Hospitality

I have not yet reached my stage for the day and am stopped on the road. I don't miss the invitation to meet Ali and his family and I'm already standing in front of the house and enter.

Everything about the flat is exciting - after all, it's not every day that I get a glimpse into their private lives. As is usual in mosques, the entire floor is carpeted and shoes are left outside the door. The furnishings are sparse, in contrast to the usual European houses and flats, which seem overcrowded to me. Everything is very functional and it seems as if the practicality of things is decisive.
The farmhouse dates back to an earlier time, as you can see from the small window frames.

There is no furniture in the hallway - in contrast, in German hallways there is always a place for the landline telephone. Rural areas seem to have skipped this technological step and gone straight into the mobile phone age.
There is exactly one socket in the wall in the corridor and as I will be using the translator many times today, I leave it charging. It's at chest height and the mobile phone cable doesn't quite reach the floor, so we leave it dangling and go into the kitchen.

It has a square floor plan, an estimated 16 square metres, and I immediately notice the fire pit, which is actually in use. Next to it I discover a bag of animal dung to light the fire. In the corner are old paint buckets that now have all sorts of other contents. There is a small kitchenette with a washing machine and a sink.
A few pictures of family members and ancestors hang on the walls and there is also a picture of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - fitting, as he is regarded as the father of modern Turkey.

We sit on the floor with a large tray of bread, butter, cheese, eggs and vegetables in the centre and enjoy our meal.

Then we take Ali's electric cargo trike to his garden. He shows me all the fruits growing there and teaches me their names. We record a few videos for his social media channel.
I'm encouraged to eat all the fruit. Everything tastes sour to bitter 😂 (especially the green almonds, of which I have only ever tasted the core in its final form).

In the evening, I spend time with his father, who watches a bit of telly with me. Wow. I don't understand the language, but pictures are worth a thousand words. In Germany, some things are not shown in too much detail for good reasons, but for this news channel there's no stopping a motorbike accident being shown. The video is too short, the narrator hasn't finished yet. So it is shown again. Then again in slow motion.
In case anyone missed it, the accident is shown again, enlarged and with a huge arrow so that nobody misses the impact. 😐

Then the family arrives and we sit together on the floor in the large living room and eat. A large dining cloth is spread out again and there are lots of small bowls of goodies, bread and soup, vegetables and the familiar green almonds, which taste much better with a little salt.
We have a great evening (especially with Cemi, the local imam, who could also pass for a comedian with his witty manner). 🤭

I feel like part of the family - and as I lie in bed in the guest room, my eyes quickly fall shut after this eventful day.Read more