Hello again, I am writing now from the city of Goreme in the region known as Cappadocia in central Turkey. The following is very long and I hope it is not too wordy or ponderous, these letters are both a form of journaling for me and a chance to let you know what I’m up to. You can always hit “delete”!
I guess that I am the “Caveman of Cappadocia” because my hotel room is a cave carved into a huge pillar of compacted volcanic ash known as tuff. That is the touristy thing to do here, to live in a cave room, but actually people have been carving and living in caves here for at least 4000 years. The whole region is covered by a thick layer of this volcanic rock that was deposited from the eruption of ancient volcanoes. It is very easily carved and people have carved whole cities underground including the Hittites (famous to some of us from the Age of Empires game at the SANAA Office).
I have been in Turkey now for about 9 days and have visited the southern coast at Antalya, Olympos and Oludeniz. I hung out with some Argentinos in Antalya and we saw some excellent live music featuring the Turkish Saz, which is a 7 stringed acoustic instrument (I may have to buy one). I then went to Olympos and stayed in a “Treehouse Camp”, although my room was actually on the ground. The prices here are incredibly cheap. At Olympos you can stay in a nice treehouse with breakfast and buffet dinner included for $6 a day! The valley is beautiful there with the mountains coming right down to the ocean where you find the ancient ruins of the city of Olympos.
There are “heaps” (one of their favorite words) of Aussies and Kiwis here now, probably 80-90% of the backpackers here. They are all headed to the ANZAC beach at Gallipoli for a remembrance of the huge losses of their soldiers at the battle of Gallipoli in 1915. Roughly 250,000 people lost their lives in that battle. ANZAC day is the 25th.
I am hanging out in Goreme now, exploring the ruins in the day and I have been jamming with some local musicians at a bar at night. One guy plays the Saz, the other guy drums and sings and I join in on guitar. I have also played guitar at the “Flintstones Cave Bar”. I would have to say that Turkish culture is my favorite so far, the food here is cheap and excellent (you can fill up for less than a dollar) and the countryside is beautiful. At Antalya you can sit in warmth on the shores of the Mediterranean while gazing up at snowcapped mountains in the interior.
Turkey owes a great debt to its national hero Mustafa Kemal, known as Ataturk (father Turk). He is the father of Turkey and was the leader in the 20s and 30s. He instituted widespread reforms, which have dramatically affected the country. Turkey is an overwhelmingly muslim country but it has a very different feel because in addition to booting out the sultan, he dramatically reduced the influence of the Muslim leaders. He had a mission to modernize and secularize the country. He instituted many reforms including giving women the vote, and changing the alphabet from arabic to a roman alphabet. He went as far as to ban wearing of the fez (a tradition in Ottoman times) and he banned women from wearing the veil in public schools and offices.
A good example of the difference between this country and other muslim countries is in regards to live music. In the other muslim countries I have been to, I have not had the opportunity to hear live music. One reason is that alcohol is generally banned and there are not really any places you would typically find live music. Another is the prayer call. When I was playing music in Jordan and the call to prayer went off I was told to stop playing as it is considered disrespectful to play music during the call to prayer. Now these mosques don’t have any problem waking me up at 4:00 in the morning, but they expect all music to stop while they’re wailing away?
I am at a point in my trip now where I can make some cross cultural observations (according to my DOS I am experienced at that!).
East Africa (and probably most of Africa) is still essentially composed of tribal societies. Primary allegiance is to the tribe and not the nation. These tribal groups had modern civilization thrust upon them during the process of colonization and are still not able to cope with the modern world. My view is that because they did not create any of the technology or governmental institutions in their country, they are unable to maintain them. The infrastructure in their countries is literally crumbling and in a sense they are regressing instead of progressing in our view of progress. They have no real leaders at the national level. Daniel Arap Moi is essentially the “tribal chief” of Kenya and has done little to help the country during his reign. He is little more than a power hungry egomaniac. His picture is on all the money and it is a requirement to hang his picture in every place of business. While there are rich tribal cultures, the Maasai for example, the nation on the whole doesn’t have any real culture. You don’t walk the streets of Nairobi looking for culture, you just want to get off the street.
The Arab countries have a very strong culture now and in the past and have excelled in arts and sciences, architecture, music, cuisine among others They kept Greek and Roman math and science alive while Europe was in the Dark Ages. The main difference between Turkey and the Arab countries is in the pervasive and dominating influence of Islam at every level. Islam is among the most insecure of religions. Many Muslims feel a need to create a fundamentalist society based on the Koran. This includes relegating women to the level of second-class citizens, and in some cases (like with the Taliban) this essentially turns women into domesticated animals. This form of religion actually tries to create a feeling of security by feeding on insecurity, creating more insecurity.
Living in Jerusalem gave me a good chance to do some comparative religious observations. While it is inspiring to see so many people coming on pilgrimages and aspiring to higher ideals, it is also a chance to see the ugly side of man and religion. Jerusalem is an ancient theater of life, death, worship, persecution, siege, creation, destruction, desecration, inspiration and everything in between. It is one of the most interesting places on Earth. The epicenter of it all is at the Temple Mount. Unfortunately I was not able to visit the Dome of the Rock or the Al Aqsa Mosque due to the current Intifada, but it was fascinating to sit at the Wailing Wall. There is so much importance placed on this heap of old limestone blocks called the Temple Mount to Judaism and Islam, but why?
My view is that they are all suffering from what a Buddhist would call attachment. They have lost the essence of their religion by placing too much importance in blocks of limestone. By looking for God or spirituality in a block of limestone they have lost it. They are ready to kill others so that they can have access to these relics. There is so much worship of relics in Jerusalem it is fascinating and inspiring but also ridiculous. God or spirit is no more found in a block of limestone or a wooden cross or a shroud or a holy grail or a temple than anywhere else. Does it really matter where so and so was allegedly born or died or did this or that? Religion or spirituality should be based upon you and your connection with your God or higher power, your personal moral code and how you treat your fellow human beings. Human religion does an excellent job of helping us forget that and teaching us how to control, hate and kill each other.
In Eastern philosophy the impermanence and changing nature of reality is embraced. By accepting that “all things must pass” the suffering of attachment is eased. But at the same time there is belief in the eternal nature of the universe and interconnectedness of all things.
If I haven’t lost you all by this point, this can perhaps be tied together with a brief discussion of Physics. According to the theory of relativity, matter is just a form of energy, you know E=mc^2. Basically you, the computer, the desk, everything around you are all just forms of energy. We also know from the laws of Thermodynamics that energy cannot be created or destroyed, just transformed from one state to another. So everything is eternal and everything is connected. We are all one. The problem arises when people try to think in strictly western linear terms and divide the world up into Us vs. Them and find reasons to hate and kill each other. People postulate absolutes and kill to defend them. The divide people up into men and women, black and white, this religion and that, this party and that, ad nauseam. Of course it is necessary to make certain distinctions and strive for certain principles, but without losing sight of the interconnectedness of it all.
To further demonstrate this interconnectedness we turn to Quantum Mechanics, basically the study of sub-atomic particles, and because all matter is composed of them, the study of the essence of everything. The search for the basic building block of matter led to unexpected results. It was discovered that sub-atomic particles could be represented both as waves and particles, and ultimately just different forms of energy. So at the most basic level there are no absolutes, just different forms of energy.
How does this relate to religion and spirituality? Well at the most basic level one can think about his or her state of energy. What kind of energy state are you at and what kind of energy are you giving off to others. You can share your energy with others or with your God or you can work to create positive energy in the world. Just as Taoists are in tune with the forces of nature it is important to stay connected with the Earth and reflect on how we are sustained by it. It is important to live in balance with nature and recognize that we are all a part of it and all one.
I hope that this has not been interesting and not too ponderous. It reflects some of my latest insights. If you respond to this e-mail please do not send a copy of this with it. I meet up with Gen in 4 days and I am quite excited about having a new travel partner. I will continue to keep you updated about my adventures.
Eric