Wednesday 1 May 2013

Kaya Köy - Cultural Connections - Day 1.

If you have read  "Birds Without Wings" you will recall that Ibrahim the Mad could mimic the bleating of his goats; the surprised, the nanny looking for her kid,  the perplexed, hungry or a billy in rut, so had  you stumbled upon the scene of 120 or so assorted foreigners and a few Turks standing on a rocky outcrop trying to imitate a goat that has nothing to say, you would not have been surprised.  As part of the group, I was in seventh heaven. How many times can you walk around the inspiration for a favourite novel with its author.  Louis de Bernieres turned out to be a charming and playful host while showing us around Kayaköy, the deserted village on which Eskibahçe in his wonderful novel set in early 20th century Turkey is loosely based.  As a book club stalwart, this novel has probably been responsible for introducing Ottoman and Turkish history to more people than all the university history departments combined.

The spot where "Birds without Wings"  was conceived

This tour was organised  as part of Cultural Connections Kaya 2013. Advertised as an "Art, Literature, Music and Food Festival", it would have been hard to resist but with the authors Louis de Bernieres, Jeremy Seal, Victoria Hislop and Sofka Zinovieff,  and the TV and music producer Mustafa Oğuz and screen writer and director Çağan Irmak topping the bill, this festival looks like it is going to start nipping at the heals of the likes of Hay, Oxford and Charleston as a literary draw.  Organised by Jane Akatay and Rebecca Keskin who epitomise the saying "if you want something doing ask a busy woman" and using Günay's Garden restaurant  as a base, this year's event runs from 27th April to 3rd May and I suggest you add it to your 2014 diary now as it's bound to get bigger and even better.







Günay's Garden - The beautiful setting for the opening cocktail.  


Louis de Bernieres with William Buttigieg MBE,  who cut the ribbon to open the festival. 






30 comments:

  1. What a fantastic day it must have been - loved the book, so greatly wished to meet Louis de Bernieres - the whole place must have come alive : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was such a good day that I found it difficult to write about - do you ever have this problem? I knew I couldn't do justice to the amount of fun we had walking around the village, that I found it difficult to put anything down on the page.

      Delete
    2. Wish I could have been there, Annie. I feel like rereading the book now ..

      Delete
    3. You and T must come next year.

      Delete
  2. Stop, stop, stop!! I am seriously considering upping and leaving Spain for this wonderful corner of the world. What fun, what a lovely idea! Axxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A couple of years ago, I saw a similar event advertised and I think it encouraged me to start thinking about moving back.

      Delete
  3. Looks like a fabulous day. What a treat. Jx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had a brilliant weekend , more to come in the next post.

      Delete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. . . had such a wonderful time wandering with the author last year - thumbs up jakatay et al there's no doubt this will be a regular on the annual list

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was keeping an eye out for you this year too.

      Delete
  6. Oh, I would have so loved to have been there....

    Maybe we can make it another year.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like you had a lovely time. We've been unable to make it at all this year. :( Will definitely make attempts next year - just depends on who's here on those dates... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe we can persuade Jane to have a "bloggers corner" next year.

      Delete
  8. Oh My God - that sounds absolutely amazing Annie. I really would love o go to something like this. In Antalya we have quite a few folk how love the arts, and maybe we could arrange a trip up their for the next festival..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Put it in your diary for next year. You aren't far away.

      Delete
  9. B to B, What a really wonderful event. So many aspects of culture and history to learn at a gathering like that. We're jealous. (Well, I guess we could cure that by attending next time, couldn't we.) Thanks for the lovely photos - they look great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm wondering if Jane and Rebecca would be up for a "Bloggers convention" afternoon next year. Would you attend such a gathering?

      Delete
  10. Dates in the diary for next year - thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You would have loved it. Don't miss the next one.

      Delete
  11. Maybe next year. Jane has promised free tickets!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No maybe about it - You both have to come.

      Delete
  12. What a beautiful setting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is breathtaking in the evening when the stone all turns a delicate pink.

      Delete
  13. Dear Bodrum, thanks for sharing the title of the book. I'll see if I can find it in our local library. It would be so wonderful to fly/sail to Turkey and to take part in this festival. I guess this is when that sentence "A woman can dream can't she?" comes into play.

    Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I've been away now for three weeks due to a minor ailment and I've missed learning about Turkey and your life there. Truly, I've become so insular and blogging takes me out of my own little backyard. Thank you. Peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you are feeling better Dee - It would be great if you could cross the ocean to see us, but failing that, enjoy the book. A film is hopefully coming soon.

      Delete
  14. Fantastic, Annie! My idea of heaven - books, scenery, architecture, history and a fascinating speaker. What more could anyone ask?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Annie you lucky thing!! So glad you were there so that I can read about it!! On to part two now.......

    ReplyDelete