Lead a stray...

The final weekend in Malatya has come and gone...three weeks ago it seemed so far away.  Today many of us are of disbelief that it's gone so quickly and tomorrow we will depart from Malatya.  It's been an incredibly amazing experience and I'm really going to miss the Turkish people and their zest for life.  The life style here is a magical blend of complexities with an abundance of simplicities.  I'm a person of many questions and four weeks hasn’t been nearly enough time to answer all the "why's" in my mind...things just don't seem to add up and I envision I'll always "have that sense of wonder". 

This past Saturday, the majority of the team set out to explore the city of Malatya.  We'd been staying here for three weeks but hadn’t gotten the opportunity to just "be" in Malatya. The first destination was Battalgazi otherwise known as "Old Malatya".  Many people from the group had already been there but they decided to join the excursion again.  As the large group assended in this small village, it was again quickly acknowledged that the foreigners had arrived!  J  After a short amount of time, the majority of the group had seen enough.  Rob and I were interested in staying longer to just peacefully wonder the streets.  In fear of leaving us in Battalgazi by ourselves, Ali one of our translators chaperoned us for the afternoon. 

The afternoon was very quiet but I think it was my favorite day of sight seeing that we’ve been on.  We quietly walked the streets of the neighbor hood watching kids playing soccer, families working in their gardens, women hanging laundry, men socializing at the local café and the list goes on and on.  While the living conditions in Battalgazi still weren’t what I’d envisioned for a “developing nation”, it was the best view into real lives of the Turkish people that I’ve seen since coming here.

Each day brings new adventures and Saturday was again no exception.  There’s been this common discussion point among the team as whether we (IBM CSCers) are stubborn people or rather determined people.  Lütfen, No comments from the peanut gallery on this one!  The remaining three of us made our way back the the center of Battalgazi to partake in our next mystery meal.  We walked the entire center circle passing by just a couple small restaurants.  While there is some risk in eating in the rural restaurants, we were up for the full cultural experience and after a recommendation from a child on the street, we settled upon a small kabob shop. 

The owner was ever pleased to invite us into his very small restaurant for a “home cooked” meal.  Seeing the restaurant was small, the weather was nice and we tend to attract attention when we speak in English, it was suggested by the group to take the private table sitting right outside the door.  Rob and I thought this would be a “purrrfect” spot to enjoy!  The business owner looked hesitantly at us…he and Ali start the typical Turkish banter back and forth…(we never know exactly what is said but I suspect the owner suggests we’re crazy to sit out there and Ali agrees stating that not only crazy, they’re also stubborn J) never the less, the owner respected our wishes and wiped down the table for us to have a clean place to eat. 

The table outside gave us a great view of the locals transporting goods here and there.  Having a sensitive nose to dust, I was feeling bad for the horse that was pulling wagon loads of goods to and from the market stands.  Apparently, the horses in Turkey are on a strict schedule and unlike the people, they must eat on the run.J  The horse had a burlap sack hanging from his ears that was covering his entire nose and mouth.  In the sack is his food for the day…I couldn’t help but wonder how he could possible enjoy eating his meal through what I could relate to as a "dusty old medical mask".

Ah the food has arrived!  It smelt delicious and the first couple bites confirmed the kid on the street knew what he was talking about.  It must be “all the rave” on the streets as suddenly we were being surrounded and stared down by the locals!  Yikes, so much for the…Old McDonald’s farm also lives on the streets in Turkey!  With a meow, meow here and a meow, meow there we were being surrounded by the local STRAY CATS!  One cat, two cats…oh look, here comes a dog too!

Nothing more needs to be said, we quickly could draw our own conclusion that THIS is why the owner was discouraged when we chose to sit outside.  As we start to laugh and myself a little stressed about the tattered cats now crawling around among our feet…the Turkish banter back and forth between the business owner and Ali started up again.  Yes, Ali has confirmed our insistence on eating outside has lead us a stray!