| Turkey
- The Day of the Attacks |
| Good Sign
for the Future |
| by Leanne Currie-McGhee |
| I learned
the true meaning of "Turkish hospitality" during the aftermath of the tragic
terrorist attack on the United States. My husband Keith and I discovered
how kind and compassionate the Turkish people are when we visited the city
Konya, located in the central Anatolia region. Konya is a devoutly Muslim
city in Turkey.
We first heard
about the tragedy when we were in Pamukkale, a small town near the west
coast. We spent our days in Pamukkale watching the news in shock, along
with other tourists and Turkish locals. Although we were terribly saddened,
Keith and I finally decided the best thing to do was continue with our
scheduled travels with Konya as the next stop. |
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| On our first
morning in Konya, the somber sounding Islamic prayer call woke us up. I
looked outside our hotel, to the top of hill and saw Alaettin Camii, a
grand mosque. After listening to the prayers, Keith and I left the hotel
and started to walk to the east side of Konya. The road was lined with
several carpet, handicraft, and Turkish candy shops, and their owners were
ready and waiting outside. My first thought was the shop owners would immediately
approach us in attempt to persuade us to buy their wares. I was wrong.
A shopkeeper,
an older man, came up and asked us where we were from. We told him "America."
He then shook his head and said, "I am very sorry for what happened.
That is a tragedy." Then he somberly walked back into his shop.
We continued
our walk. We went into a bus ticket office and inquired about bus tickets
to Istanbul. We decided not to buy the tickets and began to walk out the
door.
The man working
there stopped us and I thought he was going to try to persuade us to buy
the tickets. Instead, he said, "I do not have the English words to express
how I feel about what happened in your country". |
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| We asked another
man for directions. After explaining to us how to find the Information
Office, he told us that whoever committed the terrorism in America was
evil. He then told us that if we needed any help of any kind while in Turkey,
to come find him.
During the
day, we visited the Mevlani Museum, former lodge of the Whirling Dervishes.
As I explored the museum and its intriguing sights I noticed teenage girls,
dressed in school uniforms, following me. After I exited the museum I sat
in the courtyard to relax. The girls came out of the building and saw me
sitting there. After much whispering to each other they decided to approach.
One of the
girls smiled at me and asked, "Are you English?" I told her "No,
I am American." She looked at her friends and another of the girls spoke,
"We are so sorry for what happened there. It is terrible". |
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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| The three
nodded and had the most sincere looks on their faces. I thanked them
for their thoughts and felt a surge of faith in the next generation.
Keith and I
then approached Selimiye Camii, an Ottoman style mosque. We were unsure
if we could enter when a man approached us and told us we could peek inside.
We took off our shoes and I covered my head with a scarf. When we entered
the mosque I was immediately taken in by both its simplicity and grace.
The inside was basically a large room devoid of furniture. On the ground
was a red carpet divided into squares - each square for a person to kneel
on as they prayed facing Mecca. Although it was not yet prayer time, there
were people already in the mosque praying. As I prayed my own prayer, they
prayed their Islamic prayers. I felt we were praying for the same thing
- peace.
As we watch
the news, Keith and I see the goodness in Americans as they help and support
one another through this crisis. In our past year of travels through Asia,
Africa, Australia, and now in Turkey, we have experienced the goodness
of people throughout the world. This gives me great hope for the world's
future. |
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