Ch 35, Day 3: Turkey's Beloved Storyteller

 17.6
kms, Sept 3, 2010

Next
day the Traveler continues on, and is pleasantly surprised to see
more glimpses of “Old Turkey” the deeper he gets into the
country. Bolvadin has
cheery narrow alleys shaded by grapevines overhead... next, Cay
(literally “Tea”) is
snuggled against the wooded hills. Here you find more traditional
homes of mud brick, some with the typical Ottoman half timber
enclosed balconies jutting out. Many houses are in pretty sad shape,
but they still do give a glimpse of the Turkey that used to be...

And
then... a very pleasant surprise. Aksehir at first looks like
another generic town, until you reach the center. All about are
statues, statues with a specific theme: Nasreddin Hodja. Hodja, the
Traveler finds out, is Turkey's most beloved storyteller... and
throughout the world. His stories have been told and retold from
Spain to China for the last 800 years. In fact, multiple countries:
Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan etc like to claim that Hodja at their
own. The Traveler remembers another backwards riding a donkey
sculpture of Hodja in the heart of Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

Most
sources however claim that Hodja was from right here in Central
Turkey, and died here in Aksehir. For this reason, this town has a
park full of statues dedicated to him, and each year there is a
festival commemorating his works.

The
Traveler wanders about, soaking in the significance of this place.
It's a refreshing break from the seriousness you usually see in
Turkish culture. Hodja's work was usually humorous—with a message.
His stories are quite similar to Aesop's Fables: short, with an
unexpected twist, and often poking fun at human nature and politics.

Around
there are statues that allude to some of these stories: like a man
sitting on a branch, cutting off the branch he is sitting on... Or a
man with a pot over a fire, held high in the air... a man riding a
donkey facing backwards.

Many
of Nasreddin's tales were very down to earth, dealing with day to day
village life. They make sense in any culture, not just Islamic
culture. This is why these stories spread to many non-Muslim
countries like Italy, Romania, China and India. Anyone can identify
with them and appreciate the lessons hidden in them.

Stories
these are a thread that unite people from all over the world. Unlike
religious dogma which divides people.

Another
interesting note on the life of Hodja, is that he lived during the
catastrophic Mongol invasion of Turkey back in the 1200s. Yet in
the midst of the chaos that there must have been during that era, he
was inspired to write about the simple things in life..

Reaching
Konya

Up
ahead is another big city. The Traveler will arrive at night, but he
isn't worried. He's had no trouble finding lodging in small
cities—so certainly he won't have trouble in a big one. He doesn't
bother taking the tramway into town, instead taking a long walk...
past a glorious mosque all lit up. It looks like it's about the same
size and design as the world famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Except
this mosque looks like it was built very recently. Mosque
construction is one of the few times you see Turkey holding to its
Ottoman roots and style.

He
continues on only to find, just as in Eskisehir, that he's not
heading to downtown. Instead he's in the middle of an entire
neighborhoods dedicated to nothing but building and selling
furniture, still busy even at night.

But
things are closing up, and this is clearly a dead end. He turns
around, and head towards some high rise buildings. Still no hotels.
“When all else fails, THEN ask for directions. He does. People
point him towards a fancy luxury hotel. He finds he's just going in
circles.

Just
as he is about to give up and just go back to the bus station, he
comes across a cybercafe that is still open... Does a quick search
and... turns out there's a cheap hotel just 2 blocks away...