In 1993 at 50 years old she went on her first trip abroad......to Turkey. She loved it so much that the following year she went back to stay for much longer. She ended up working in a restaurant kitchen. A while later the head chef invited her to visit his family and they travelled by bus for several hours up into the hills where she discovered a village that had had no outside influence, the women still dressed in their national costume. She was fascinated by the history and traditions and she and the chef decided to buy an old farmhouse.
All these years later they are still together, she is 76 and still full of energy. In the summer they live in Suffolk, giving talks, wearing the traditional costume, about all aspects of life in the Turkish village and in October each year they return to their farmhouse and immerse themselves back into Turkish life.
She said that they had given over 1,000 talks, but the one she had come to give this time was all about the total eclipse of the sun in 1999.
In early 1999 she was on her own in this country visiting family in Ipswich and bought a copy of The Big Issue which happened to have a feature about the part of Turkey which would have the best view of the total eclipse. After mentioning this to a friend, the friend promptly bought tickets and arranged for them all to travel together from Jenny and Mustapha's home, all the way across Turkey to view the eclipse.
To cut a long story short, cloud cover....unheard of in Turkey in August....... spoiled the view for the dozens of TV companies from all round the world who had gathered. But with a bit of luck they managed to talk to a weather station who told them another place, 3 hours drive away that would have a good view. The area was so remote that the villagers there knew nothing about the eclipse so Jenny and her companions and the villagers who followed them up the hill were the only people to get a good view.
She brings crafts from the village - scarves, pashminas, dolls and jewellery to sell after the talk,the money all goes back to the people who use it to fund university education for their children.
An amazing lady with an amazing story.
Many thanks for comments about the little wood carving mushroom thingy. I'll do the mantel-piece for autumn sometime in the next week or two, and will take a photo.
Back Tomorrow
Sue
She sounds interesting. A sort of love story too I imagine.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating story,we need more of them around at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been absolutely fascinating.
ReplyDeletexx
That does sound like one talk I would go to.
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting talk.
ReplyDeleteI am going to a coffee morning today something I have not been to since I moved, the talk is about Diabetes which should be interesting as I have a brother and sister with the illness.
The sun is shining this morning so the washing is on.
Have a nice day everyone.
Hazel c uk
What an interesting life - like a complete contrast to the man who had never even left the village he was born in, in all his lifetime!
ReplyDeleteTürkiye'den size selamlar <3 Yazınızdan çok etkilendim. Çok güzel hisler bunlar. <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
ReplyDeleteI put this into a translator search and it says
Delete"Greetings from Turkey <3 I was very impressed with your article. That's a good feeling."
Might be spam, who knows!
That sounds really interesting, something that I would sit and listen to.
ReplyDeleteWhat an adventurous woman. The talk sounds like it would be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Sounds fascinating. About thirty years ago my first husband and I went on holiday to Turkey in Asis and walked in the foothills of the
ReplyDeleteTaurus mountains. In one of them the women were making the most beautiful rugs and we bought one. I carried it home folded in my rucksack. It is here at my feet as I write this.
Sorry about the spelling mistake Sue - obviously I mean Turkey in ASIA
ReplyDeleteA good speaker has a price above rubies these days. Around here if you belong to several groups you will get the same speaker many times over the winter. I gave my talk on the Faroe Islands eleven times in three months!
ReplyDeleteSounds a fascinating talk, she seems like an inspiring lady.
ReplyDeleteSue, your posts about the WI piqued my interest in this organization. I watched Home Fires on Acorn TV and was so intrigued that I bought a used copy of Jambusters from a UK seller. Jambusters is a comprehensive history of the WI with special emphasis on WW2. It was used as background info for Home Fires. Thank you for introducing this American Anglophile to a wonderful organization.
ReplyDeleteYou tell a lovely story. I just found your blog and look forward to reading more of your experiences and observations
ReplyDelete