I have just returned from an amazing two weeks in Turkey. It is a beautiful country with modern , dynamic cities, crystal clear water with the gentle waves of the Mediterranean Sea lapping the kilometres of beautiful beaches. The highlight of my time there was a tour through Cappadocia. The landscape was a bizarre mixture of strange rocky outcrops , endless plains ,the distant volcanoes and of course the majestic Taurus moutains forming a backdrop. We travelled to remote villages where folk lived simply and it seemed to me contentedly. The polite and friendly Turkish folk, many relying on selling their wares were a joy to encounter. A simple 'no' sufficed when an over-zealous sales person followed us through the markets of which there were many. We were able to watch the intricate and delicate work of the women weaving extremely difficult patterns into the silk oriental carpets. Their dexterity lasts only until they are about thirty years of age when their eyesight and hand co-ordination becomes less than perfect. Here are the sketches I managed to do. I would have loved to have spent more time with my sketch book but our schedule did not allow that indulgence.
This was our very careful and experienced bus driver.
The lovely colours of the steppes with the Taurus Mountains the the background.
We spent an evening in a type of Monastery where we watched the Dervish dancing. The spin around for over fifteen minutes always in the same direction , wonderfully elegant and seemingly in a trance.
No comments:
Post a Comment