Exploring Bodrum center

I had thought of going to nearby Gumbet to try out the beaches there, but I ended up spending the whole day right here in Bodrum which I don’t regret.  I tried out my Turkish this morning after Dogan’s lesson in the grocery store last night…I said “Gunaydin” this morning to the father of the young couple who runs the hotel.  He and his wife help out, serving the breakfast and cleaning up afterward. At any rate, he smiled and recognized what I wanted to say, correcting me on the stress, which I misplaced on the last syllable when it belongs on the “ay.”  Tomorrow morning I will get it right!

I stopped on my way to the main shopping street to buy a fresh-squeezed orange juice, and got into a conversation with the man pressing the oranges.  Everyone asks, “Where are you from?” which leads to questions about what I do there, whether this is my first visit to Turkey, etc.  Many people seem to want to practice English.  The orange juice seller told me that there are many English-speaking foreigners who have retired to the Bodrum peninsula.  He didn’t know the word for “retired” but did what I always tell my students to do…he explained it using simpler words he already knew, and I understood his meaning perfectly. 

Later in the afternoon, I entered a shop to look at (and buy…J) some beautiful ikat and embroidered pillow covers from Uzbekistan.  The shopkeeper started chatting…he knows Ann Arbor, Michigan since he studied at the University of Michigan and told me that he loves the U.S. and considers it his second home.  His left arm was badly scraped up, and several fingers were bandaged the result  of  a scooter accident  last week.  Moments later, an elderly man came in to whom I was then introduced….he is from Battle Creek, Michigan! (Battle Creek is the home of Kellogg’s corn flakes, and just 25 minutes from my hometown of Kalamazoo.) He introduced himself as Warren, age 85, who has lived in Turkey for more than 50 years!  He is a medical doctor, and was there to bring some medicine and advice to our aforementioned injured shopkeeper.  After so many years in Turkey, Warren sounded as American as ever, though he chatted in fluent Turkish as he drank a tea to my coffee. 

I was also thrilled to meet a lovely young woman sculptor with a little table set up down by the harbor, displaying some fantastic little sculptures she had carved in serpentine and alabaster.  Her work was so beautiful that I was immediately enchanted.  Elif Yildirim is a third generation sculptor who learned her art from her father, who in turn was trained by his father, Elif’s grandfather.  I was drawn to a beautiful carving in alabaster of a woman lying down with legs folded and arms extended, her long hair swirling in front of her face, with the white alabaster showing a light brown patch just where Elif carved her hair.  The carving is masterful, exquisite!  It is a little gem!  The second sculpture I chose is of Poseidon, a small head in a primitive style, carved in grey serpentine, with a fish protruding from the back of his head….I have trouble to describe it, and would photograph it to share here, but Elif wrapped and taped both pieces for me to transport. She pulled out a metal file and swiftly inscribed the name ‘Poseidon’ on the back of the head’s base. Elif then showed me a battered copy of a Turkish magazine called Focus dated 2004 which featured a 4-5 page article with many photos of her family’s work, and included  photos of her, her father and grandfather all at work in their outdoor studios. 

I ended the day on the roof of my hotel which has a fantastic view of the harbor, Bodrum castle, and a panorama of the whole town.  I swam alone in the rooftop pool, then relaxed on a lounge.  I had the whole place to myself!  That is one of the pleasures of waiting to take my summer vacation in late September…..