Aegean Pearls: My Life in Izmir

Today i hiked out to Homer's Caves (I'll have a different post on that adventure. But as i walked out I'd the town of Eğridere, İ saw these signs and thought to pass them on to my readers.  Hoşgeldiniz (hawsh-gel-dee-neez) is the way to say, "Welcome." And since Turkish feels like it's arranged backwards to my native language, the sign translates to "welcome to Eğridere  (That smile over the g is unique to Turkish. The g is silent, but it turns the vowel before it into a long vowel EE-rih-der-eh instead of EH-rih-der-eh.) On the other side of the sign, for those leaving town, are the words, "Güle güle." İ love saying this, but i have yet to have a Turk take me seriously when i use it. İt means "bye bye," and anyone who uses it above the age of seven sounds immature.

This poem is about longing. The poet, Nizet Hizam (1902-1963), was an outspoken communist and often found himself in conflict with the authorities--often in prison for his political activities. He spent more than half his life either in prison or in exile. Living alone in Turkey hasn't been too hard. I read all I want. I write. I know that there will always be a longing for home, whether I'm 60 or 6,000 miles away. The cool thing about love, is that it knows no distance, and I can feel just as cared for by loved ones here as anywhere. One final note: as I was leaving and reducing the number of things to pack, I found dozens of "unfinished songs," which I scanned and saved to my Google Drive for later (image above: Turkish man with a saz, source: Fethiye Times ) If I have the experience here that I hope, I will return with many more. I,  in the darkness of my last morning,  will envision my friends and you,  and alone  take with me the grief  of an unfinished son...

This one's pretty easy. The hexagonal red sign is a universal symbol (although the EU usually has a T with a white stem and a red top, I have also seen hexagonal signs there. The sign across the road, "KIRALIK," means 'for rent.' There are a lot of these signs here in Gaziemir, a boom town near Izmir's airport that has a lot of newer buildings. With Turkey's economy in a real downturn, there will continue to be vacancies in malls and shopping centers for the foreseeable future.

I passed this place on my way home from the train station today. I pass it every day.  It's quite common to see owners here playing with a Köpek. It's not the only place I see a Köpek or two. Most are strays I see lying languidly throughout the day. In the evening they clean up the streets and make their rounds of alleyways. My landlord says they keep him up at night, but I haven't heard any barking...yet. Köpek . Your newest Turkish word! Postscript: i spotted this sign on my hike Saturday. I took several shortcuts, but never when I saw this sign.  Var  means "have or has" in English.