Three days of Highlights

The forest of Karamanlı is exactly what I was looking for: an oasis of peace, a patch of nature and not too far from the city. Today I set up camp for the next few days and will be working a lot again.

Day 1
I roll into town. According to Openstreetmap, the place is a wasteland - not even the streets are correctly mapped, not to mention the supermarkets, banks and restaurants. Perfect for me, as there's a good chance that no tourists will stray here.
I mark a few important points on the map and look for a place to work. I quickly find a café in the centre, but it doesn't look quite right - it's almost a bit too new and I'm looking for something more shabby, some small place with two or three tables or something. Well, after all there are tables with Rummicub all over the room so I stay.
The first Çay is quickly ordered and a table is placed against the wall with the power socket. Here we go!

The heavy bike in front of the door is a real eye-catcher here and I watch the prospective customers with amusement from my vantage point.
Every now and then I am greeted in a friendly manner, approached a few times and then invited for tea. At first we exchange only with a translator, then Mustafa joins me and we switch to English.

People come and go and are briefed, followed by countless rounds of Çay. I feel really involved, almost like being with friends. In the evening, I give a little guitar concert and then explain that I'm going to disappear into the forest to spend the night, which is greeted with amusement by the crowd.

Day 2
I enter the café. Hamdi, the owner, is delighted and arrives with the first cup of tea. He asks if the night in the forest was good. 😄
I work while Ali, the café owner's father, pushes his grandson around the room on his tricycle.
In the early afternoon, most of yesterday's group are back again.
The boys teach me a new version of Rummicub and one Çay follows the next (you have to know that the glasses are really small!).
In the evening, I set off again - some of them start giggling again because I'm going into the forest - and one of them warns me about the wild boars. I take the warning in my stride and reply that I usually go through the forest singing so that the animals notice me. General laughter follows. 😄
The sun has been gone for a while and I only reach the edge of the forest in the twilight. I can just see a few small ones and two fairly large shadows and hear the animals panting. 😨
I slowly hurry backwards and continue to sing - for the pigs and myself.

Day 3
Today is anything-can-happen day. It's not something I decide - it just happens - the great experiences often come all together.
Today I HAVE to do laundry. The trousers already smell a lot like a cuddled street dog and there are hardly any unworn textiles left.
So in the morning I wash the clothes by hand, hang them up in the woods and drive into town.

There, I am welcomed by Hamdi with the first Çay and get to work.
The teacher Musa comes into the café and shows me round his school. He shows me the staff room, the meeting room and introduces me to his colleagues and then - the absolute highlight - to his class. The kids are just as excited as I am and are simply beaming. It's a great feeling to stand in front of such a group of young people. If I had more language skills now... that would be great.

We are back in Hamdis Té. The clientele has changed once and new conversations arise. Mustafa comes by and we take a trip to the reservoir and skip stones.
In the distance, you can see the cut-up hilltops that now characterise this region. Marble has been mined here for a few years now. Some companies have bought the mining rights and are now cutting the precious stone from the rocks - to the detriment of agriculture and the inhabitants.

We sit back down at a table in Hamdi's establishment, the hub of activity here in Karamanlı. A new face joins the group: Mori, an energetic farmer, wants to show me his land - and off we go.
We drive along the country lanes in his old Ford Transit and he tells me about the crops he grows and shows me how his fields are irrigated. He offers me a cigarette, which I refuse as a non-smoker.
Musa explains to him in Turkish that I am also a vegetarian.
I add: "Ben eğlencenin freniyim", which means something like:
"I'm the buzzkill."
We all laugh.Read more