by Jim Payton
Chapter 13
Kemal Kural greeted Janet and Eti in Istanbul. Kemal was a Christian but as he pointed out, in Turkey Atheists out numbered Christians. Even with an overall 97% plus Islamic populace, Kemal did not find himself particularly discriminated against however.
The job of obtaining Visa's and catching a Turkish Airlines aeroplane to Elazig Airport went without a hitch. Kemal, or KK as Eti called him, helped, but things would have gone smoothly even if he had not been there, so helpful were the authorities. They flew in a Boeing 737-400 aircraft. After a one hour and forty-five minute flight, they landed at Elazig Airport. It was a modern and efficient airport similar to probably all airports the world over. Ali Pamuk, a friend of KK's, and a Muslim, met them. His English was not as good as KK's but they were able to understand each other. He had been standing with a piece of cardboard on a stick. Printed on the cardboard by marker pen was the word 'Eti.' He was dressed in casual western dress of jeans, tee shirt and cap. He was clean-shaven and aged about nineteen.
Ali was able to convey that there was nothing much at Keban in the way of accommodation, so Janet and Eti were to stay with him and his family. He did indicate that Elazig did have many hotels but that they were very expensive. Elazig was, after all, a city of three hundred thousand people. Ali had a reasonably modern vehicle, a Toyota van, and their possessions fitted comfortably in the back. The journey to Keban was easy and comfortable to commence with, but towards the end became hilly and winding. It took about an hour and a quarter to cover the thirty-eight miles. It was close to dusk when they arrived at Ali's. His house consisted of some type of roughcast with a tile roof. Ali's parents were not home, being away on holiday apparently. The journey had taken its toll on Janet and Eti, and once shown their beds they collapsed upon them and slept. Even the calls to prayer did not awaken them.
Later the next day they awoke to the smell of coffee and toast. It turned out that Ali leaned towards a Western lifestyle, although he was firmly in favour of Turkey's life and customs in general. They ate their breakfast outside in the fresh air. Neighbours walked past and waved or nodded to Janet and Eti. While they were in a foreign land and spoke little of the language, both felt comfortable. There was the occasional person dressed in traditional clothes, but most wore western style jeans and trousers or overalls. The logos on their caps were often recognizable; the Nike slash, Coca Cola, or American baseball, basketball or grid iron teams. One person wore a cap with a New Zealand All Black emblem upon it. Eti and Janet stopped the person but even with Ali's help, they were unable to make the wearer understand who or what the All Blacks were, or where they came from. He had heard of Australia, but did not know where it was.
On a high rocky outcrop, the Turkish Flag flew proudly. They were to find that the flag and a Mosque were the two things every town had in common. The regular and rigid adherence to prayer impressed Eti. As he pointed out to Janet, if Christians were so regular and devoted with their worship perhaps Christianity would be more dominant.
Ali showed them around Keban and, of course, the Keban dam. It was certainly impressive and a source of pride and continued employment for the region. Coca Cola and Streets ice cream signs were common, as were blue and orange roofs. The mosque was impressive, showing elaborate tile work and a high Minaret for the calls to prayer. The vehicles ranged from modern to 'rough as', and none would be out of place in New Zealand.
By the time they had done the sightseeing thing, it was mid afternoon. Janet took the opportunity to update their blog and upload photographs they had taken. Ali excused himself to attend to other matters. Eti and Janet made a drink and sat down.
"Well, what do you think?" asked Eti.
"From what we have seen so far, it's a big country Eti. It's going to be a big job isn't it?" answered Janet.
"I believe that would be the understatement of the year."
"Well, too bad. We decided that we had to search the headwaters of both the Euphrates and the Tigris so maybe the first thing to do is see if we can get more detailed maps than the ones we have at the moment. As we know, things have changed, even recently, let alone over thousands of years. With the earthquakes they have here, and the volcanoes, the place is worse than home. The local dam has changed things as well, covering the Marat and Karasu junctions."
"I don't know that much about maps Eti," said Janet. "But looking at even these we have got, and from what we did on Google Earth, I can see that both the Marat and Karasu start near the cities called Erzurum and Erzincan, but also reach out to a Lake Van. As the Marat and Karasu join to become the Euphrates, and the Tigris starts up by Lake Van, maybe we should be looking at Lake Van as being the Garden of Eden. Perhaps even the Karasu or Marat may originally have been Pishon or Gihon or even the Tigris and Euphrates.
"You know, by just looking at the maps, I would, as an unknowledgeable lay person, have to think that two major places where we should have to look, would be the upper reaches of the Firat and Mirat rivers which are tributaries of the Karasu. Actually all the area around there. Mind you, we would have to walk the area because all the names seem to keep changing depending on which map you are looking at."
"And the other area?"
"Well obviously the upper reaches of the Tigris, but Lake Van itself interests me. I don't really know why, but I am just drawn to it. What say we take a trip on one of the tourist trains that go out along the rivers and see what we can see? You know, to get a feel of the place."
When Ali returned, they put their plan to him but he said the trains were not part of the main network and broke down more often than not. He suggested that the road might be best. It almost seemed as though Ali had lost enthusiasm for the task. Eti and Janet agreed that road might be best so booked a rental vehicle. Assured by the vehicle agent that the road was a good one, they arranged a Nissan Micro. It was their intention to travel to Palu, situated out beyond the lake formed by the dam. The agent suggested that the trip would take about two and a half hours to cover the 80 miles to Palu.
While it may have only taken two and a half hours for most people, it took nearly six hours for Eti and Janet. They took every opportunity to sightsee, and take photographs for uploading onto Google Earth and their own website and facebook. The electronic map fitted to the car guided them efficiently. The trip gave them an accurate view of the South Eastern Anatolian geography. Wherever they stopped, Eti would take out his little pick hammer, check the various rocks, and make notes in his notebook. In his scholar mode, he used computers extensively, but out in the field he preferred to rely on a pencil and notebook.
Some of the scenery was stunning with the mountains always as a backdrop. Cir-Cir falls, close to Keban, were typical of the South Eastern Anatolian waterways: narrow, deep and fast. Vegetation blossomed alongside the waterways but generally quickly turned to a barren brown. Janet likened the green areas to oases, an apt description. Little villages and small collections of buildings competed with large modern towns.
They drove through Elazig, without stopping, and found it a bustling and thriving city. With a population of over three hundred thousand people, it had all the modern amenities any Western city would expect. There were Vodafone shops, cafes, restaurants, Firat University, wide streets, multistory buildings, floodlit football grounds at Ataturk Stadium and the overwhelming majority of people dressed as if they were in Auckland or any other New Zealand town or city.
In contrast, Palu was like comparing Auckland with Pahiatua, except some of the streets in Palu were only dirt roads or tracks. It was set upon alluvial flats beside the stony sides of the Marat River.
Eti and Janet left the Nissan and walked down to the river under the modern bridge that crossed it. It was not particularly swift flowing at that point. Janet scooped up some water in her cupped hands and splashed her face.
"Just think Eti," she said. "Adam may have stood on this spot."
"Can't see any apple trees," grinned Eti.
"Who says they were apple
s?" asked Janet.
"Actually, nobody," acknowledged Eti. "The bible just says the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The evil was making the wrong choice, a choice against God's command. That choice gave Adam experiential knowledge of evil."
"Whoa," said Janet. "When did you turn into a theologian?"
Eti grinned again. "There is a lot you don't know about me yet Mrs."
While Janet took photographs, Eti examined rocks, mud, slime and 'things'. By the time they had finished it was dark so they set up their tents. While Eti prepared a meal on a small camp burner, Janet reviewed the photographs she had taken. As she went backwards and forwards to select those she wanted to post to the website, something caught her eye. She checked and rechecked before calling out to Eti.
"Eti, come and have a look at these." When he took the camera from her, she said, "Go through the photos from today and then take a look at those we have taken since we arrived here."
While Eti went through the images, Janet finished the cooking. Eti took his dish from Janet as he put down the camera.
"Did you see what I saw?" she asked.
"The friend?" asked Eti answering a question with a question.
Janet nodded. "While he's not in every photo, he's in a good eighty percent of them. That can't be a coincidence can it?" she asked.
"No it can't," agreed Eti. "He is clearly following us I'd say. I wonder why? It is no secret as to what we are doing. We've got it on the website, in newspapers and magazines."
"He must be somewhere here right now," pointed out Janet. She and Eti immediately looked around but darkness cloaked Palu.
"He was in a camper van type of thing according to the photos," said Eti. "Let's see if we can find him."
"In case he is watching us, maybe we should act normal and after we have been in bed a couple of hours, get up and search." suggested Janet.
"Done," agreed Eti.