern and sheet watching the puppets tell the old stories.

zanelle

May 31, 2010 02:21 AM

OMG! This a cultural treasure. I have some surface info, but this is just so fulfilling and mesmerizing. Thank you, Fusun. R

Thoth

May 31, 2010 03:28 AM

Thank you for this post. Rich in culture and explanation.

scupper

May 31, 2010 05:42 AM

FusanA. Thanks. I can understand why you get `nostalgic.
FusanA is fun to say. The Great Post needs more attention.
I was in Turkey and tried to get to Israel. I was stopped tho.
Border guards said something about No Lebanon baloney?
I loved breakfast meals of yogurt, and tossed barley seeds.
Honey was extra golden with glistening sprinkles of seeds.
I thing folks thought I may be drunken wino T. Deli Beckir?
I still smell the markets. If I was young I'd wander back tho.
I tried to download Stellaa. It's slow. I'd ask scupper to go?
If we rented a canoe She's drift gentle hicks into safe haven?
I was naive in my twenties and oblivious to dangers. Protect?
She or Someone would be a great pilot who was at the helms.
The Global Empire's Greedy few - yes have ruined Everything?
Except those who have not sold the immaterial essence of`Soul.

Art James

May 31, 2010 06:14 AM

While the particulars are Turkish the characters seem universal to every culture. An important point in the global village we live in. Appearance and language differ but we all know every one of these characters in our worlds. I am so glad you are here to teach us about a culture that so many of us lack knowledge of.

bobbot

May 31, 2010 07:42 AM

Like pretty much everyone else in America, I have never heard of these characters. Thank you for sharing them with us! What a fascinating piece of fold art!

Procopius

May 31, 2010 08:01 AM

Fascinating! I love what I learn from you, Fusun!

Lucy Mercer

May 31, 2010 08:18 AM

Fascinating, Fusun. I'd love to hear all these names pronounced, as I can only imagine the sounds from the way they're spelled.

Matt Paust

May 31, 2010 08:22 AM

FusunA, thank you for a wonderful post! I was especially taken by the puppeteer's dexterity, in the section of the video where we see him manipulating them.

And what is the name of the instrument that was playing throughout the video?

Divorce Bard

May 31, 2010 08:31 AM

I am so struck by the history, the men themselves and the stories about them that people held when they could hold the men no longer, and then by the puppets, the involvement of the children and the puppeteer himself. Thank you for this.

anna1liese

May 31, 2010 09:20 AM

Thank you for sharing this insight into Turkish culture. Entertainment is not always shared culturally, museums, art are so often something interesting we share, but these puppets and their history, really mark the human experience and are fun. R

SheilaTGTG55

May 31, 2010 09:44 AM

i love that you write these pieces about a culture few westerners know anything about, me included. they're fascinating. and that's a great picture. thanks, fusunA.

femme forte aka candace

May 31, 2010 10:53 AM

You never fail to teach and inform. The opium guy really surprised me. Who knew..,

scanner

May 31, 2010 12:51 PM

This sounds wonderful. Is it on YouTube? Great Post.

Dave Rickert

May 31, 2010 01:21 PM

Excellent! R.

Jonathan Wolfman

May 31, 2010 01:59 PM

I really enjoy your posts with cultural references. I learn something each time.

mypsyche

May 31, 2010 02:30 PM

Linda: I'm glad I could introduce something new to you here. Thanks for coming to read.

Little Kate: You are welcome. Every culture has something to offer. I just brushed the surface like an archeologist.

zanelle: Indonesian puppets must have been fascinating - that's how people keep their hisroey going, oral tradition. I'd love to visit Bali in my lifetime.

Thoth: I had a hunch you might like this because of your interest in Turkish culture. It's a tradition that still goes on during Ramadan and other important occasions.

Art James: I didn't know you have ben to Turkey. Then you share the nostalgia and the sounds, smells and tastes with me. Maybe I'll do a post on Tukish Delish by "Haci Bekir" - that's another centuries old story. Thank you for your visit.

bobbot: You are spot on. The stories are universal, they appeal to human conditions: good vs evil; humility vs greed, etc... we can all identify and laugh at ourselves - that's the appeal of these. How wise of you my friend. Thank you for dropping by.

Procopious: I'm so pleased that you stopped by to have a look. With your interest in history I hope to look at my other posts too. Thank you.

Lucy: Thank you, I love what I learn from you too, my friend.

Matt: The names are pronounced on the video clip - but I remember you may have some trouble with that. Actually, Turkish is a very phonetic language.

anna1liese: History and the lore are what give dimension to the puppets and enrich the imagination of the audience. Th eplots are really quite simple otherwise. Thank you for coming by.

Sheila: You are right, and every culture has its own form of expression for the common human experience. It's the human interpretation an imagination which make it it all so fascinating.

femme: Thank you for your support. As long as there is interest, I'll share.

Divorce Bard: A post just awaits for you.

Scanner: You are my best *student* :o) Thank you dear friend.

FusunA

May 31, 2010 04:04 PM

Drema: I appreciate your kind of feedbak, thank you so very much!

Jonathan W: Thank you, sir.

Dave: You can find much more on YouTube, if it interests you. Thank you for your visit.

FusunA

May 31, 2010 04:09 PM

Very very cool, FusunA! Reminds me of comic books and cartoon strips -- how this must have served a similar comedy/entertainment/social and political commentary purpose.

Bellwether Vance

May 31, 2010 04:41 PM

Love this. I had not been a fan of puppet shows until a met a shadow puppet artist. He was American but had studied with a master in Indonesia. What he did was amazing and totally captivating. He always gave credit to the master who taught him and said his work was nothing in comparison. Thank you for sharing this.

Mimetalker

May 31, 2010 08:52 PM

Thanks for this. Puppets are such a great cultural tool. In Rome there are still great puppet shows for kids as well and this summer I'm taking my grandkids. Terrific photo too. Thanks.

Mary Ann Sorrentino

June 01, 2010 09:42 AM

R.....ATED!!!!! :0)

Tinkerertink69

June 01, 2010 08:32 PM

Delightful reading!

heysuz

June 03, 2010 12:33 PM

Bellwether: You are so right. The shadow play was, although for entertainment on the surface, full of social commentary and satire.

Mimetalker: Apologies for the late reply. I'm so glad you dropped by because I was hoping you would.

Mary Ann: How lucky for your grandchildren ! I'm sure they'll enjoy Rome with you.

Tinkerer: Thank you for R.....ATING!!!!

Heysuz: It's good to see you here. How are you doing?

FusunA

June 03, 2010 09:52 PM

Oh my. Fusan, you are a natural-born teller of beautiful truths and stories. I feel so fortunate to have met you here on OS! You feed my mind with wonderful cultural nourishment! R

Natalie K. Munden

June 27, 2010 12:51 AM

Followed the link on your todays post. More secret hidden treasures. What a wealth of information new to me. Thank you!
R

sashira

August 07, 2012 11:53 AM

Shared this a second time with my ten year old and his brother. We all enjoyed watching the puppets in the video (tho we didn't understand any of the language) . Very interesting piece, so different from anything we saw before. Thanks.

trudie jackson

August 08, 2012 08:47 PM

What femmeforte aka candace wrote in her comments.
Read and learn. (rated)

guss olsen

August 08, 2012 09:33 PM

Bursa and Classical Ottoman Architecture

Tue, 7 Aug 2012 10:08:05 -0400

~**~**~

Ulu Cami

The last time I was in Bursa, I was a preteen young girl. My family stayed in a hotel with a garden full of fragrant roses, and tables covered with hand-embroidered table cloths on which we were served our evening meals under the coolness provided by a canopy of wines above. I remembered also the name of the lovely neighbourhood named Cekirge, where beautiful hotels and thermal baths adorned the upper elevations. I remembered the funny name, because Çekirge means cricket but why it was called so, I never asked or know to this date.

This time around, I chose to stay in Çekirge again in the hope that perhaps I might recognize something, how small or insignificant, from those years of my childhood that could jolt my memory. Alas! The topography had changed, the city had spread out, and the population - grown.

Yet history still has its strong hold on this beautiful city, which at one time, was the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Its abundant, lush greenery gave it the nickname “green Bursa” among its inhabitants as well as the nation at large. It is well known, among many things, as being a ski resort in winter, a place to go for thermal baths, its charming Turkish baths, hamam (another story), candied chestnut confectioneries, spices, silks and textiles to name a few.

Bursa is also the birthplace of legendary characters who inspired the shadow theatre's folk heroes, Hacivat and Karagöz, and numerous beautiful mosques, fountains, and parks.

~~~

Built in the 14th centuryby Sultan Beyazid I after the Nigbolu (Nicopolis) victory, the Great Mosque is an excellent example of classical Ottoman architecture. Of special interest are the intricately carved wooden pulpit, and the three-tiered fountain inside.

After being burnt down by Timur in 1402, the building was damaged by two fires in 1493 and 1889, and by an earthquake in 1855 which caused eighteen of the domes to collapse. The mosque was restored extensively after the earthquake, and in 1959.

Ulu Cami has an impressive large central hall measuring sixty-three meters by fifty meters, covered with twenty domes, supported on round arches that fall on thirty piers arranged in a regular grid. The structure is expressed on the exterior where the eighteen piers that make up the wall and their connecting arches are left in relief, with large windows between. The building can be entered through the portals on the east, north, and west.

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Inside, at the intersection of axes from all entrances, a 19th century marble ablution fountain is illuminated from the oculus of the dome above, which isthe highest dome in the mosque. The interior is adorned with colossal inscriptions on piers presenting the ninety-names of Allah in diwani and küfi script with accompanying baroque decorations from the 19th century. The minbar is composed of interlocking wooden pieces fitted together without glue or nails, and it is decorated on both sides with carved geometric designs creating an impression of the skies. The honey-colored limestone of the exterior, plastered white until recently was uncovered during the 1959 restoration. The two minarets, on the northeast and northwest corner of mosque, are made of brick bases faced with marble. Their wooden and lead caps were replaced with baroque stone alternatives by Parvillée.

~~~

If you kindly click on the link I provided here, it will take you to view a beautiful, short video which does more justice to the interior of this historic great mosque than my photograps could possibly do.

~~*~~

Reference:

Baykal, Kazim. Bursa ve Anitlari. Türkiye Anit Çevre Turizm Degerlerini Koruma Vakfi: 1982, Istanbul. (Edited reprint of original from 1950).

~~~

All words and images are the intellectual property of Füsun Atalay© 2012
Location: Bursa, TURKEY
~~~

Füsun Atalay ~ Author of Will of my Own - 2009

. . .

Forgiveness

Sun, 5 Aug 2012 12:08:23 -0400

~*~*~

FORGIVENESS

When I wrote my memoir in 2009, my main purpose was to delve into my life and re examine it with the hope of finding answers to what still danced like question marks in my mind. I was also determined, whether I found those answers or not, to own my life and release the trapped ghosts in order to move on with my future.

"Remembering a wrong is like carrying a burden on the mind."

~ Buddha ~

Having done so, when I look at myself now and remember my past self, I am deeply happy that I have accomplished what I willed. More than anything. Except the well-being and the love of my daughter and my son. I am at peace with myself; I am at peace with those by whom I've been hurt; I am at peace with the world. This is my personal world.

"Be gentle first with yourself if you wish to be gentle with others"
~ Lama Yeshe ~

My peaceful personal world is judged and misjudged by too many, although it is nobody's business and I find it rather intrusive. Their view is distorted by their own suppressing or denial of whatever issues they may have. They find their strength and power in numbers and “Aye!” saying. Well, the reality is that doesn't change the facts; it just alters their own“reality” to their own comfort level.

These individuals like to maintain their snug little niche buy following each other, spying for each other, and supporting each other instantaneously in comments without giving a rational thought to those of others. Any differing opinion, or pointing to a non-judgemental view is considered to be supporting racism, biased, or bigot.

They resurrect from long leaves to preach manners and morality to whom they are but novices at both, while others, confused, as to their identity – chicken? or man? – drop in to slander and insult some one repeatedly with lies, akin to a fisherman’s tale. Meanwhile I feel sad that an intelligent piece of submission has been massacred by the closed mindedness and hate spewed, ironically, by the very same group of people so intent on focusing and highlighting the bad instead of extolling on the virtues of their friend's writing.

What a loss of good intentions!

"Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest."
~ Sri Chinmoy ~

SILENCE

I've kept my silence, occasionally reminding my insulter that I never received an apology, and although I tried to attribute it to the character he displayed to me on and off OS[not a personal one]. I am, after all, human. Human beings get hurt. If they are hurt, they should directly go to the person who hurt them, and ask :Why? I have never received an explanation, except for what he promotes as incorrect and biased information and lies against me, as well as repeated insults with misogynistic tones and ugly words.

Then there's the one who remains silent for a long time, egging on all her friends to attack me, before she decides it is time I ended the discussion on my own blog with other writers who were carrying on a dialogue, until she sent her friends to derail my post on Critical Thinking into making it a “veiled attack against her”. (Since, I've learned this seems to be a common practice among this group - even among themselves as was the case recently.)

There are others who wake up at beck and call to deflect intelligent comments and to dumb any one who questions one of their ideas, or asks an reasonable question (They get a blanket “Thank you” or their words are automatically interpreted as "personal attacks").

Then there's the one who blatantly tells you not to read her blog any more because you did not call a comment “racist” like everyone of her faithful friends did and expressed a different idea. Not because you condoned the comment, because you never did and hoped that would be understood by such insightful people who adamantly insist to know how and what you think. That, after your personal note thanking her for her piece, expressing sorrow at how it got derailed, hoping that it gets the readership it deserves on its merit, and stating one more time that you are not racist, biased or a bigot.

“Nice try, Fusun ” begins the reply.

Nice try for what, for heavens sake?

I don't intend to annoy anyone. I call out wrong when I see one, but I've kept silent many times here because this is not a real world where people have one face and personality. On the other hand, there are very real people with real names, lives, families, and reputations who contribute their intellectual works on this site.

I am one of them.

Open Salon may be a social site, but it is also a writers' site. It is not a Face Book, or a gossip site. It is not where people write slanderous, libellous, insulting lies about reputable, respected individuals whose works are published, and who have received recognition in both career related and volunteering endeavours.

Nor is it a place to insult anyone. It is plain immoral and wrong to do so. Shame on you for doing just that – blatantly – and scratching around like some fowl compaASS of illperceived morality!

To the rest, my word of advice to you:

Be kind to others as you would be to yourselves, and do not talk behind peoples' backs.

Let them know face to face (or pm to pm) what is bothering you.

Do not use third parties. Yes, another member to be your advocate.

Rate someone's post if you say you did; have the courtesy to check your rate and dot not lie. Read what you rate and comment, do not jump on the bandwagon just because you are friends.

Do not assume anything about people from hearsay or what you imagine in your mind.

Reading about a person's life does not make one know what that person is all about; it is akin to reading history and not knowing the historic figures personally.

And most important of all, this quote from one of my favourite writers.

" Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."

*~*

You're all forgiven.

♥ Peace and Goodwill to you All! ♥

Füsun

~*~*~*~

Füsun Atalay ~ Author of Will of my Own - 2009

~*~*~*~

High above Cappadocia

Thu, 2 Aug 2012 10:08:37 -0400

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Our much anticipated balloon ride over Cappadocia was scheduled for 4:30 am on Friday, July 13th. We had to be up and ready half an hour earlier to be picked up from our cave hotel to which our arrival the previous night from Ankara was delayed. Already tired from an eight hour bus ride, although the ride itself was extremely comfortable with service that surpassed those on Transatlantic jets, and hyped up with the most anticipated part of our agenda, my son questioned if it was worth sleeping at all just for three hours.

I reminded him that immediately after the balloon adventure, we were scheduled for a 9-5 excursion taking in Nevsehir, Göreme, and the Avanos Valley; eight ancient cave churches, a ceramic factory, and a carpet making factory. We needed some rest! I knew they had been looking at this part of our travel for months and it would be the highlight of their summer, if not their lives so far. Inspite of his anticipation and restlessness, E. set his travel alarm and we abandoned our tired bodies on the comfortable beds in our cozy coves.

Seeing Cappadocia spread out below you with all its magnificent canyons, valleys, fairy chimneys, and cave dwellings is an experience that challenges translation into words. Especially at sixty-seven hundred feet above the earth, before the sun has risen, and the fresh air has a nip that will be devoured shortly when the intense dry heat will start licking one's skin. At our point of departure, our multilingual Portuguese-born pilot briefed us on a few safety tips and we, along with the other 21 passengers hopped into the basket. The excitement was palpable as we were airborne.

Within minutes of our lift off, Cappadocia skies were dotted with dozens of colorful hot hair balloons, rising freely at dusk towards a new dawn.

~~~

The view below was mesmerizing, surreal – nothing like it exists anywhere else in the world! What powerful hand or ingenuous mind could design something so spectacular? I'm certain questions like this and the like were flooding the others' minds while they kept on taking photo after photo of each magnificent scene as if everyone, in a desperate effort, was racing to capture as much of this treasure as possible in the rush of our collective, airborne high.

I know I did.

~~~

The only sound was the occasional release of fire to maintain hot air keep us afloat. Pilot Santos wanted to practice his Turkish with me but then we reverted to French and joined in conversation with a couple from Provence. My daughter was pointing something to her brother and he immediately responded by focusing his lens on it.

The area known today as Kapadokya, is made up of the towns of Aksaray, Kayseri, Kirsehir, Nevsehir, and Nigde ; and takes up about 300 square kilometres. Kapadokya Valley was formed 10,000 years ago following the latest eruption of three volcanoes: Argeus, Göllüdag, and Hasan Dagi. The ash and lava from these volcanoes covered hundreds of other mountains before they started cooling and formed into soft tufa (too-fah) layer. Over hundreds of years erosion of the tufa layer, which at certain points reached as high as 150 metres, started exposing layers of the harder basal rocks. It is these formations which we know today as Fairy Chimneys or Peri Bacalari.

~~~

I often wondered about the nomenclature, but having seen them so many times, I finally accept that perhaps only fairies with super human powers could have built such spectacular marvels.

Cappadocia, The Land of beautiful Horses, is considered to be a work in progress, because the area is geologically still evolving ever since 60,000,000 years ago. A sad note is that there will come a day in far, far future when the beautiful Fairy Chimneys, that we gaze upon so fondly today, will be no more. Winds and Mother Nature's other naughty children will have eaten them away and left only a few crumbs.

It is beyond difficult to conceptualize such a time, but viewed within the context of a larger plan, the idea is just one more reminder of our insignificance in the middle of this vast universe.

Füsun Atalay ~ Author of Will of my Own - 2009

Treasures of Istanbul~The Basilica Cistern

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:07:03 -0400

*~*~~*~*

One of the "must do" items on my list during my recent visit to Istanbul was to show my son and daughter the historic underground cistern left from the Romans, to which with the lore and wanderlust of my childhood I used to refer as The Sunken Palace. Anyone who visits it is impressed even today, let alone a child of six or seven, holding her Anneanne's hand for life and the fear of falling into the waterways that supported small canoes in those days swishing their way among the high rising columns, as droplets of moisture in the air landed on our bare arms. But that could be just my embellished imagination, for after all, that was almost a life time ago.

Today, there are no small canoes, but narrow walkways where one can walk among the 336 marble columns and cover the entire area of 9800 square metres of this 6 century Basilica cistern. Doing so provides not only a cool respit from the scorching sun outside, but it also takes one on a totally different kind of journey - one not traversed by your feet that eventually lead you to the German Fountain or the head of Medusa lying at the end.

~~~

This is a spiritual journey which takes you without warning and you surrender to its power. You are underground, away from a world outside, gone back centuries in time, living and breathing the air that existed and still does - only here. Your ears hear nothing except the drip, drip of water droplets from the moisture on the walls. Your eyes trace the gigantic columns up and down - with their varying styles - in their imposing magnificence - all 336 of them lined up in rows of 12, like soldiers sworn to carry out their duties to the very end. You realize your own insignificance and the pettiness of the world that rushes by outside, oblivious to a greatness far beyond one can imagine and exercise on a daily basis. You are humbled and ask the mighty power that be to forgive you for your trespasses and guide you to remain true to your convictions, point out wrong when you see it and not embroil yourself in rampant pettiness.

~~~

I was most amazed by how my perceptions were changed since I had set foot in the underground cistern as a child and now as an adult and a mother myself. I was mesmerized beyond the visible wonders of the place, but rather on the continuation of a spiritual journey I had started with the hopes of seeing my motherland through the eyes of my son and daughter and share in their wanderlust, as well as teach them about their mother's rich roots.

~~~

The underground cistern was just one of the many fascinating, enchanting, magical ports of call on our trip. There are many, many more. I hope to share them in time.

~~~