tea and ruin

...in Fethiye.

mediterranean flowers

In the blistering, Mediterranean sun, these ladies were shucking and drying corn for chicken feed.
I love the combination of floral patterns in their clothing— when I think of traditionally-dressed Nepali women, I remember their wild, adventurous exploration of colour. Turkish villagers may not wear flowing scarves of cerulean and magenta, but they do have an appreciation for everything floral. I have noticed a shift in my wardrobe since moving overseas— there are flowers growing in my closet, and I find myself more often in chartreuse, electric pink and turquoise.

The cheerfulness with which these ladies were working was inspiring.
The warmth with which they greeted me was beautiful.

abandoned

In 1923 the Turkish and Greek governments agreed to a mutual population exchange— Christian Turks of Greek origin living in Turkey were forced to relocate to Greece, and Muslim Greeks of Turkish descent were expelled to Turkey. Families and communities were divided as people were driven out of their homes by their governments to countries they had no ties or connections to, other than ancestry and a common religion. Languages had to be learned, and lives dismantled, had to be reconstructed.

Kayaköy, a village about eight kilometres south of Fethiye, crumbles into the soil; the ruins of a Greek community forced to abandon their homes for a foreign land. Hundreds of stone houses and two churches haunt the hillside, remnants of a massive trauma. Most of the houses remained uninhabited once their owners left— Muslim Turkish neighbours would not move into the empty homes, and an earthquake in 1957 damaged many of the structures.



I am deeply touched by the evidence of human hands, the evidence of lives lived and uprooted. The blue paint on so many interiors, the smooth stones arranged in patterns, the blackened wall from where a stove once provided warmth. It aches to imagine their suffering.

still

on the farm

I just returned from four days on an organic farm in Fethiye, acting the chaperone to 45 twelve year-olds. It was great fun, and such a beautiful place. Just before evening, the valley turned golden, deepening the intensity of the red earth. Pomegranate trees, chillies curling in the sun, wailing roosters and Mediterranean warmth— it was lovely. The kids seemed to have a good time, gathering algae in a nearby river, weeding an orchard, and shucking corn. Silly little creatures who make me smile.

inexplicable things