Bennett Pilgrimages Eastern Anatolia Tour, September 2013
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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.