MALATYA TO THE DIG
The moon out my window in MALATYA – Orfi got me into Aslantepe Dig, introduced me to the minister of Malatya Kultur & Turizm, drove me all over hell, sold me a kilim for a song and held the flashlight while I drew in the ruins – Today we stopped the bus for a pee by a stream out in the middle of chill, absolute and beautiful silence. Out of time, just the breeze blowing through centuries of quiet. A profound moment: blessed island in a sea of pounding wailing Turkish pop music –
Apricots rule – The Italians dig on at ASLANTEPE HÜGE – They’ve been at it 22 years – 5000-5500-year-old Hittite settlement in MALATYA Papaya Ide – Fragrance of peace – 5 kitties at Aslantepe – 1 stone fountain lion (lapis eyes) 2 bronze Hittite copies & 2 furry volunteers up in the apricot leaves- Hittite clock—> when the sun hit it, did bells ring?
HITTITE HOT SEAT
HATUŞA- The culprit sat in the middle with devils all around, judged by a group in front of him——painted devils. This was the actual dig. It was the oldest human-made place I’d ever been.
AROUND ASLANTEPE
Tweezers! – Apricots everywhere! – Top of the dig at Aslantepe – Orfi had the carpet & tribal art concession for our hotel (owned by the same company as Pera Palas) He opened a lot of doors for me. I would meet a carpet salesman on the moon—— A better take on Orfi, and Hittite accoutrements from the museum. At Orfi’s carpet shop, they brought a plate of apricot goodies. Much jollity as I ate them all.
More tribal artifacts and an ancient bronze cloak pin.
ANCIENT HITTITE STOVE
Top of an old stove – Notice on door in Miroglu Hotel Diyarbakir: >>We don’t accept one and valuable things without being given us! >>Close safety lock, Please..!
DEVRIS ÖSBAY & GRANDSON
-Kültür ve Turizm Md MALATYA – Devris Ösbay and his grandson – Sadig——I met all these folks through Orfi while the rest of the university folk were out hustling for students.
THE GRANDSON
Şeniz’s nephew waits for his Grandma to get out of surgery——Şeniz was a lovely University professor who took me to dinner to welcome me.
ELAZIG MUSE & REYHAN
ELAZIĞ VALILIĞI IL KÜLTÜR MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ – MÜZE MU – A fabulous museum with no one inside. – I think this is a stone toy – baby-carriage – candle-holder, I guess they had those gift shops even in Selçuk Turkey – “My Grandfather was English…my Mother hair was yellow & eyes blue…not so I” – Why is this lamp interesting? Metal, from Urartu, the first Urartian artifact I’ve seen –
Reyhan Kaya – Reyhan’s daughter will be born soon – daughter expected July 12 – 36 days away! – Pale green ceramic selçuk plate – Many jaunty little goddesses – 2 more floors full of Ottoman artifacts, clothes, & tribal art——I was invited to tea by the museum director. When I praised the museum he said, “Nobody ever comes here.” It was on a university campus…it should have been full.
DIYARBAKIR TOWER WITH MÜRTEZE
Mürteze posed relentlessly until I gave in and drew him. If I drew every handsome Turk in Turkey I would never draw anything else! Showed up later in a suit & posed. This guy owns the car park opposite – Towers of Diyarbakir on the Silk Road—My colleague said “What are you doing talking to such people?”
THE MARDIN GATE
Mardinkapi: Diyarbakir rocks! 4/6/4——Looks positively Biblical. I loved drawing this. Fifteen years later I saw Diyarbakir again. They’d cleaned the blue-black towers to a uniform tan and rebuilt the collapsed part. What a fabulous ancient city.
TEN EYES BRIDGE
Ongoz Kötlü (Ten Eyes Bridge) Down through the Mardin Gate: Promised Land. Drawing from the top of a wide wall over a warren of houses while fending off a ravening horde of feral little boys. A passing man dispatches them and admires the work before moving on – Much later in Sultanahmet someone said excitedly, “That’s my village!”- pointing to the mesa – “Just drive that road!”——The man saw the boys swarming over me as I clutched my bag and sunglasses. He charged them, screaming and windmilling his arms. A savior!
