Category Archives: Art

Day 520 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Sultan’s Ceramics Making A Vase.

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A true artist throwing clay on a kick wheel.

A true artist throwing clay on a kick wheel.

 

Jill and I continued on the tour and, as we neared the end of it, they led us into a room with a man sitting at a potter’s wheel.

He smiled kindly and our guide informed us that he was going to show us how the vases were made and give us a little show.

I’d write more but the video really speaks for itself.

And for the artistry, and utter joy, of the man throwing the clay, kicking the wheel, and making a vase.

It is worth the time to watch it all the way through.

 

Day 519 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Sultan’s Ceramics Wine Vase.

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An artist and his work. These are vases for pouring water or wine.

An artist and his work. These are vases for pouring water or wine.

 

Jill and I were checking out the beautiful art at Sultan’s Ceramics when our guide decided to show us exactly how the vases were used.

It is really hard to explain, or show, on a blog what it is like being in such a different world, but I do my best.

Consider that we met 8 days before I moved to China, and Jill came here about 1.5 months after that (without any plans to come to China before meeting me), it is pretty amazing to think that we’ve now been to Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Tianjin and a few other cities in China.  Add to that Malaysia, Sinagpore, Mongolia, Turkey, and Greece, it has been an amazing way to learn about each other and grow as a couple.

They say that going on a trip lets you realize if you are compatible and, if that is true, we are probably the most compatible couple in the history of the universe.

We rarely have disagreements, and I think we’ve only really argued once, and that with the pressure of living in China, her working on her website SF Tourism Tips, while dealing with the Great Firewall of China, and my job as a psychotherapist, is an excellent barometer of our ability to handle pretty much anything that comes our way.

We plan to keep traveling for most of our lives, unless we find just the right magical spot to settle down and this puts us at an advantage because we already know that we can travel well together and balance each other when times get tough.

I’m not saying everything will be roses, all the time, just that there is something wonderful about having a partner, and being a partner, that the other person can depend upon to be there when either of you is needed.

Being on these tours, and travels, with Jill, reminds me of the joy and love that can be present in this world when someone takes the time to focus on what is important and keep working until your dreams come true.

Watching the men work on these pieces of art, I think they are doing the same thing each moment they throw the clay, form it, and paint it.

 

 

Day 518 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Sultan’s Ceramics.

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Step by step painting.

Step by step painting.

Jill had been on a few of these tours before and knew that they would take us to showrooms.

These showrooms would have demonstrations of how different textiles, and art, is made and then we’d be able to buy them.

We are both very frugal, and since we plan to be traveling for most of the rest of our lives, we didn’t have any plans on buying anything but wanted to see the demonstrations just the same.

The first location we went to was Sultan’s Ceramics.

They have been in business for many years, as some of their craftsmen are 6th or 7th generation potters and painters.

I say craftsmen because women don’t do pottery in the shops.

They do the weaving.

It is very defined, even now, and it seems it will that way.  That is neither good nor bad but something specific to the culture.

We first met our guide from Sultan’s Ceramics and he explained how they first started the business, how long they have been around, and how they make the pottery.

They then invited us to watch the artists at work and were mesmerized.

I don’t know if I’d want to be doing this, hour after hour, because I’m thinking my eyesight, and my body, would wear out.

They are so exact, so perfect, and so repetitive that I can only imagine one must love what they do beyond belief.

Looking at the faces of the men working, which alternated being serious to utter joy, makes me think that they do.

 

Day 516 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia. Pasabaglari.

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As if from another world.

As if from another world.

 

The tour Jill and I were in moved on to Pasabaglari, or Monks’ Valley, as it is known in English.

This is a small area, on the outskirts of everything, where monks used to live, and I guess, thrive.

There are two really interesting points of this little area that caught my imagination.

The first is that the monks would basically climb up, inside man made shafts, inside the fairy chimneys.

These weren’t angled passages but totally vertical pathways that had little niches for their hands and feet to find purchase.

Think about this: They would basically free climb, at full speed, or they’d slip down.  It would be very hard to hang out and take your time since the holds are so tiny.

This also allowed them to escape attackers, and make it very hard for attackers to follow them, as the weight of gear and weapons would make it prohibitive.

The second is that one of the fairy chimneys looks like Frank from Donnie Darko.

If you’ve never seen Donnie Darko, it is one of my favorite movies and deals with alternate realities, time travel, and is absolutely confusing beyond belief while also being utterly magical.

Frank is, without giving too much away, a 6 foot tall bunny rabbit who informs Donnie that the world will end in about 28 days.  It is an amazing movie that balances the idea of someone who is either mentally ill or perfectly sane.

It is a must see.

Actually, both the fairy chimney and the movie are both must sees.

 

Day 515 In Beijing: Blue Tour in Cappadocia. The Holy Cross Church.

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The view from inside the church.

The view from inside the church.

 

One of the truly amazing things about Cappadocia, and humanity, is the will to survive and prosper no matter what is thrown at them.

I think of Victor Frankl, who lived through the holocaust, realized that humanity is based in kindness and hope, and wrote a book named Man’s Search For Meaning and became a psychologist.

He saw the worst of humanity and made something positive out of it.

I think of how I work as a psychotherapist and hope I do the same for my clients.

I know I’ve never experienced anything that comes within 1% of the horror that Frankl did but I hope to learn from him and help my clients do the same.

I actually recommend his book to my clients as a way to look at what seems to be a negative experience and then use it to find a way to better themselves and change their way of life to change or accept the circumstances and their emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

This is a tiny little church, named the Holy Cross Church, and it was amazing to think of what the inhabitants of this little town would have felt when they were praying.

This is not an easy place to survive and I have to imagine they had many doubts and questions but their faith probably helped to keep them alive in the worst of times.

I’ve never been much of a believer in anything but I’m guessing, as humanity tries to survive in places like this, faith makes a difference and eases so much worry and fear.

The pits in the ground also were used for wine and for fires.

If you notice, there is soot all around the ceiling of these rooms.

I appreciate that wine, light, and a gathering of people made their lives just a little bit easier.

 

 

Day 514 In Beijing: Blue Tour In Cappadocia, Part 1.

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Another wide view of Zelve Open Air Museum.

Another wide view of Zelve Open Air Museum.

 

Jill had booked a few different tours for us while we were in Cappadocia.

She’d been on one or two of them before and wanted me to be able to share the experience with her.

I usually hate tours, as does Jill, but since she recommended we do these, I trusted her.

The tours were set to only have about 6-10 people in them and to have a guide who spoke English, Turkish and usually another language or two as we’ve found we often got put in groups with people from other countries.

We loved that this happened because we were able to meet more people, from all over the world, who were traveling and enjoy Turkey as much as we were.

One this tour, we met a wonderful family from Colombia.  We all bonded and had a great time talking about the world, what we want out of life, and how to achieve your goals and be content.

We talked a lot and the parents, who are in their late 50s or early 60s, invited us to come and stay with them whenever we visit Colombia.  I grew up in the countryside of Healdsburg and Spanish was spoken a lot.  I was very used to listening to it and speaking it, a little.

When they said, “Mi casa es su casa” I knew that were were like family since it means, “My house is your house.”

We told them that if they ever visit China, or somewhere else we are living, we will extend the same honor.

The daughter, Andrea, and her brother, Camilo, are living in Germany and we became friends very quickly.

It is one of the joys of having small tours in that we can spend time with interesting people, not be rushed, and learn about new places, new people, and share the excitement of seeing something that sparks ours, and their, dreams.

Trust me, Cappadocia sparks dreams.

Imagine living in a place like the Zelve Open Air Museum, hidden from the rest of the world, so you can stay safe and not be attacked or killed for your belief system.

And imagine living in a place like this for hundreds of years and it changing from Christian to Muslim through that time period depending on who is ruling the area.

It is truly fascinating beyond belief.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 511 In Beijing: Evening Call To Prayer In Goreme, Turkey.

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sunset10

 

After Jill and I relaxed on the balcony at our hotel, we heard the call to prayer start again.

When I write again, it is because the call to prayer happens 5 times a day in Turkey.

I’m guessing this is true in all Muslim countries, but since I haven’t been to all of them, I can’t state that.

We didn’t hear the call to prayer in Malaysia, when we visited there two different times, and we were in major cities with lots of mosques.

We may just have been too far away from the mosques to hear the call but I doubt it.

There is something so relaxing, so calming, and so hypnotic about the call to prayer.

I love listening to it and just letting my mind wander.

The owner of the Village Cave House Hotel told Jill and me that he believes his grandfather worked on that mosque and another one that is near the hotel.

As you listen, you will notice you can hear the call to prayer bouncing off itself as the different mosques’ speakers played it just a second or two apart from each other.

It may have also been perfectly synchronized but the distance between the mosques, and our hotel, may have caused the delay as the sound may have reached us at slightly different times.

Either way, it was magical and a perfect way to be welcomed into Goreme and our stay at the Village Cave House Hotel.

 

 

Day 510 In Beijing: Night View Video From The Village Cave House Hotel.

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The night view from our balcony.

The night view from our balcony.

 

Jill and I loved just sitting on our balcony and hanging out.

We had a nice bottle of Turkish wine, and if you didn’t know, the Turks make some great wine, our favorite Turkish white cheese, and some crackers to enjoy along with the view.

We knew we were only here for a few days so we wanted to make sure to take advantage of the peace, calm and tranquility as much as possible.

so we did.

Enjoy.

And cheers!

 

Day 509 In Beijing: Sunset In Goreme, Turkey, Part 2.

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It almost doesn't look real as the lights turn on.

It almost doesn’t look real as the lights turn on.

 

Jill and I wanted all our readers to get more of an idea of what the sunset in Goreme looks like so we made sure to get a quick video.

There were probably about 100 people, total, on this rather large expanse of land, and it was more than quiet enough to make it special.

Enjoy.

 

Day 508 In Beijing: Sunset In Goreme, Turkey.

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The mountain range as the sun sets.

The mountain range as the sun sets.

 

Jill and I hung out on the platform, overlooking the gorgeous town of Goreme, and watched the sunset.

We were lucky enough to be one of only about 10 people up there so it was very quiet and very calm.

The town is known for the hot air balloon rides, but since those only go up in the morning, there is very little traffic or anything else going on in this sleepy little town, which was perfect for us.

We both grew up in relatively small towns and love the quiet and the outdoors.

It is something we desperately miss living in Beijing as there is almost no quiet time and almost no outdoors.

There are parks, and some are quite large, but they are usually full of people.

Sadly, most those people are posting pictures of themselves and not even paying attention to the nature and the beauty right in front of them.

The irony is that I was taking pictures of this natural beauty while complaining about it but this was only for a few minutes.

Jill and I spent most the time just wandering around, in utter joy, looking at people, the architecture, and the nature while being amazed that we are lucky enough to be in this amazing town.

So, with that, I’ll leave you in peace to enjoy the sunset with us.