As a jail chaplain, I enjoy reading of the hospitality of the Biblical patriarch Abraham, because its lessons for me apply to my ministry of serving incarcerated women. Now, after Greg, my husband, and I traveled to Turkey with Pacifica this past July, I’ve been given a poignant view of this rare hospitality by being a recipient of it — and having the opportunity to see our wonderful hosts from Nigde here in San Jose.
When we were in Nidge, one of the largest cities in Anatolya but one rarely visited by American tourists, we went to Celal’s lovely home, where we were treated like kings and queens.
Two American groups were traveling similar itineraries, and we met in Nigde and were treated to a spectacular dinner — followed by an unforgettable evening of entertainment. It began when the children danced to at least three songs with costumes– an American tune done by a young lady in cowboy hat and western clothing, an Indian dancer and finally Turkish folk dances. Our hosts then chose two couples for a wedding!
Our group’s chosen couple was Cynthia and Bill Mathews of Santa Cruz. They put on traditional Turkish wedding attire complete with a red veil for Cynthia and we guests were given red henna tattoos on our hands. We then joined our hands and lifted them to form an arch under which the couple entered the room to Turkish music. There was much dancing, eating and rejoicing in that room as our friendships were wedded. We also were treated to a demonstration of a type of oil painting done in water. (You have to see it to believe it!) We each left with beautiful gifts including framed examples from the artist who gave the demonstration. The evening ended with fireworks in the front yard! What a dramatic evening it was. It was even more dramatic to hear that our hosts have done this many times and yet it seemed to us that we were the first to experience their hospitality.
Greg and I, and our travel brother Amritjit, and our guide Salih, were brought back to Ali and Necla’s home where we spent time getting to know one another (thanks to our friend Salih for translating) till 1 am. It was a windy night and Ali and Necla had some difficulties with things sailing away in the wind, as they were also preparing their patio for having both the American groups, guides and host families gather again for breakfast the next morning. Ali’s water pump quit and he had to spend some time getting it working again in the dark. Then he spent the rest of the night printing a collection of pictures with space beneath each for us to write comments. He saves these and has created a guest book of all the people who have stayed with him. So while we were pleasantly sleeping, our hosts were working away all night. Necla and her daughter were up very very early preparing the food for the breakfast.So you can see why we were excited to see our hosts again. This type of hospitality is a rare thing in the west. We have much to learn from our Turkish friends about hospitality. Many thanks to Pacifica for their hospitality as well and for the opportunity to meet such gracious and generous people as we did in Nigde – twice.