Mevlana Sema - Whirling Dervishes

When I was a child, my mother told me about the whirling dervishes, but I have to say that I couldn't understand her fascination with them. However, Iraq being so close to Turkey, I couldn't' pass up the opportunity to see them. On Thursday Evening after dinner, along with friends working in Adana and Antep, Turkey, we visited the modern center built for Sema for the 15 day Şeb-i Aruz' celebration. Spectacular! The stands were filled with Turkish pilgrims who joined the head semazen in prayer as the ceremony ended. The top two pictures below come from the Turkish Airlines in flight magazine. I post these particular photos as they are taken in the Center in Konya where we saw sema... I can even recognize the semazen from being there!


Likewise the next two photos are also of familiar semazen and I found them in a photo bank by Ogun Altun.


Please click on the two links at the top of this post for enlightening information on the whirling dervishes.

First day back at school

Actually, the government apparently declared the Eid holiday would extend for a few more days... meaning that today was "officially" (?) a holiday... but not for us at the institution. I met my first class of students who looked stunned as I explained to them that I would be teaching not English, but modern literature (or were they just confused by my rambling?)

Anyway, I find the above cartoon funny not only because I am starting my year off with Children's Lit (Lewis Carroll), but because it reflects some of the atmosphere at work. Every year a lot of policies change and students, not really being familiar with appropriate means to voice concerns, picket or otherwise create chaos over issues both big (and possibly deserving) and small... VERY small. This year, they have been told they MUST FOLLOW POLICY... Let's not forget that it seems a distinct possibility that some of us might actually have been hired to be some of seven maids with seven mops to clear the quantities of sand.

German Reunification Day

This is an important day for me as I arrived just after German Re-unification Day (and hence missed the only dinner that my employer held at the beginning of term to welcome all new employees) and just before Eid. I don't know much about how this day is celebrated in Germany, but know that in Hawler, it is honored with a barbecue of chicken, lamb and sausages (non-pork) and beer. Also, there is German music (sounding to my untrained ear like polkas and marches) set to a slide show of images of the Berlin Wall coming down.... not to mention a speech by Gunter, the owner of the Deutscher hof.

Maybe this will mean more to me next year as I will go to Germany for the first time ever from Hawler this winter: Erbil - Vienna - Frankfurt via Austrian Airlines. I will meet my mother for Christmas and go from there fo Nuremburg and Munich (making sure to visit other choice Bavarian towns), but will unfortunately miss Berlin.... I am happy to note, however, that my favorite beer at the Deutscher hof comes from Bavaria!

Barbecue Feast for Eid

Yes, this is yet another post about food.... What else is there to do during Eid in Erbil? Mu, being picky about his meat (he only buys at New City as he others aren't fresh-looking enough) is happy to be able to choose his own and grill it at the table himself.
Maybe because of Eid (?) the self-service mezze were also better last night. There were even mint leaves and pomegranate seeds! Nice to have more than humus and salads made from varying proportions of cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, eggplant and onions.
The wait staff brings your meat and plate of hot peppers, onion slices and tomato halves to grill with the meat. They also serve the best of Turkish raki (if you like raki or arak) and speak Turkish. Maybe that's why Mu always knows someone here whenever we go... Since coming back, I have already been dragged here far too many times.

But being bad at directions, I can't tell you how to get here... other than it is not on the main drag (of course in Ankawa), but is just after the church with the hidden creche in the garden. Maybe you will recognize it from the bottom picture the next time you drive by in a taxi.

Miscellaneous Photos of Taxim

I usually stay in Taxim in Istanbul, but realized I have posted very few photos which capture the mood there. Please find below a few photos which hoefully work towards that goal. The little dirty yellow building above is Avrupa Hotel, the only 1 star hotel on the street, and the only one I can afford to stay in. The following two photos are of Taxim Square... near where the airport bus will drop you off.

And this final photo is of a sweet shop worker spooning syrup over some sticking sweets on Istiklal Caddesi.

Root Canal

Yarin Olduğu Yere Yalelellim. Amanın Aman Aman, Zamanın Zaman Zaman, Bizim Düğün Ne Zaman Yalelellim. Ben Armudu Dişlerim Yalelel Yalelel, ...

OK, to be honest, I am not sure if these are the lyrics my dentist, Elif, was singing as she affixed the permanent filling into the front tooth with the root canal, but she was singing something. It made the whole process much easier. I guess that if someone in the Middle East is in desperate need of dental work, I could recommend Elif at Dentistanbul.

By the way, if you look closely enough... you can actually see my root canal in the X-ray on the screen above the chair!

My Kurdish Valentine

Photo credit goes to Botan, one of my students (the tall pretty one in the short dress).

Valentine's Day is certainly different here in Kurdistan. I arrived at university to find the cafeteria rearranged: tables moved to the sides of the room; space cleared for dancing. Heart-shaped ballons declaring, "I Love You" trailed tinsel from the ceiling. The ANd not only was the room decorated; many of the female student population were attired completely in red and black (or red, black and white) and there were even a couple of sexy red dresses! (Is this permissible in Hawler?)

Mostly boys danced with boys... or showed off hip hop moves on their own, but a few women who had returned from overseas got up and wowed/shocked the crowd. I danced briefly with Tf, but mostly, I was just eager to get upstairs see which students would show up in class... All but 2 or 3! They were the ones responsible for the music and the entertainment program (yes, there was entertainment). I am not sure why, but every "entertainment program" put on by students involves cross-dressing men (very Shakespearean). All three of the men above are from my class, so you can image the fun I have on a daily basis at work. I don't know the woman, but love that she decided to get into the act and dress as a man! No double standards here.

PS. I want to thank those nice boys who gave me (and the other women in our class) flowers, real or plastic.

The Road to Lalish

This time last year I had just returned from North Kurdistan (Diyarbakir) where I spent a fabulous Eid break reveling in the fact that there was cake and coffee... and that there were women in the street. This year, some of that can now be found here in South Kurdistan. For instance, there is cake to be had at both Dilan Restaurant and Abu Afif- baklava bakery from Baghdad.
This year, although I had been thinking of crossing the border to Gaziantep or Urfa, what with the Turkish-army-amassing-on-the-border situation, I decided instead that this was the time to take the long awaited day trip to Lalish, the Yezidi spiritual heartland.

Meet the group of happy travellers: all first-timers to Lalish except for out driver (far right) and his friend (far left)... but funnily enough, the real guide was Dr. P, third from the left (next to me).

And this is where we stopped for a lovely brunch of half-cooked chicken kebabs and tea in the garden:

This next picture has no significant, but of all the silly pictures I took of nothing (in the excitement of finally being on my way to Lalish, I liked this one as I like the drawing of the truck. I remember arguing once in the UBC fine arts department that anything can be art if someone considers it to be so.

And this last photo is where the real excitement started to build! Finally at Lalish - the sight of the distinctive conical shapes let us know that we have arrived and this trip is not going to end in the disappointment I experienced on my last failed attempt to get here!