The boat crossing
We knew we were supposed to get on a fishing boat to take us across the lake. We got down to the village, but were not sure which house we were suppose to go to. In front of a house near the trailhead we saw a sign with a big fish on it. By this time a man had come down to us from the house and after “talking” with him we figured we were at the right place. They offered us lunch and a place to sit while we waited.
The family did not speak English, and we did not speak Turkish, but found ways to communicate. We had a little Turkish phrase book that we tried to use. It helped some. The daughter played some music after lunch, so Jeff and I got out our MP3 player and did a little swing dance for them. They seemed to like it (smiled and laughed). We showed them our postcards of Arkansas. One of the postcards had a picture of our flag and Razorback. They laughed when they saw the Razorback and told us that there are wild pigs that eat goats in the mountains where we camped. The family was very hospitable and eager to please.
A German man named Helmut (who could speak English well) found out we were in town and called the family (they had a cell phone) and spoke with Jeff. Then Helmut came to the house and visited with us. We were able to learn some about the family and Turkish culture. Helmut reported that the family was poor. He said they were preparing to have their son “snipped,” as Helmut put it. This would be a big festival that would cost the family two year’s income. Helmet also talked to us about his dislike for American laws (speed limits, gun control, the death penalty, etc.). We also found out that Muslim names usually mean something and that Angela’s name means Angel, in Turkish translated to Melek. So Angela was then called Melek. Jeff had purchased two little angel coins in Arkansas to hand out and this seemed to be the perfect place. So we gave one of the coins to the wife, who seemed thrilled. She kept saying Melek and acted like she was going to hang it around her neck. We ended up staying at the house a lot longer than we had anticipated, 5 hours visiting with everyone, waiting on the boat.