Another trip out was to Konya which is 260 miles inland from Finike with Colin and Maggie.  We put this trip off a number of times as it has a lot of snow and is cold.  On the journey there, which was going over the mountains, there was still lots of snow about but the roads were clear and on arrival in Konya it was warm and sunny, enough for shorts and t-shirts. 

Konya is the home of the Whirling Dervishes, a Mevlevi Order formed in 1312 by the followers of Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (or Mevlânâ).  Rumi was born in Afghanistan in 1207 and moved to Konya in 1228 where he lived until his death in 1273.  A museum and Rumi’s resting place is in Konya and his shrine is a place of pilgrimage. 

The order holds a ceremony each week which, yes, you’ve guessed correctly, involves whirling around.  There are approx. 25 men ranging in age from eight to 85 together with musicians.  When whirling (or turning) their arms are open.  The right hand held up to the sky, representing his readiness to receive God’s beneficence.  The left hand is turning towards the earth, representing his willingness to convey God’s spiritual gift to those witnessing the Sema.  They whirled for long periods of time, you’d think they’d get dizzy but apparently they don’t.  There are various reasons why not, one being they turn rather than whirl.  It is quite mesmerising to watch.

Konya is dry, dry you say, you delayed going cos of snow! Not that kind of dry, no I mean completely dry of any alcohol, not a drop, not even in a supermarket.  Finike, Cuffysark’s home port, only has a couple of places that serve drinks, but all the supermarkets sell it.  We found when we visited Istanbul two years ago many restaurants and bars only served soft drinks.  We were pre-warned so we took our own and enjoyed a glass or two in our rooms. 

It wouldn’t be long before we would be leaving Finike to start the sailing season.  So, lots of jobs to do.  There seems to be continuous maintenance on boats.  We upgraded our solar panels this year which are slightly bigger in size than the previous ones but the output has gone from 380 watts to 680 watts, which for us is massive.  This may not mean much to land lubbers but to put it in perspective it means I can use my hairdryer, yippee!!!

This is the view from a hilltop on a walk, I was told a walk but it was a hike. I should have known better, when Sarah and David say walk, their walk and my walk and most others people’s definition of a walk is not the same. I ached for days after this but it was a good view at least.

June 2022