This is the final section of my journey to Turkey, made a few years ago, a travel account included in my travel book of essays entitled Distant Islands and Sea Light.
We were beginning to lose hope of catching our first glimpse of the Black Sea as we entered the outer confines of the city. We had fallen into a trance amid the splendor of these glorious mountains all dressed in the arboreal greenery of the forests and cast within a heavenly mist. In the end, one final blessing awaited us as the historic Black Sea (is it really black we had inquired with amusement among ourselves) appeared before us like a mirage from another world. It framed the edge of this busy city with its dark and myste-rious presence, providing further vistas clear to the horizon where earth meets sky. The stormy gray day was reflected in the water mass; but this did not damper our enthusiasm as we reached our final destination and checked into the hotel one last time.
Suddenly, we travelers had arrived at the separation of our ways, and were required to make peace with our own journey’s end. We had one final dinner together and made toasts to the uniqueness of this experience. In the morning, on the bustling streets of modern Trabzon, we would reluctantly take our leave and go our separate ways. Alex gave me a bear hug and Christina a kiss on the cheek. Sophie shook my hand with her own two hands, and Evelyn bestowed upon me her girlish smile, as though she were young again, with her final comment: “We are not finished yet. There are trips still to be taken.” In return, I said good-bye but delayed my own reluctant farewell in order to deliver it now in the form of this article as a tribute to the travelers who made this journey together.
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) has given some useful advice to fellow travelers, which has no doubt been forgotten in this age of easy global access to the lost and forgotten places on earth. He once wrote that books of travel, indeed the experience of travel itself, “will be good in proportion to what a man has previously in his mind; his knowing what to observe; his power of contrasting one mode of life with another.” To complement this theme of outer worlds finding common ground within inner worlds, a Spanish proverb says, ‘He, who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.’” We five seasoned travelers, call it a fortuitous meeting, a chance encounter, or the force of destiny, traversed some of the ancient silk routes, floated across the waters of Lake Van, climbed mountains the likes of Nemrut and Ararat, and ate our way through the seasoned kebabs and pilafs of Mesopotamia, all in the name of the journey and the journeyers who make it happen. Together we saluted Eastern Tur-key in its glorious prime, both past and present, and took our leave, armed for future travel with the wealth and insight this experience has offered us. Good-bye and fare thee well.
a great story, reminds me of some of the places I have enjoyed being in during my life. I've had the good fortune to travel much of the world during my 68 years, starting at 18. you make a fine statement here for many to heed and then heed the joys of other cultures and parts of this world.
Like a writer of mystery, you did not answer the question, "Is the Black Sea, black? Instead you described it as, "… framed the edge of this busy city with its dark and mysterious presence." Quite poetic and inconclusive?
Through my meager travels compared to yours, I have learned that every place that I have traveled to actually was quite different from what I imagined from what I had read or even seen in movies and television place was like. That also includes the four places I've lived other than my original home in central Wisconsin. In actuality of a place and its people often are far from the stereotype created through both fact and fiction.
I have never been to Turkey, but a graduate student whose parents owned touring companies on both the water and land invited me to his apartment one for some exquisite kebabs, feta cheese and mare's milk liquor. I couldn't get enough. A girlfriend of mine also visited as a member of the Future Farmers of America. She had some wonderful tales to tell.
Incidentally, this morning I saw an commercial that was quite intriguing showing many beautiful sights, and then, ending with single words, Travel to Turkey.
I like the spirit in this- gentle and informative. Have never been to Turkey but I have been to Morocco. We enjoyed the colorful culture and the food. The Moroccan born writer 'Edmond Amran el Maleh' described Moroccan cuisine as “the perfumed soul of Moroccan culture,” this being the unique blending of African, Arabian, and European influences. I'll always remember one meal: Lamb Tangine with honeyed prunes, sautéed celery, a Moroccan pasta called couscous cooked with spices, vegetables, nuts, and raisins, and delicious sweet mint tea. Yum. What I found the next day however, was how really effectively couscous cleaned out your pipes. )-:
Enjoyed this, John. Peace... r
When people think of Madagascar, what may come to mind is a Pixar film, a lemur paradise, or the source of 80% of the world’s vanilla beans. In A Taste of Madagascar: Culinary Riches of the Red Island, Emmanuel Laroche—a Flavor Explorer and Culinary
We were beginning to lose hope of catching our first glimpse of the Black Sea as we entered the outer confines of the city. We had fallen into a trance amid the splendor of these glorious mountains all dressed in the arboreal greenery of the forests and cast within a heavenly mist. In the end, one final blessing awaited us as the historic Black Sea (is it really black we had inquired with amusement among ourselves) appeared before us like a mirage from another world. It framed the edge of this busy city with its dark and myste-rious presence, providing further vistas clear to the horizon where earth meets sky. The stormy gray day was reflected in the water mass; but this did not damper our enthusiasm as we reached our final destination and checked into the hotel one last time.
