Category Archives: Art

Day 546 In Beijing: Ihlara Valley in Cappadocia, Turkey.

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The Ilhara Canyon and our guide, Sibel.

The Ilhara Canyon and our guide, Sibel.

 

After we visited Narli Gol, our guide, Sibel, took us to Ihlara Valley.

Entering Ihlara Valley allowed us a 4 kilometer walk through an amazing canyon that was a refreshing break from the heat.

Many people used to live there and it is now a park so we were allowed to walk through and see the ruins from another time.  There are also many abandoned churches scattered around the walls of the valley.

There is only a tiny village, about 1 or 2 kilometers outside of it, and Sibel told us that very few people live there and it would be incredibly cheap to rent an apartment or house if we wanted to stay.

Jill and I are always asking prices because we are interested in where our lives will lead us and how to be less connected to the grid and to the idea of “civilization” if we can manage it.

This may sound strange, since I have this blog and Jill runs, SF Tourism Tips (which, if you haven’t clicked the link, please do and subscribe/like her page as it is our main business at this point), but we actually are very open to disconnecting and just being in the flow of life and not having to work and buy things.

I’m writing two different ebooks, one on how to change your life and the other on how to minimize your stuff, which ties in directly with our beliefs on how we want to live our lives.  I have also noticed a lot more people talking about minimizing and being more adventurous so hopefully these books will reach a large audience when I publish them.

As for the Ihlara Valley,  we had to walk down a long flight of stairs built into the mountain side and it afforded us a gorgeous view of this valley thriving with flora and fauna.   Compared to the dryness and lack of green outside of the valley, it is a very stark contrast and we could understand why so many people were drawn to live here in this peaceful oasis.

 

 

Day 539 In Beijing: Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

 

This is Jill’s and my second Thanksgiving in Beijing, China.

It is a little weird.

All kinds of expats go out, party it up, and have fun.

Many of them aren’t from the USA but they enjoy having the community setting and just having another reason to have a nice time with others.

We decided to go to Shunjing Spa, near our apartment, with our friends Dorota and Francois.

They are both doctors where I work and wonderful people.

We’ve spent many a night sharing wine, cheese and Francois’ amazing home made bread.

The air quality was pretty decent, even though it was very overcast, so it seemed like a good day to venture out.

Both Francois and I decided to wear the silly little outfits they give to the spa members so we wouldn’t look out of place (sarcasm intended).

We noticed that when the four of us went into at spa pool, almost all the people in it would get out, and we’d be left alone in the pool.

Usually, that kind of thing would annoy me but it was sort of nice having all the different spa pools to ourselves and not have to deal with a crowded pool all day long.

After the spa, Jill and I met up with some other friends, from all over the world, for Thanksgiving at The Big Smoke.

Jill had her first meal in Beijing at The Big Smoke, and we did Thanksgiving there last year, and we thought it would be a nice way to celebrate.

It definitely was and the food, friendship, and conversation was fantastic.

Sadly, we forgot to get a picture of all of us together but there is always next year!

 

 

Day 539 In Beijing: View of Goreme from Our Room.

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The entrance and dining room.

The entrance and dining room.

 

Jill and I truly loved staying at the Village Cave House Hotel and talking to Onur, who owns it.

Onur took it over, from his father, and now runs it with his mother and his brother.

Onur is about 30 years old and very calm and peaceful.

He exudes a feeling a friendship and tranquility no matter what is happening.

He seems to have found his calling and is content running this hotel and meeting people from all over the world.

I believe he also travels and is able to see how others live outside of his little town of Goreme.

It was great to just hang out with him, discuss the world, and get another view point on reality.

He, and his family, are continuing to build more rooms into the mountain and told us it takes a few weeks to get them finished because of the digging and then running electricity into them.

We wish him luck and look forward to staying there when we return to Goreme in the future!

 

Day 526 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Goreme Open Air Museum.

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Just imagine living in these homes.

Just imagine living in these homes.

 

The last stop on our tour was to the Goreme Open Air Museum.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures here because we were pretty tired and there are a lot of churches.

Most the churches in this area don’t allow pictures inside so we only have pictures of the outside.

There are many paintings, and frescoes, on the Church walls and they are quite impressive.

However, many of them have the saints eyes scratched out through vandalism.

Also, the Muslim religion forbids the depiction of the human form, or icons, and supposedly they were afraid of the “evil eye.”

Considering how old these paintings are, and that they are not from the dominant religion in the area, it is rather amazing they are in the shape they are in.

We actually made one more stop, after the Goreme Open Air Museum and stopped by a Jewelry store.

Jill and I had wanted to buy her a ring and we wanted our guide, Sukru, to help us with the bargaining and make sure we weren’t ripped off.

We bought a ring, with a Zultanite stone, and it was gorgeous.

I’ll post some pictures of it, in the near future, as it is a stone that changes color with light (up to 6 colors that we’ve seen so far) and is only mined in Turkey.

 

Day 525 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Rug Throwing Video.

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Getting ready to throw the rug.

Getting ready to throw the rug.

Jill and I kept the best video for last.

At least, in my mind, it is the best.

It shows how much the rug changes color depending on where the rug is seen by the viewer.

The rugs are weaved specifically to do this so the owner can basically have two different rugs at one time.

It is a heck of a deal, as some of these rugs were only a few hundred dollars, and if you think of the months of work that these women put into them, that isn’t very much money.

We just loved the colors, the brightness, and the wonderful designs on all these rugs.

We wish we could have bought some of them but since we are going as minimalist as possible, it didn’t make any sense.

So, we just have memories and that is enough.

 

Day 524 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Rug Co-op Videos.

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RugsAfter our guide led Jill and me down the Hall of Rugs, he took us to a massive private room.

We knew what this was about as Jill had gone on these before and warned me: this is the sales pitch.

They show you lots of rugs, many more than you can even imagine, and try to tempt you into buying one.

The Turks are very good at bargaining and pressuring people to buy, in a nice way, but since we lived in China, where bargaining and pressure tactics are at a graduate level, we weren’t worried about saying no and walking out without buying anything.

Jill and I plan to keep traveling the world for the next 10 years and so that tends to make it impossible for us to buy things since we won’t really have a set place to store then nor do we really want material things to weigh us down.

I’m actually writing an ebook on minimizing and how to be more efficient at this moment and it is really coming along nicely.

We were then able to just enjoy the show and be caught up in the full attention the salesman, and his attendants, gave to us.

As well as the Turkish coffee, and apple tea, that they gave us.

That was utterly delicious!

Take your time watching the videos and enjoy the skill, and style, that these men use as they showed us at least 50 different rugs, from different materials, and different areas of Turkey, and different sizes and shapes.

We sure did.

 

The man throwing the round rug was our guide for the Co-Op tour.

 

They let me walk around on the rugs as they were putting them away.

 

 

Day 524 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, The Hall Of Rugs.

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The Hall of Rugs.

The Hall of Rugs.

 

After seeing the women weaving the rugs, our guide took us down a long corridor best described as the “Hall of Rugs” sort of like the Hall of Fame.

They were incredible.

He told us more about the history of rug making in Turkey and the conditions the women used to work in and how they are better now.

He also told us that he loves his job and enjoys being able to show people this amazing art each and every day.

When he spoke, you could hear the pride in his words and see it in his eyes.

This is someone who had found a job that he loved and was very proud of doing when he woke up.

As we walked into the Hall of Rugs, Jill and I noticed a rather obvious sign stating that “No pictures and no videos.”

We looked at our guide and asked, “So we aren’t allowed to take pictures in this hall?” in hopes that he’d let it slide.

He looked at us, smiled, and said, “Oh, you can take all the pictures you want.  We just don’t allow Chinese people to take pictures.”

Jill and I guessed the reason why, as we’ve been living in China for just over a year, but wanted to hear what our guide’s reason was just in case we were wrong.

He added, “They come on the tour, take pictures, and then copy them with inferior quality and material.  It has happened so often that we can not allow them to take pictures anymore.  We have no problem with anyone else taking pictures.”

Jill and I laughed at the absurd reality of the situation and started taking a few pictures just to document our trip through the Hall without being obvious or rude.

It is about fitting in, for us, as we like to be tourists but also want to be the kind of tourists that aren’t that noticeable all the time.

There is no way I can show, through pictures, the incredible detail and exquisite workmanship of these rugs.

You have to visit Turkey yourself to see, and understand, them and how the culture informs their artwork.

 

 

Day 523 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Rug Co-op Videos And Happier Than A Billionaire.

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Working on a larger rug.

Working on a larger rug.

 

Jill and I were totally absorbed watching the women weave.

They were lightening fast and we couldn’t believe that they could do this, day after day, without suffering major pain or injury.

I’m guessing they did but the money they could make before they retired, around the age of 40, would hopefully be enough to support them and their family.

We didn’t ask them what their husbands do, and for all we know they work at the same co-op selling the rugs, but I’m guessing they don’t make a lot of money doing this and it is a tough life.

Even with the percent the co-op gives them, I’m sure they struggle.

It gives Jill and me even more reason to be thankful for what we have in our lives and how we are able to live them.

How many people get to move to China, on a whim, work 3 days a week, and then travel around the world living a rather wonderful life?

Not that many that I know although, as we travel more, we meet more and more people doing this and are inspired by them.

One of the people we’ve met is Nadine Hays.  I starting reading her book, “Happier Than A Billionaire” while we were on vacation and loved it beyond belief.

Well, we haven’t actually met her in person, but we met her through her book, and then on Facebook, where we’ve become fast friends already!

It is a travelogue about a couple, in their 30s, that decide to chuck the jobs they hate and move to Costa Rica.

Jill has visited Costa Rica before and thought it would be a fun read but didn’t have time to read it, so I borrowed it from her.

I now want to visit Costa Rica as soon as ppossible   Nadine’s book is hilarious, scary, and amazing.  It is everything that can happen living an expatriate life and both the good and the bad.  She leaves nothing out and she and her husband, Rob, do an amazing job of overcoming whatever is thrown in their path to make their dream life.

She’s now written two sequels and continues to live the dream.

I would suggest anyone, whether you want to actually live the expatriate life, or just read about it, buy her book and read it immediately.

Just click the Amazon link below and buy it.  It is a deal at $2.99 for a kindle version!

Happier Than A Billionaire.

Back to the women weaving, making their lives their dreams, and Turkey.

 

This is a short video showing the women moving as fast as humanely possible.

 

This video is longer but the guide explains exactly what is happening as it goes along.

Day 522 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Rug Co-op.

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So intricate and so perfect.

So intricate and so perfect.

 

Jill, the tour group, and I head off to our next destination, a rug making co-op.

I grew up, as I’m part Armenian, with a lot of Armenian rugs around my house.

It was the one bit of that culture, other than dolma and pilaf, that my family brought with it from Armenia when they moved to the USA many years ago.

I love looking at them, and the intricacies of how they are woven, and was extremely excited to see people at work and making these beautiful pieces of art.

Each of us received our own tour guide, with the Colombians getting someone that spoke some Spanish and English, as that is what they spoke also, and the Dutch getting someone who spoke German.

Let me say this, the Turkish have the tourist industry down to an art.  They have so many guides, that speak so many languages, it is rather amazing.  They really know what they are doing and how to make people feel comfortable.

As an Armenian that is a lot to say when you consider the history between these two countries and the massacre that happened against the Armenian people back in the early 1900s.  I’m glad to say that when people asked where I’m from, and I told them Armenia, they were excited and stated that “We are brothers!”  It was great to hear that these old hatreds are disappearing and people are becoming more inclusive and caring.  I’m not sure about Eastern Turkey, where it is much more religious and provincial but Western Turkey is fairly open-minded at this point.

Our guide told us about the work these women do, and how difficult it is, and how it is a dying art.

The women are only allowed to work for 20 minutes at a time, and then take a 10 minute break, so that their hands, and eyes, won’t be injured.

They are also only allowed to work for 4 hours a day.  Many work from home since they have kids and other duties to do so they only come into the co-op to deliver their rugs or work in front of tourists.

According to our guide, many of these women retire at around 40 years old because of the stress and strain to their bodies from doing such repetitive and tedious work.

That is just another reason why this art is dying out and younger people aren’t interested in doing it anymore.

One of the bigger rugs (5 feet by 9 feet) could take about 9 months to make one if it is cotton.

If it is silk, however, it can take double that or almost 1.5 years.

The women get about 70% of the sale while the co-op gets 30% so it seemed like a pretty fair deal for them.

 

Day 521 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Lunch time!

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A vase, wine bottles and the cellar.

A vase, wine bottles and the cellar.

 

After we saw that pottery exhibition, the tour was set to have lunch.

Jill and I aren’t big fans of Beijing Chinese food.  It is usually quite greasy and very oily.

It tastes like the food is quite slimy and the vegetables don’t have a lot of flavor.

Since we tend towards vegetarian, it makes our choices quite limited or very expensive since the imported veggies and fruits cost so much more than the domestic products.

Since we’ve both been to Turkey before, we knew that we were in for a wonderful meal every time we sat down to eat and we weren’t disappointed.

The very cute restaurant we went to had a nice balcony overlooking the valley but the owners told us to sit inside since the bees were flying around outside and they’d bother us.

We took their advice and ordered our food.

Our group consisted of our friends from Colombia, three women from Holland, and then us.

Our guide, Sukru, took off and we all just hung out, eat and discussed our lives.

The food, as we guessed, was fantastic.

Jill’s main course was mushrooms with cheese on top of it and mine was a clay pot full of veggies in a red sauce.

And, of course, to top it off, we had baklava for dessert.

As we left, we realize that the wine cellar for the restaurant was dug out of the walls, just like our room back at our hotel.