A Tale in Red: Recent Episodes
Heleny Campoy
A Tale in Red results from spending a further nine months actually ‘living’ in Turkey – from January to September 2011. Most of those nine months were spent on the road, visiting cities, monuments and archaeological sites, but, most importantly, meeting everyday people. Through 27 thousand kilometres, I immersed myself in the Turkish culture, adapting my behaviour to their traditions. I involved myself in close contact with different people – teachers, doctors, farmers, public servants, authorities, artists – and what I listened to from them was a mix of pride and shame, belief and disbelief.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2023/02/07/a-friend-ice-cream-some-treasures-and-the-call-for-prayer/
The sun had just begun to breach the horizon, the sky slowly lightening from midnight blue to a hazy lavender. The digital clock on my phone read 5:22 am. After a beautiful day exploring Hatay, it was time to move on to Gaziantep. I had been looking forward to seeing some Turkish friends from Sao Paulo that I had made before this journey in Turkey.
The sun shone intensely, turning the sky a brilliant azure and the rolling hills to a colour of ochre. The car raced down the highway, its speedometer edging to 140 km/h. I had my earphones on, and Linkin Park thundered through my brain while I tried to make sense of the scenery around me.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2023/01/30/history-rivers-zoos-and-education/
It was 5:22 am when the sun began to rise on the horizon. After having a great day exploring Hatay, we decided to leave early to enjoy one more day in Gaziantep, where some people were waiting. The people waiting for me in Gaziantep were friends from some Turkish friends I made in Sao Paulo before the first part of the adventure.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2022/10/03/castles-battle-grounds-a-town-near-a-river-and-new-friends/
It was almost 8 am when we left Adana. It was a blue hot day, exactly as I knew it would be. Summer is full of bright days, high temperatures and sweat. As a precaution, we had water in the car, essential for days like that. Another significant thing was occasionally stopping to relieve our face and arms from the sun. Fırat put one of his CDs to play. We started with Trance. Our destination was Hatay or Antakya.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2022/09/27/snakes-castle-sunflower-fields-churches-and-mosques/
Our first stop after leaving Cappadocia was Mersin, and the sea’s blue water was very refreshing and instructive. I wonder if you can travel to Türkiye without learning a bit of history. I was excited about this new path. I am not saying the first part wasn’t exciting when we revisited some of the most important sites from the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations. I guess because I had read many books about the ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire, there was some intimacy between me and the places like Miletus or Aspendus. However, I was ready to visit places far from sparkling Istanbul and the most usually touristic centres. Not that there aren’t tourists in East Turkey, the region has many, but the origin is different. While in the West, we have more Europeans and north-Americans, in the East, the tourism comes from Iran, Iraq, China, and other countries more to the East.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2022/09/10/saint-paul-a-beautiful-mosque-and-bice-bice/
We left Göreme early (I revisited Cappadocia), not too soon that has prevented us from enjoying breakfast in the sunny garden. We took the opportunity to take some pictures along the cherry tree.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2022/08/09/summer-sinkholes-and-caves/
That day, the wind blows cold the last serenade winter’s song. It was March, my birthday was close as close was the end of this first part of my journey to meet Turkey. There was a silence around me, even birds weren’t there. Probably was the mist I found waiting on the road that was keeping animals and people hidden on their shelters, spying the day thought cracks or windows. I loved cold days, even the dark grey days when the sun is only a metaphor or a ghost making the skies above the clouds so white making you wonder if you had left the Earth and was in some alien world.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/07/17/2310/
The scenery was beautiful, a painting made of green and grey. The cold morning in February was driving us to a city that one day was the centre of the Ottoman Empire. The city wasn’t only a historic centre but also a place where nature is prominent. It was understandable why Bursa was called Green Bursa. While listening to Trance and looking to the landscape passing by my window, I thought what I knew about the Ottoman Empire.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/07/06/ice-trees-sank-places-and-the-ottoman-emprire/
That morning everybody around us was driving fast, including Firat. The passion for velocity was Firat’s most annoying feature. He was always driving as the world would end on the next hour. In the beginning, I was afraid, arguing each driving infraction he committed. However, soon I came to understand arguing with him only result in more velocity, more violations (like a spoiled child, he usually did precisely opposite what I was saying). I glance the car velocimeter, 120 km/h. I thought it wasn’t too fast, in Brazil, travelling to Ribeirao Preto where my in-laws lived, and my partner did the same. But Marcelo was an experience and very cautious driver, Firat was the opposite. I concentrated in the music that was playing something from Armin van Buuren trying to enjoy the mountains around. I had discovered my passion for mountains in Turkey. Mountains are like giants sleeping waiting someone with wisdom come and awake them.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/05/29/turkeys-zeus-a-communist-and-good-food/
After Safranbolu and Amasra returning to Ankara was something a kind of down. The next morning, the anxiety to move on, put the foot on the road and visit another ancient place was running on my skin. The breakfast took ages, and the checkout an eternity. In the end, we left the hotel, and I was ready.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/05/25/a-military-base-a-man-who-transformed-everything-in-gold-a-football-match/
Had decided the night before I preferred to visit other places near Ankara than the city itself I hear the proposition made by the tour guide attentively: “What about we visit another place. Ankara is not my favourite city.” This conversation came during breakfast.
“What kind of place?”
“It’s a town, Safranbolu. It’s gorgeous. You will see if we go.”
“It’s far?”
“A little, but not that far.” I agreed.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/05/22/saffran-stone-bird-and-the-black-sea/
Who would want to leave a fairy-tale place to go to a bureaucratic full of politicians’ city? Certainly not me. I was refusing to leave Cappadocia, the guide insisted we have to leave since there were lots of things to see and places to visit. “We have to see more nine places. Come on!”
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/05/20/ankara-the-capital/
Around the world, people are complaining about today, after all, is Monday. You can see on Twitter, and Facebook things like “Monday should be optional.”; “Good morning. Keep calm and pretend it’s not Monday.” or “May your coffee be strong and your Monday productive.” In Konya, I was staring at the city from the top of my hotel room. I was excited and ready to face the Monday as it was Friday only because I was heading to a place that was responsible for me fell in love with Turkey. My destination was Kapadokya (Cappadocia). The valleys, fairy chimneys, and the subterranean cities were calling, that was a call I could refuse.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/05/20/caravansvalleys-and-underground-cities/
Religion wasn’t a mystery to me. My mother was a devoted catholic. However, she never was shy to experience other spiritual ways. After observing her approach and the results I decided not to have a religion, later, already an adult, I went far. All data and facts around me proved God was a human creation, something born from our fears and prejudices. So, no God and no religion was part of my life. When Konya came to be one of my stops, I thought it would be another conflict between my scientific mind and the people, particularly the tour guide, beliefs. I was right.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2020/05/04/snow-mevlana-and-schools/
Aphrodite is known as the goddess of beauty, love and sexuality. The Romans called her Venus. It is believed the origin of Aphrodite name is Phoenician, and certainly the cult of beauty is not new for us in this world of appearances. The legend says Zeus, the might god of Olympus, married her to Hephaestus – the god of forges, fire, technology, craftsmen, sculptures, and blacksmiths – to avoid a war between the gods. However, as in our days, marry did not solved the problem. Aphrodite consistently had relationship with other gods and mortals.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2019/09/24/the-goddess-of-beauty-and-two-ispartans-girls/
The amulet is an ornament or small piece of jewellery thought to give protection against evil, danger, or disease, that’s the meaning of the word amulet. It’;s synonyms are lucky charm, char, talisman, fetish, mascot, totem, idol, juju, phylactery, archaicpriapt. Many amulets are related to religion or some kind of folkloric tale.
One of the most common of those beliefs is the ‘evil eyes’. The ’evil eye’ is a curse to be cast by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when they are unaware. It’s a legend present in many cultures where receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury. The idea lead many cultures to persuade protective measures against the ‘evil eye’.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2019/05/03/evil-eye/
My tour guide said it would be great to visit an ancient city nearby. Our final destination was to be Pamukkale, but he emphasised that this nearer city also had a very interesting history although it was missed off by most tours because the path to it was very challenging. I said that if hethought the city was worth a visit then we should go to.
My experience of sites hidden in the wilds, where few visitors dare to go, was first inspired when we visited Pinara. There, the wildness, the simplicity, the way the city was hidden in the middle of the vegetation, quietly waiting for someone to come back and embrace her again, giving her life—it made me feel in love too. I had been talking about Pinara ever since; every time Firat asked what was my favourite place so far, Pinara was my answe
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2019/04/17/a-breattaking-theatre-a-city-destroyed-by-an-earthquake-and-the-magnificents-traventine-terraces/
There are sunny days and grey days; even when you are in a adventure, the grey days come changing the mood, making all dull. That was one of those days. It was cloudy, the wind colder than usual, and no word was coming from me or the guide. I had no idea why that inexplicable silence took us since the breakfast, I wondered if he was missing his family and friend, probably I was missing my son. We were on the road an hour at least when suddenly, we arrived in a very nice place. There was some tour buses parked and people coming and going from the caffe and the ticket office. “A touristic place.”; I thought.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2019/02/19/waterfalls-mathematics-and-a-museum/
Alanya (Antalya) is 140 km from here, we should get there in about two and a half hours.” I nodded my head in agreement as if I accepted what he was telling me, but silently I thought: “Why so long?” In Brazil, São Paulo is 325km away from Ribeirao Preto and I could make it in 3 hours!” I turned my eyes for the distant horizon, the sun was bright and the air cold, the only option I had was to enjoy the ride. Without asking permission this time, I plugged the pen drive with my favourite songs into the car radio, and we hit the road. I asked Firat if the road was good, he said “Yes”. Then I relaxed and started to enjoy the tracks I had selected. It was Turkish music at that moment–to be exact: Tarkan, Öp. I wanted to sing along, but my preference only to do what I can do well made me keep my lips silent. However, this did not stop my body from dancing, and that annoyed Firat somewhat. “Good”, I thought!
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/25/alanya-manavgat-side-aspendus/
That morning, the cloudy skies made me rethink how much I was missing the sun in winter. The light was pale; the cold wind made all of nature huddle away in a silent embrace, as if to allow the different embers of life to warm and comfort each other, while, all around, the fine drops of winter rain wetted the land. It was still raining lightly when I went to the window and looked out at the port. In Finike, the boats were waiting for summer, patiently anchored. Finding a hotel had been hard, we had driven many kilometers and tried several different towns until we found this place to rest. Read it here
“You’re gonna see a very interesting place, it’s a sunken city.” Sunken cities are especially interesting to explore, but would there still be people living there? Or would the place be abandoned to its terrible destiny; its remains struggling between two worlds: the ethereal atmosphere and the liquid sea. My mind was lost in such speculation when we arrived at the next village, Kalekoy, how is known in Turkish the ancient Lycian city of Simena. read here
After our day in Sardis talking about invasions, money, and the ancient religion, we needed a place to rest. Firat took the road to Çeşme, a coastal town in Izmir Province. The scenery passing the car window mixed mountains, plains, and soon, the sea. We arrived quite late and the evening was already becoming a dark night. Moreover, Firat was in a rush: that night the football team he supports was playing Fenerbahce, and this was something very important to him, almost like a lover without a body or face, he was, truly, what we might call, a fanatic.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/22/sirince/
To be honest, the place I loved the most was the library. I walked along the corridor imagining the papyri and parchments rolled up on the shelves made of stone. Each niche was protected from light and carefully ventilated. I leant against the wall, closed my eyes, and let my mind fly…crossing thousands of years. The scholars studying at wood tables, or walking, organising and cataloguing all the volumes. Then I felt the devastation of how the entire stock of volumes moved from Pergamum to Alexandria were lost in the great fire
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/22/pergamon/
had enjoyed my time in Troy for many reasons. The first was my taste for Ancient History and Greek civilisation. The second was the Helen myth; the Spartan princess over whom kings and princes fought. My own name is Heleny, so, out of curiosity, I searched for the meaning, and, of course, the answer was: Heleny is a variation of Helena (Greek). Following the trail on the Internet, the next aspect to discover was the meaning of the name itself. Some scholars consider Helena a variant of the Greek word that means “torch”. A further possibility is Helena derives from the Greek ‘Selene’, goddess of the moon. I definitely preferred the latter.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/22/ottomabridge-greektemple-baklava/
My next destination was Troy or Wilusa as the Hittites called the mythical place where Paris and Helen lived their love. The city was a central piece of Homer’s Iliad. The reason Menelaus of Sparta, supported by Agamemnon of Mycenae, went to fight, to recover his honour or to die. And no one would ever forget the horse – the Greek’s gift to the Trojans that supposedly led to the city’s downfall. Were all the words written by Homer, of events in Troy about 500 years previously, true? Was Troy an allegory or a real city? Was Helen the most beautiful woman in the world, or simply a representation of how the female was seen in the Bronze Age? I don’t have an absolute answer to these questions. Few people claim to do so.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/22/troy/
I could not hold back my tears, as I truly ‘saw’ the waste of young lives…people dying before they even had the opportunity to live. Fırat says that each one who dies takes a smile with him, the pain is for those who stay. I wholeheartedly agree; it is always difficult
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/22/facing-death/
I was stepping into an unpredictable, challenge, and a bloody moment in the story of WWI. I was about to visit places were hundreds, thousands, of young men died fighting in a war; many without even understanding the reasons behind it.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/22/a-wwi-battle-field/
It was surprisingly easy for me, as a non-muslim woman, to enter the mosque. There are many people who are worried about doing so, having heard so many biased stories about Islam and the ‘kind of person’ who practises the religion. I came with my head covered, and in silence. We were careful to make sure that it was not prayer time, and I simply observed discretion – little different from how you would enter a church or synagogue, really – the key is simple: respect.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/08/22/snow-and-mosques/
“Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
There are numerous ‘bridges’ throughout the world; some are made by man, others by nature; some cross spaces, others link cultures. Turkey is one of these bridges; it unites West and East, bringing from each to the other the possibility of knowledge and integration.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://helenycampoy.com/2018/01/21/young-old-country/