The Whirling Dervishes - Post Dervish Therapy

The Whirling Dervishes - Post Dervish Therapy

(Jumping ahead a few days)

It was hard finding out that our balloon ride in Cappadocia was canceled. It was one of the main reasons we came to visit the area. Every day hundreds of balloons take flight through the Rose Valley at sunrise. The result is a beautiful skyline dotted with beautiful colors over a golden rose landscape. However, for us that picture would not come true. Our flight had been cancelled due to wind. Many travels were in the same boat.

After the tour we came back to the cave hotel (yes we got to sleep in a cave) and decided we would relax and get caught up on some much needed sleep. Speaking with the front desk he suggested an alternative to bed, the famous Whirling Dervish Show. This show however would be better than any other one offered in Turkey because it was performed in an old caravanserai (trading market during the Silk Road time period) and was the most authentic.

Excited we booked the tickets and decided to enjoy our evening with a new plan! The taxi took us about 25 minutes outside of the city and pulled up to the building. Nothing else was around. The caravanserai was a beautiful stone building that reminded me of those I saw all over Uzbekistan. We walked in to our seats. It turns out it would be a very intimate performance with only 7 others enjoying the show.

The lights went out and the show began. Eight men walked in dressed in all black with light brown tall hats sitting upon their heads (Symbolic of tombstones for their egos). Silence. One began to chant a soothing and mystical song that echoed off the tall caravanserai ceilings. At first the song he sang was comforting and beautiful. That changed as the song continued on for more than 20 minutes and began to resemble more of a wailing Child. I would be lying if I said we didn't doze off a little.

I decided to use this time to read the brochure explaining what Whirling Dervishes were. In my mind they were a performance act that performed a dance in older times, a sort of show. Boy was I wrong! It turns out The Whirling Dervishes were much more symbolic and spiritual. This was a ceremony we were watching, not a show. To sum it up they connect the fact that life is a constant revolution and use it to cleanse themselves. Everything revolves and in turn they revolve in a sort of ritual as well with a hand upwards to receive gifts from God and the other hand down to the earth. They always revolve in the same directions tilted slightly over their heart.

The ceremony continued passing through different stages such as flute playing, the dervishes being reborn, a master reciting parts of the Quran, and some other things I still can't wrap my head around. I suggest doing a nice little Google search to read more and see some videos.

When the ceremony was over I looked towards my mom. She tried to stifle her laughter as she expressed her opinion on the show. Trying to be respectful she whispered her opinion while I recorded her and tears of laughter snuck out. It may have been the lack of sleep for days that caused the reaction or the fact we went into the ceremony thinking it was an entertaining show. Either way it was definitely a night we will never forget. Even writing about the "what in the world did we just watch" show has me cracking up once more.

Arriving back at the town we went out to eat and bought a local bottle of wine to commemorate our "special" evening. Let's just say we had a fun night shopping after that. My mom referred to the dinner and shopping as Post Dervish Therapy.

Ooh La La

Ooh la la

Oh Paris! After visiting Paris in 2010 with friends and again that fall with my mom and sister I knew one thing for sure... That I would return one day. Recent years of traveling has found me pretty far away from the developed European cities. I've been drawn to finding more uncommon vacation spots. However, there is something about the cobblestone streets, beautiful architecture, and sitting at a bistro that brings me back. Paris to me truly resembles that of a fairytale that although constantly played and used never gets old or cheesy to me.  *Remember I stick to the build up tourist areas and I am sure one could pose a reasonable argument stating opposite of my thoughts.

Arriving in Paris we wasted no time at all! Since both of us had already seen the major sights we did not feel the need to rush around to every single monument but rather start at the beginning and just wonder through the streets for two day. Our hotel was located a block away from the Eiffel Tower and spent much of the morning admiring it.

Built in 1889 as an entrance for the World's Fair, the Eiffel Tower stands at a whopping 320 meters and was the tallest building in the world for 41 years before the Chrysler Building surpassed it.

The Eiffel Tower weighs over 10,100 tons and takes 60 tons of paint every seven years.

Although the Eiffel Tower receives millions of visitors annually it recently had its first encounter with a T Rex (yes that is me)!

It took me awhile to get comfortable putting the costume on and being in public again. I find that after not traveling for a few months I get nervous again. My mom pushed me to come out from the tree and stand right in the main field.

The rest of our two days were spent walking, eating, walking, shopping, and more walking. I can truthfully say my mom may have been able to out walk me. More Han 20 miles in two days we explored all of the side street cafes, admired museums, and enjoyed the architecture.

The first evenings was filled with excitement in every restaurant and bar in the city. The World Cup semi final match was on and France was playing. People crowded in o eat and drink while others gathered outside cheering on the game.

It was a fun treat to see France win the semi finals. We went to celebrate with wine, bread, and cheese outside the Eiffel Tower while hordes of people danced and chanted the win. Car horns honked non stop all night long. After enjoying the twinkle lights we headed back and watched the massive crowd celebrating on television.

Before departing we took one more walk to eat escargot and shopping to find some special wedding clothing. This is Paris after all! Ooh La La

Sadly it was time to go and we headed to the airport. Everything was going smoothly until we got to passport control. Quickly he checked my passport and stamped me out. Then he took my mom's passport and looked it over a while. We nervously looked at each other and back at him. He held up the passport and shook his head no. Uh oh! When he turned the passport around we saw that he had stuck a picture of himself in a judges outfit where my mom's photo once was. Immediately we burst out laughing. Passport control officers are usually so serious but this guy made our day! Take note security of the world... It is ok to laugh!

Bonjour Paris and Hello Istanbul!

That Time Again

I can not even begin to state how fast this past year has been going by. Wedding plans easily consumed much of this past year! In the spring I moved into a dream artsy apartment downtown with Tyler and couldn't be happier. With all of the excitement it seemed surreal that summer was already here and it was time to travel again.

This summer had a lot of twists and turns when planning. First I was going to Iran. Plans quickly changed from day to day before finally making and booking a plan right before the start of summer and new destinations. This year I did something a bit different. Believe it or not I actually went on 3 vacations in the United States. Shocker right?! I spent almost a month of what would typically be a backpacker vacation laying on a beach with Tyler's family in the Keys, a week with my family in Ocean City, and then a crazy camping trip at Electric Forest with my best friends. But I will leave those for another part!

So here I am writing to you already a few days in. I will spare you the travel story of the plan rides and sum it up quickly. WOW air is not comfortable even if you pay for the upgrade big seats. Pittsburgh to Keflavik, Iceland was met with a restless night on the plane. Luckily, Keflavik to Paris, France brought a nice 3 hour nap. As per usual the flights were all delayed. For once no luggage was lost, no flights cancelled, and no major mishaps. I can't believe I just typed that. Let's hope the rest of the trip continues this way!

First Stop: Paris!

The Future Plus Camels

The Future

 

Looming ahead on the hill Matt spotted what appeared to be a Hindu Monkey statue. As we approached closer all of us continued to look up at it trying to decipher what it was. I flipped quickly through the guidebook to see if I could find any mention of it. Nothing.

 

More strange structures and paintings began to appear. Concrete yurts lined the right side of the road. A giant painting of a dragon in a war scene sprawled our overhead on the left.

Still no information on what it was and we were already passed it. Luckily we stopped for lunch about a five minute drive down the road. Jim and Steve kindly agreed to my request to turn around after we were finished eating so that we could get some more pictures and solve the mystery.

* After searching the Internet with any keyword describing the place we could think of I finally found an answer. It seems someone else had posted a similar thing looking for answers and a viewer knew the name, Alam Ordo. Not much could be found through that either but as least we now new the basics.

The right side of the road had concrete yurts. It is said that when the construction is complete that 365 yurts will house 365 students. Here the 365 students with 36 teachers will have daily discussions and lessons where everyone will work together to create a better world. Together they will gain all of the worlds knowledge and reach the future level of thinking.

The statue on the hill mimics that of a painting within the complex. The man appears to be the head teacher. Murals around the area showcase the history and culture of the Kyrgz and their way of life. 

Many other structures have been erected in the area. Some have been created by the artist who is building the place while others have been dropped off by artists.

The left side of the hill showcased the largest painting and by far the strangest and mysterious. 

The whole place will probably remain a mystery.

A few hours down the road and we found a beautiful green and blue lake that changed colors as the clouds moved. The name on the map was huge! Seriously, it may have been the longest name I have ever seen in history. Here Steve decided to give I a try driving down to the bottom to make camp.

It was perfect. Beautiful water and mountains. We set up camp and began to cook. The rest of the group went down to the lakeside while my cook group prepared an interesting veggie meal out of the materials that we had to work with. Everyone knows cooking is not my favorite however we had a good time together.

 

After dinner we noticed that back up the trail and on the road a caravan of camels were roaming around. Gen, Lee, Claire, Hanne, Mike, and I all went up to check them out. These camels were different than the ones I am used to seeing because they have two humps!

Some of them must have been out of water because they had saggy, floppy humps!

 

This one loved me!

Aw Pet Bunny!

Pet Bunny

 

Our next big destination, and my final one in this country, is Lake Song Kol. Although on a map it is not super far with mountainous roads and windy highways it was going to be a long drive that required a bush camp stop.

On the way we stopped to watch an Eagle Hunt. The middle aged Krygz man and his daughter appeared out of their car. We were parked near a field at the edge of a hill. Giant mountains rose out of the ground in the distance with beautiful snowy caps. The man sported a huge eagle on his arm while the girl carried a rabbit gently in her arms petting him.

The Kyrgz man began to explain the process of raising and training an eagle. As the eagle was a young baby he acquired the bird from a nest in the mountains. He then raised the eagle every day as if he was its own mother. Feeding and caring for its every need. As the bird began to grow he started to train it by using fox skins tied to ropes. Slowly the bird learned cues from its owner and grew into a strong hunter!

This man loved his bird as if it was a child. During the enter presentation he kissed and pet the bird gently. There was no denying the connection between these two.

I got a chance to have the bird on my arm. I was shocked at just how heavy this magnificent bird was.

Now it was time for the hunt. The man began to climb the hill nearby with the bird. The girl on the other hand stayed with us. As the man neared the top of the hill she placed her pet bunny on the ground. Giving it one last pet she retreated back to stand with us.

Jeti-Oghuz

Jeti -Oghuz

Our next two day camping spot was once again up into the beautiful mountains. On the way we passed one of the most photographed natural land features of Kyrgyzstan, The Seven Bulls. The Seven Bulls is a brightly colored red sand stone cliff that dries vertically into the ground. 

Down the road from the main picture spot we stopped for a pee break. This was comical because as we all went into the bushes and abandoned buildings to take care of business we found horses all around. A few of us climbed up a crumbling building to get a few more good shots.

The truck slowly made its way up into the mountains across five bridges. It's a miracle that these bridges hold up day after day with some rather large trucks driving across them. They are only built out of a few logs after all.

Central Asia has never failed to amaze me at the construction, or lack of construction, of roads and bridges. 

Reaching the top we found a meadow tucked into the valley that would serve as our home for two nights. A ten dollar fee per day even covered our cost of using real toilets, in a shack of course. As usually goats and sheep roamed around our tents as we set them up herded by boys of about the age of 8. Typical Kyrgz. 

Some of our group went for a hike while others did laundry in the river. I chose to get our my wind pouch and lay down and read for a bit. After awhile we saw another giant truck come up the mountain. It was Dragoman, another overland company! We stood up and started staring as they pulled in. Even as they began to unload the truck we all stood by a tree just watching them, very awkward.

Alright, time to break the tension. I climbed into my T-Rex suit behind our truck and ran out roaring. Across the field I sprinted running in and out of everyone setting up their tents. Everyone was laughing! How often does a T-Rex greet you into a campsite. 

But, the stand off continued. No one crossed lines to talk to the others. Finally, I walked over to the other side to make friends. It was hysterical to look back at our camp, which had the setting sun facing them so they were all lit up, and see them all lined up against the tree staring at their campsite. One by one as people had a few drinks they came over and joined in on the conversation.

Early the next more we got up for our horseback ride. Similar to the last adventure ride there were very few rules. No helmets, children guides, and sketchy pathways. The 3 hour ride took us through the forest, across rivers, up mountains, and finally through a beautiful meadow. Kirstin and I took off at one point galloping ahead of everyone else. My dapple horse was much more responsive that my previous horse and I really enjoyed her. Paula on the other hand had way too responsive of a horse. One of the boys had to join her to keep her horse from galloping with us. It was her first time riding and not the best horse for it. Gen`s horse and mine did not like each other. Anytime we would get close their ears would go back and start to grunt at each other.

Eventually we reached the Valley of the Flowers at the base of a giant glacier. It was stunning to say the least. The temperature was a perfect amount of cool. We all dismounted and laid in the meadow eating our lunches. Our horses roamed around grazing freely. What a beautiful day! I could've laid there for hours looking out at the fairytale landscape.

On the way back two main events happened. First, Hanne`s horse would not listen and would just leave the path. At once point the little stinker just decided to sit down and remove Hanne from his back. Second, the one boy hit another horse to make him go faster. This resulted in Paula`s over active horse rearing up onto its hind legs. For a girl who has never ridden a horse before we were all proud that she managed to stay on his back! Unfortunately, her recently healing broken foot did not fare too well.

Totally exhausted back at camp we all quizzed each other on Central Asia facts from the guide book and then called it an early night.

Whoopsies

Alright I'm jumping ahead here a bit but it's just too funny not to post about now. I've been in the Middle East for awhile, left Central Asia a few weeks ago, and it's quickly becoming my favorite area of the world.

Anyways, yesterday I was in Cairo and beyond excited to see the pyramids. In the evening when I was sitting around I noticed something awkward going on down town. I looked down and noticed my entire pants were split in half. Oh my goodness!!! How long has it been like that. Awkwardly I was already through airport security and in the waiting area with no bathroom. I tried with very little success to safety pin my pants back together.

Here I am in a Muslim majority country, trying to be modestly dressed with baggy pants, baggy top, and a head scarf to wear in non tourist areas with a gapping hole in my pants. How long was it like this? Did no one notice because of my baggy shirt? Will I ever know?

Well here I am flipping through the pictures from the pyramids while laying in the hotel, knew pants on of corse, and I find it. About 10 hours earlier in the day I took jumping pictures from a panoramic view of the pyramids. It was here that my pants decided to fail me. Mid jump picture it is very clear that my pants are in the midst of tearing open. 

 

Still a bit speechless but too funny not to write about. Middle East I love you and the times I'm having here!

Oh did I mention the Dino made this trip as well?!