The last two years have been very timey wimey. Sometimes it feels like forever and sometimes only days have passed since I last wrote in this diary, which either means I am still bonkers or it has indeed been a weird couple of years.
When I think about it now a lot has happened, a new business has been started, websites have been built, plans made and discarded, and life here in Kirazli has settled into some sort of routine. The world wide recession has mainly bypassed Kirazli and every year there are small signs of increased prosperity amongst the villagers – a new tractor here, a new story on a house there. Life goes on, inevitably.
There have been weddings – there is one today – and the drums and pipes of celebration raise a joyful ruckus through the streets of the village. The rose bush I planted has grown wild up the walls of the studio and droops under the weight of its flowers, the orange tree has fragrantly blossomed, a cat now sits on the sun warm parquetas in the late afternoon and I have dogs that sleep in shade and sometimes fall in the pool. I watch everything moving on
There have been deaths in the village and the mourning prayer has been sung from the minaret and echoed out across the misty valley at dawn. There have been births, and I have seen those well wrapped babies turn into chubby toddlers reaching up to pat my dog on her sleek black nose.
The seasons have come and gone, from the surprise frosts of February to the blistering heat of July when everyone fans themselves and exclaims “Cok sicak!” like it’s a surprise that it is so damn hot!
Kirazli has become as close to home as I am likely to get. And when I consider it, and I consider it a lot, I still think it offers a life of ideal balance. Quiet and peaceful, safe and beautiful, close enough to civilisation for all things to be available, far enough away to still be idyllic.
I have listened a lot these last two years, and what I hear of the outside world doesn’t sound too good! So I think I’ll stay here, and when this house sells maybe I’ll build another, in this valley, because as a location it’s impossible to beat. It suits me still.
posted 02-05-2010