Windwalker's Mountain Post: Snorkeling and Barbering

This morning a story at breakfast, and a lesson in Turkish history. Before WWI there were Turks, Greeks, Kurds, Armenians, Jews living together in small towns all over the then Ottoman Empire. Often Greeks would ask Turks to pray to Allah for this or that, and believers in Islam would be asking Greeks to pray to Our Lady. By the end of WWI and the formation of modern day Turkey, Greece, Armenia, etc., the new governments of Turkey and Greece said all people must be the same. If you are a Turk living in Greece--get out, go to Turkey. If you are a Greek living in Turkey, go to Greece. Many towns fell into poverty and became dysfunctional because, of course, many of the artisans, for example, were Greek, herders Turkish, merchants Jews...so when towns became all of one kind of people, the diversity that makes a place a town, a home, was destroyed. And so it was in one small town called Porcha, close to where Deniz grew up. Many times during this forced evacuation, the people were bewildered and they gave the key to their home to a Turkish neighbor, saying, please take care of our house, for maybe in five years or so, we are returning. This happened between two families in Porcha in about 1920.
Eighty years later the grandson of the Greek people from Porcha, Turkey came to Porcha with his wife. They were taking a trip to search their roots. They came to Porcha and found it very changed: highways, high rise buildings, shopping centers. That was OK...they just wanted to see where their grandparents' home had been...maybe now under a road or a new shop. They went to the old neighborhood and found a home close to where they thought the grandparents lived. They knocked on the door and when a man answered, they explained who they were and what they were seeking. The man called his wife, and then walked the young couple around the side of their own home. Before them was a neatly whitewashed building. "This is the home of your grandparents," said the Turk. All these years we have waited for them to come home. Every week, we sweep and clean the inside. Every year we paint the house." Pressing the key into the young man's hand, the old man said, "Now, this house is yours." Then all of them were hugging and crying together. This is a true story that Deniz knows, but if you would like a great read about the those times, read Birds Without Wings. It is historical fiction and a great read.
After breakfast, our boat moved to a wonderful cove where we could snorkel over the ancient ruins of a town called Aperlae and check out the local fish. It was great. Then on to Kas where we had a real treat...first our gulet captain backed into an impossibly tiny slip without so much as touching the boats on either side. Then, off to town where the shops are beautiful, but biggest surprise, Deniz took the four guys to a Turkish barber. It was totally amazing. I'm just going to put up pics, mostly of John because he was the first to get barbered...just let me say: two shaves with a straight razor, hair removal from noses and ears, finished by a flaming wand, two hair washings, great scissored haircut, full face, neck and upper body massage. All for about $15 US. Deniz was so happy with it all that he got his own beard shaved off...this morning it looks half grown back. Our guys still look great!!

Ready, set...in we go

Pam in a small kayak

Foundation corner under water

Some kind of tubular fish

A flock of Calamari

Ruins that start on the hillside and continue as tumbled walls and foundations under the deep, turquoise sea

Pam helping Catherine back on board

John, lathered up...we're all crowded into the small shop, drinking tea, laughing, taking pics...the barbers just smiled and continued about their business