Beypazari II- A Study in Fashion and Feminine Power

Ok, picking up where I left off...

We arrived in the town of Beypazari Sunday afternoon. It just kind of came out of nowhere. The village was hiding inbetween two ridges, nestled there, as it had been for hundreds of years. We parked and started exploring the small town. I quickly realized the cute gold shoes I had on were not practical for navigating the cobblestone streets and steep hills, so the brown Merrell hiking shoes were donned instead. The cobblestones, though not conducive to the cute shoes, were so lovely and made the town look like something out of a Brothers Grimm story. Along these streets were lovely preserved houses in the Ottoman style-white stucco walls with deep brown wooden window and door frames. Many of these houses had window boxes filled with flowers or basil. Some of the houses also had strings of green, red, and orange peppers hanging across their windows and iron rod hand rails. Absolutely gorgeous! I bought some of those peppers and am not sure whether I want Tim to grill them or string them up on our back porch!
Let me add that, as we walked along, all eyes were on us-more so than in Ankara. Ankara is a pretty international city so when a Turk sees a yabanci (foriegner) it's not quite as big of a deal as when you go to a small town. There was no hiding in this town. I'm sure the two yellow-haired yabanci were the talk of the town. The people in this town were more traditional, which meant it was especially hard to blend. More ladies were covered than what we usually see, (except for the other Turkish tourists who were wearing jeans and tight tops). Now, when I say "covered" I don't mean they're dressed in all black, with only their eyes visible. Many times the older women wear brightly colored floral fabrics. They have a huge piece of fabric covering their hair, but not their face. It makes them look more like peasant women, as it is often tied or pinned under their chin. They also wear these strange kind of MC hammer-style pants. They are very, very loose flowy fabric pants that taper at the ankle. These are often worn with socks and plastic slip-on sandles. What I like about these ladies is that they are colorful! They are just walking explosions of color and pattern!
Some of the younger women wear silk head scarfs, in a slightly different style. They also wear long coats that come down to their feet and have long sleeves. The coats are usually khaki or denim. These women don't usually wear the plastic sandles, but a more sturdy shoe, like a boot. I met a woman dressed like this in one of the silver shops. There are tons of silver shops here and they are especially known for their filigree work. We wandered in this lady's shop one evening and before I knew it necklaces and bracelets and earrings were being put on me. I immediately liked this lady because she was a woman shop owner! You don't often see too many of those in the small towns. She had my business immediately, because I wanted to support a fellow female! The phrase "woman power" was going through my head as I silently cheered her on. I broke out my Turkish, which surprised her, her young son, and her friend. They told me my Turkish was good (it's not, but what a confidence boost!). It was really fun trying to communicate with them, especially since I haven't spoken Turkish that much since we went home to the States. Her son was taking English, so Tim and I practiced English with him, which he seemed very amused by. A little later, I finally settled on a beautiful silver flower necklace and a silver bracelet. The price was unbelievably cheap! She packaged it up, while I was trying to talk to her in Turkish. I took the package of jewelry, while vigorously shaking her hand and thanking her. I was so pleased with myself. I heard her laugh and thought she amused by something witty I had said in her language. And then I noticed her grip was still on my hand, a little tighter. I looked down and there was my 50 lira, still in my hand. In all my effort to remember Turkish nouns and verbs, I had never handed over the money. She was laughing because of this and trying to pry it out of my hand. I was kind of embarassed, but then laughed myself.
I never know where my blogs are going to go. This one seems to have been dedicated to women (I write the blog titles after I finish writing them). My original idea was to tell you about Ramadan. Don't worry, though...that's too good of a story to let go. That will be for next time. So, let me try and close this blog out. I think we as westerners try and put all middle easterners in a box. When I say "covered woman" people usually think of one thing-a burka. The fact is that Islam can take many forms, like Christianity can. Some people are more legalistic, some more liberal. Some people wear dull colored head scarves, some wear every color of the rainbow. I realized that as I looked around this small town and saw, even within it, a variety of ways people express themselves and their faith. You really can never lump everyone together. One of the best parts of living in another country is that you have have the time to really learn about and experience a culture. You have the time to visit different parts of the country and see how the people vary. You get more of the whole picture, rather than just a snapshot. And because of that, you're less likely to start "lumping." Instead, you start learning.