You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life – Mevlana Rumi
Berkan, 18 jears old, walks with a 2 kilo loudspeakers playing music while he is herding his little flock of goats and sheep. He wants to have a selfie with me for instagram. His card, he choose himself randomly, he stows in in his phone-jacket after I made the picture. Of course we connected on instagram, then he had to run, his flock was already out of sight.
Not the ones speaking the same language, but the ones sharing the same feelings understand eachother – Mevlana Rumi
Nurtan, is visiting her son Ali, who is herding with his son sheep at 1800 meters. She came together with her husband and her grandchild Mehmet from Bruxelles. And two others. She is a bit overdressed for this muddy area, but it doesn’t matter to her. She steps back in the old routine and is glad to gather fresh herbs on the yayla, even with her nice shoes are getting wet. At first Ali invited me for tea, but she took over, picked a gas stove out of the car and started to cook water en serve food. A picknick was created instantly. The atmosphere was cosy and everyone was enjoying this family-reunion. That I was walking to Konya was not so important to her. She was willing to pick a card and making a photo. For her picking herbs, and seeing her family on the yayla was making the day.
Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation – Mevlana Rumi
Orhan is visiting the Sheik Hacı Tomb and does this with full devotion. When we are outside he invites me to come and eat something with them. He is visiting his family that is also related to one of the men laying in the tomb. He is here with his wife and son. They live in Bruxelles but their French and Dutch is limited. At he home of their family chickpeas with little pieces of lamb are served. Also bread and yoghurt and green leaf salad which we eat with our hands out of the bowl. He randomly picks his card, after he read it he tells me his father was a Sufi, and showing an old photo of him to me. After making the photo he stows his card away in his wallet. But then he decides he wants my name on it, and the date too, so I had to add that.
The quieter you become the more you are able to hear – Mevlana Rumi
Aysel is caretaker at the dervish complex at Aslanbeyli. She is living in the village, and gives all visitors tea with sweets, carefully presented on tray. After she choose her card and read it, she decided that she wanted on the photo with Ataturk in her office.
Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the worlds – Mevlana Rumi
Osman, is born in Belgium and came three years ago to Turkey. Trying to make a living here he bought a flock of sheep and hired a shepherd. He is now on the yayla (summerfarm in the mountain) at 1700 meters high checking how his herd is going. But having a herd of sheep is a hard to make a living. The food is expensive, the market is dominated by 3 handlers in Istanbul, the make price. The only pay you when they have some money. So you have to wait for he festival of sacrifice. Prices of everything are insecure: what yesterday costed 10 TL is today 15 TL. It is hard and certainly not as easy as they presented it to him. He choose blind out of the set. When he reads his card, he smiles and says … as a light in the darkness.
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen – Mevlana Rumi
Hidayet Kalkmaz was collecting wood with his son in the fields with their pickup-lorry. We greeted and we both continued. Me walking, they by car. Later in the village Başarait tuned out that I was dumping my trash in a bin in front of his house. He invited me in the courtyard to have a coffee. Which he presented on a tray and in a nice cup with a saucer. The coffee brewed in a pan. He served me 3 cups before the pan was empty. Along the coffee he showed me a pin he got from some Australian cyclist. They stayed at his place. I gave him the card which was on top of the stack. He was not really sure what it has to do with him. When I insisted he should keep it. He placed it in his wallet. I presume to show to the next passer-by.
Many people I met were curious where I, on foot and by myself, was heading and why. For someone to walk from Istanbul to Konya is surprising and admiring. I tell them about my pilgrimage to Rumi’s tomb and as the conversation developed I reached out to them a handful of cards with quotes by Rumi – in both English and Turkish – and asked them to choose one. They were allowed to keep the chosen quote. Afterwards, I took a portrait photo with their card. With this photo I described the how and what of our encounter. I published it on Instagram. It allowed the portrayed people to see themselves, as well as each other.
Sufitrail and Rumi
The Sufitrail is an 800-kilometer pilgrimage route in Turkey. The route was developped by Sedat Çakir and Iris Bezuijen. The route starts in in Istanbul and follows ancient pilgrim routes to Mecca and Jerusalem, and also touches the Silk Road. Along the way, pilgrims pass many tombs of Sufi saints. The route ends in Konya at the tomb of Rumi.
Rumi is a mystic and poet from the 13th century. In his time, he was the leader of the Sufi movement in Konya and founded the order of dancing dervishes. His poetry contains many philosophical texts and is widely quoted. All the Turks I meet do know him and call him: Mevlana “our master.”
How a walk can connect people
I was looking for a way to document this walk and at the same time for a way to share my walk with the people along the route. A pilgrimage often appears to be about the spiritual path of the pilgrim and less about the encounter with the other or the land walked. That is what it was all about for me. The quotes I bring build a bridge between me and the people I meet. The quotes are carefully selected by me and by sharing them I take people along in the pilgrimage. Rumi is also familiar to many; often a beloved wise master. With our shared interest in Rumi, we already have something in common right away, which leads to conversation and connection. The texts bring a depth to the meeting.
Many want to give me something along the way, a glas of tea in the tea house, a few apples, sometimes I don’t have to pay in the store, or I am offered a meal. Or a bottle of soda is handed to me from the tractor or over a hedge. It was nice to be able to give something also: so, in my case, the texts of Rumi, which were usually also received in gratitude. The encounter thus became mutual
Spiritual experience
Sufism is a movement with room for many kinds of believers. At the start of my journey, I was neither a Sufi nor looking for a spiritual guidance. But being on the road with the texts of Rumi brought me closer to his thought. His texts also brought me closer to the people I encountered along the way. Thus, Rumi here became a connecting force that enriched the encounter and left a positive feeling.
Giving and meeting
It is not about me or my walk, my achievement, but it is all about the encounter, the interest in each other and what we as people can share with each other even across cultural differences. It is about the Turks, who like to receive you as a guest and make you feel welcome. Who experience hospitality as enrichment, and an opportunity to meet another. An opportunity to show hospitallity Giving, because giving is beautiful.
The quotes immediately take the meeting to another level. Because the recipient chooses their card – this card seems to be predestined for them. Rumi’s texts help with that; they are thoughtful and have universal value. Most recipients store kun card thoughtfully, to preserve it. Also, the quote often seems to fit well with the person’s story or what happened in the encounter.
Sharing on instagram also allowed the people I portrayed to look back. Or conversely experience my continued journey and also meet other people virtually. Thus a string of experiences emerged. I posted the messages with some delay and, as a result, people sometimes sat impatiently waiting to see when their portrait would appear, already reading the other stories. Engagement grew unplanned as a result.
Because I approach people with an open mind and with modesty, while meeting and sharing quotes, an actual contact is created. Although brief, it is not volatile. Both parties are interested in each other’s path. That human warmth is captured in the photographs and texts, showing the goodness of humanity. And is confirmed that life can also be beautiful, when people speak or act from their hearts; a hopeful project.