If there is an afterlife, then I hope it will allow me to revisit certain moments from my travels. Specifically, those moments that have stayed with me since the day I experienced them. They arrived unexpectedly and in the same way, they keep coming back to me. These moments did not happen at popular places well known on the tourist circuit. Prior to visiting Turkey, I imagined Istanbul, Anzac Cove, Troy, Ephesus, and Cappadocia would have been the places most meaningful to me. Each of those places did provide me with lasting memories, but in a way that I would never have imagined.
My memories include running beneath the Aqueduct of Valens at the break of dawn in Istanbul, tears rolling down a woman’s face at Chunuk Bair, nearly knocking myself out inside the wooden horse at Troy, insufferable heat during an outdoor lunch near Ephesus, and standing on a sidewalk one evening in Cappadocia with a South African who told me he was unable to do the same thing in his homeland. These experiences were so powerful that they remained in my memory even though I was unaware of their effect on me at the time.
Traditional service – Turkish coffee (Credit: Terna)
Essential Experiences – Memories of Remarkable Moments
There are other extraordinary travel experiences stored deep in my subconscious that surface without warning. They are a psychological thrill ride, vivid, poignant, and so real that I can reach back in time and touch them, if not with my hand, then through my heart. One of my most evocative memories came while traveling between Gallipoli and Troy. I expected both of those places to garner most of my attention. To a certain extent they did. Gallipoli because I have never been on a battlefield that did not leave me deeply moved. Troy due to the difference between its fame and the modest ruins at the site.
I took plenty of photos so I would be sure to remember the specifics of each place. Years later, this would allow me to figure out where I was and when, what I saw and what I felt was worth capturing on film. Taking photos was an essential part of my experience at Gallipoli and Troy. The same could not be said for a particularly intense moment that occurred on the journey between those two places. No image could ever come close to recreating what happened to me in Canakkale. A remarkable moment for reasons I still cannot explain and will probably never understand.
Canakkale should not have been memorable. It was a pass-through point, an urban afterthought, a place where we would spend the night far from the city center. Our tour group stayed at an anonymous hotel near a beach that no sane sunbather or swimmer would care to visit due to the litter scattered on a shingle of dirty sand. The hotel was not much better. The bellhops went for bags as though they were taking part in a jailbreak. The rooms were functional and not much more as one member of our tour group discovered. Norm, an affable Australian with a sly sense of humor, informed us upon arrival that each hotel room had a safe where we could put our valuables. He then came out into the hallway holding a safe in his hands. This was going to be a night not to remember. The hotel hardly fazed me since I was still dazzled by my recent experience in Canakkale.
Sense of direction – In the city center of Canakkale (Credit: Jorge Lascar)
Diving In – A Guest of Honor
After visiting Gallipoli, our tour group took a ferry across the Dardanelles Strait to Canakkale. The crossing proved personally momentous for me and my best friend Steve. We had never set foot in Asia until the ferry pulled into the port at Canakkale. This was an event, but at the time it did not feel like it because our day had been tiring. Though we were not that far from our hotel, we were given half an hour to stretch our legs in Canakkale. There would not be enough time to see the handful of noteworthy sights in Canakkale. Steve went wandering off on his own. I decided to see out a shot of energy in the form of Turkish coffee. This brought me to a place right off the main street that looked like it spent more time serving food rather than coffee. In America, this establishment would have been known as a dive. The furniture was cheap, the staff looked sullen and like they might ask me for a cigarette.
I had no idea what to expect from a Turkish dive, but a cup of coffee to go would do. Since I did not speak Turkish and they did not speak English we had a mutual form of miscommunication. This forced us to rely on the easiest language ever invented, pointing. Once my order was taken the staff member sprang into action. Soon I was presented with a silver tray holding a tiny spoon, sugar cubes, a glass of water and a cup of Turkish coffee. There was no such thing as to go coffee in Canakkale, at least not in this establishment. The presentation was done in such a respectful manner that I felt like a guest of honor. Serving coffee is an opportunity for the Turks to demonstrate their legendary hospitality. I decided this coffee would be to go, right down my throat.
Lifescape – Street in city center of Cannakale (Credit: Jorge Lascar)
Intoxicating Effects – An Afternoon Dream
While I was enjoying a typically strong cup of Turkish coffee, I could not help but notice a television playing. On the screen was a Turkish version of Wayne Newton singing one of the most romantic songs I have ever heard to a couple of newlyweds while family and friends surrounded them. There was pure joy in the singer’s voice. I had not seen a music man this delightful since the days of Lawrence Welk. The newlyweds looked so deep in love that they might as well have been on drugs. The effect was intoxicating. The cup of coffee that filled me with warmth, the staff that treated me with welcoming hospitality, the song, singer, and newlyweds were all part of this afternoon dream. The world felt wonderful at that moment. A vibrancy permeated the place and consumed me. If heaven has a place on earth, then I discovered it in Canakkale.
Click here for: Either/Or Proposition – Discovering Troy (Istanbul & Everything After #19)