A New Parea with a Passion for Life!
EU Silently Sparks The Rise of a Welcome Phoenix How many of you have had an idea that others have criticized as being unrealistic and therefore simply unworkable? I imagine that most of you have shared this experience at some time in your life and you have probably tried to tuck it away in your memory because it’s a little uncomfortable to think about. This story will hopefully encourage everyone to keep trying if you really believe your idea is worthwhile. On May 6, 2005, one hundred residents from Tilos embarked upon a voyage, the preparation of which had begun months earlier with merely an idea. The genesis of the idea was founded in Greek culture from the meaning of the word “Parea”. A Parea is a group of friends who regularly gather together to share their experiences about life, their philosophies, values and ideas. The Parea is really a venue for the growth of the human spirit, the development of friendships and the exploration of ideas to enrich our quality of life that is all too brief in time. In Greece, the Parea is a long-lasting circle and cycle of life nourished by the people who participate. These 100 islanders began their journey with just such an idea of forming a new Parea. Months of preparation by the Municipalities and Culture Associations of Tilos in Greece and Armutalan in Turkey as well as the Tilos Park Association culminated in what everyone hoped would be a new beginning. The Tilos ship “Sea Star” left our port carrying within it, not just one third of our island’s population but also, its dreams and hopes for making new friends and opening new horizons. As I was sitting on the upper deck of the Sea Star, I found myself surrounded by my compatriots who were exchanging thoughts about what they expected to find in Turkey and endeavoring to be as realistic as possible. The opinions reflected the diversity of their experiences, personalities and degree of wisdom. The people of Turkey and Greece have been separated for years by historical facts and national political objectives. The organizers of this voyage had faced significant criticism at home by some who believed that friendship between the peoples of Greece and Turkey was a utopia based on good intentions. Unbeknownst to us at the time of our shipboard discussion, this voyage was destined to prove us right and our critics wrong as throngs of people from Armutalan were beginning to converge at their port to wait for us with anticipation as well as open hearts that beat across the waves of the Aegean so close to our island’s shores. The Nobel prize winning Greek poet Odysseus Elytis described the Aegean as “Love” in his 1940 poem “Aegean” from his work entitled “Orientations”. I have always seen the Aegean as a sea that unites us; a timeless rhythm of undulating waves and currents that can be depended upon to carry men through eternity to their chosen destinations of inherent nobility or folly; and, most importantly, waters that heal our wounds and cleanse our mistakes of the past thus providing us with opportunities for new beginnings. The Aegean can be almost anything that man wants it to be. As the Sea Star entered the narrow straights of the Gulf of Marmaris, the beauty of the Turkish Aegean coastline became apparent with stunning rock formations rising out of a dense pine forest. Upon entering the gulf that fans out and opens towards the land, the four cities that comprise Marmaris became visible. The masts from three thousand sailing yachts sheltered in the modern Marmaris Port facilities appeared to be waving to us in the light evening breeze. As I looked around the ship, all 100 pairs of eyes in the Sea Star were anxiously gazing out of the ship’s windows trying to capture the surrounding scene. We were warmly welcomed at the port by the Hon. Muhammet Unlu, Mayor of Armutalan; his wife, Sennar Unlu, Chairperson of the Armutalan Cultural Association; Zeki Danisman, City Council Member; Gulay Avsar, the Mayor’s Assistant; Melika Turgut, Director of the Public Relations Department; and many other Armutalan City Council Members and officials. Greetings were exchanged, introductions were made and we soon found ourselves resting comfortably in buses waiting to take us to three different Armutalan hotels due to large size of the visiting group that exceeded all expectations. Although our evening appointment with our hosts was scheduled for 20:30, I found myself in the hotel garden half an hour early where I met the gardener watering the gorgeous roses, banana trees, palm trees and other exotic plants. He spoke only Turkish, and I regret to admit that I have not yet even learned the basics of this neighboring language, but his expressive face was so inviting that we started exchanging pantomime and impressions about the beauty of the plants and flowers that surrounded us. He even laughed heartily when he realized that I was telling him how much fun God must have had when he was designing nature with color, shape and fragrance. That unrestrained laugh and accompanying smile provided the warmest welcome that I could have imagined during my very first trip to Turkey. He immediately cut a beautiful rose to offer to me, but which we both then agreed should be offered instead to the lovely wife of Dr. Enrico Cavina, a long time resident of Tilos, who then appeared in the garden. On our first evening, the Mayor of Armutalan, his wife and the staff of the Armutalan City Hall escorted us to the dining patio of a seaside restaurant on a balmy evening under a canopy of stars with the sound of the waves gently lapping the shoreline. A wonderful evening then began, attributable in large part to the invaluable and tireless translation assistance of Seltsuk Tsiak from the Turkish Consulate in Rhodes. Everyone enjoyed and appreciated the extravagant feast set before us of stuffed goat, tzatziki, imam baildi, Turkish wine and other local delicacies, but more importantly, everyone smiled, laughed and danced with each other as centuries of history suddenly disappeared on the tail of an ocean breeze. To anyone who could feel the buoyancy of the energy and high spirits of the people at our gathering, this scene was more than a mere snapshot of smiling faces influenced by the heat of the dancing and the warmth of the tasty wine. These people, who had braved stinging criticisms from their neighbors before the trip, were rewarded with easygoing conversations and dancing challenges into the early hours of the morning as if they had known each other for years. I found a quiet moment to myself when I gazed at all of them through weary but gratified middle-aged eyes, and I wished at that very moment that all of the Turks and Greeks had been there to see us and feel what we were feeling. Back at the hotel, a sense of relief descended upon us with our slumber as a dark cloud from history lifted and the light of a new tomorrow entered our lives. We went to sleep with the understanding that, although we are not individually responsible for our unfortunate past, we are most certainly individually and collectively responsible for our future which can be as bright as we all wish to make it. The next morning our hosts escorted us to Icmeler for breakfast at the Asparan restaurant built in the center of large wheat fields at the edge of a vast pine forest. The appetizing array of breakfast dishes graciously set before us included strong tea, wonderful home-made fresh pita bread, richly flavored village butter, an assortment of tasty cheeses that included a mouth-watering soft goat cheese, fresh eggs, and finally something that we all decided to call Greek-Turkish coffee. This congregation provided the working members of both delegations with their first opportunity to seriously meet and mutually explore ideas for joint socio-economic cooperation that both delegations had worked to prepare in advance. It is important to emphasize that the motivation underlying this official visit to Turkey, sponsored by the City of Armutalan at its expense as host to the Greek working delegation, is attributable to the creation of the INTERREG III Program of the European Union which finances approved cooperative projects between Turkey and Greece for cultural promotion and environmental protection. So, when this worthwhile opportunity was offered by the European Union to any interested Greek and Turkish organizations to co-develop a serious proposal and submit an application for funding, it became obvious to our working delegations that we had a lot of hard work ahead of us to try to succeed in a very worthwhile idea. The fundamental purpose of this visit enabling Turkish and Greek working delegations to meet, along with providing an open invitation to Tilos islanders to pay for their trip to Turkey, was two-fold: (1) to explore the feasibility of joint cooperation for the successful implementation of the Interreg III program if approved by the EU, and (2) to explore the degree of genuine enthusiasm by the Tilos residents for a Turkish-Greek project because grass roots support is vital. Demonstrable evidence of the first was shown by the quality of the relationships so quickly established, the progress made during working discussions, and the easy compatibility of the proposed partners. Evidence of the second was convincingly shown when one third of the full time Tilos residents spent vacation time and family holiday money to make this trip, and such commodities are not usually devoted to controversial excursions of dubious outcome. Working discussions continued as Tilos Mayor Anastasios Aliferis, MD, expressed an interest in visiting the archaeological site of Knidos and Mayor Unlu graciously arranged for two minivans to take us on the three hour trip to this important Hellenistic city of ancient times. We were accompanied by a group of journalists who showed genuine dedication and persistence in uncovering important subtleties as well as significant topics of this visit, including Christos Mystiliadis of Rhodes TV4 and Proodos newspaper, Selda Ercetin of Cagdas Marmaris, Ismail Lickan of Kanal 48 RD/TV, Endor Turkkan. Our excursion took us through a National Park featuring a beautiful pine forest, wetlands, sand dunes, and finally a natural environment reminiscent of what we have on Tilos. The Mayor of the City of Datca kindly arranged for a local tour guide to show us Knidos which was described by Strabo as “the city built for the most beautiful of goddesses, Aphrodite, on the most beautiful peninsula”. Famous as a cultural centre in the fourth century B.C., the city had one harbor open to the Aegean Sea and another facing the Mediterranean Sea. The circular temple dedicated to the goddess of love overlooked both harbors. The arcaded walkway was built of white marble in heart shaped columns and Praxitele’s legendary statue of Aphrodite graced the focal point of the temple. We visited the two ancient theatres in Knidos which could accommodate audiences of 15,000 and 7,000, respectively. The well guarded site includes ongoing excavations and exposed treasures of inestimable value to human history as well as the Greek language on ancient signs and tombs. Before our hosts treated us to a refreshing lunch of fresh fish at a restaurant in a nearby fishing village, I visited the local café at the site to indulge myself in a glass of cold fresh juice to recover from the heat and strong sun. As I hypnotically watched the beads of condensation slowly roll down the frosted glass, I found myself dreaming of Turkish and Greek archaeologists working together in the not too distant future to uncover and restore this jewel of the ancient world.
This memorable day filled with personal as well as professional gratifications ended with a magnificent dinner and traditional entertainment. Our Turkish hosts were joined by another Armutalan City Council member, Behcet Duzgun, DVM, who, apart from his private practice, donates his time and resources to the care and protection of stray animals. The highlight of the evening was a superb series of musical and dancing performances provided by the members of two dancing groups of the Tilos Cultural Association and a professional group of Turkish dancers. By three o’clock in the morning, after we had spent an unforgettable evening together, we left the restaurant whereupon the most energetic members of the new Parea ventured to a small singing club to dance until the wee hours of the morning.
After a virtually sleepless night, we indulged ourselves with the breakfast delights of a beautiful restaurant located in the National Park forest with lush gardens and a small stream. We were joined by Nilufer Feyitzoglu, Consul General of Turkey in Rhodes, who made a special trip to Marmaris to actively assist our working delegations on the basis of her bi-cultural experience and knowledge which proved to be extremely helpful to us. As Tilos visitors were then driven to the Marmaris Market for the traditional tourist exercise of bargaining and shopping, our working team was taken to the Armutalan City Council Meeting Chamber where a Protocol of Agreement for Cooperation was signed by both Mayors and gifts were exchanged. The meeting which lasted several hours was headed by Consul General Feyitzoglu to discuss the major components of the important opportunities that the INTERREG III European Union Program offers to Tilos and Armutalan.
After many warm embraces, we left Armutalan with the best of impressions. Our new friends were the most gracious of hosts, and the sincerity of their feelings overwhelmed us. We are eagerly looking forward to their visit to Tilos on June 27, 2005. Our trip back to the island was filled with discussions about how best to organize their visit and show our friends from Armutalan that the feelings with which they showered us are indeed mutual. As fatigue overcame our enthusiasm, conversations eased and a quiet reflection pervaded the atmosphere. If only the rest of Greece and Turkey had shared these moments with us …. Peace by itself will surely sow the seeds of prosperity.
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