Women in Bodrum - The Oral History Group

Wedding photo 

As a nod toward International Women's Day on 8th March, an exhibition of photos opened in Bodrum to give a glimpse into the lives of women in the last century and this month's Oral History meeting concentrated on only the ladies' recollections.  I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this meeting as much as the one in Mumcular (Click here to read) as the audience seemed more intent on following their own conversations than listening to the speakers. I couldn't work out why they were being so disrespectful until I started to watch the chatterers and realised that they were fixated on the screen behind the speakers' heads which was showing a loop of photos from the exhibition, then the penny dropped. They were seeing photos of people they hadn't seen for decades and of course couldn't help themselves but give a running commentary.  Hopefully the organisers won't make this mistake next time. What I managed to hear of this week's talk did emphasise how cut off the villages around the Bodrum peninsula were in the 1950s and 60s.  There was only one jeep a day into Bodrum, the menfolk would often be employed as fishermen or sponge divers and would be away from home for weeks  so the woman in the villages had to be self reliant.  The local teacher was a much more important part of the village than they are now and would do much more than just teach the children. One retired teacher explained that she had been the only village first-aid post, learning how to treat scorpion bites with a razor blade and ammonia, bandage up damaged limbs and on one occasion reattach an ear!  One of her ex-students was in the audience and reminded her that she had also cut the children's hair.  In return there would be a steady supply of fresh eggs, butter, milk and vegetables to the teacher's living quarters. 

A retired bank employee who started her career in Bodrum in 1966, wistfully looked back at her days behind a desk where cash was kept in a drawer with no key and security wasn't an issue.

Another speaker only in her 60s told us that she's been engaged at 13, married at 14 and had her first child at 15, but that her husband was a good man and that she'd been blessed with a very happy life.
After the meeting I went and had a second look at the exhibition, some of the faces I recognised and wished I asked more questions when I first came to Bodrum.

The exhibition is at  Trafo, by the castle, for another week.

Bodrum's Oral History Group.

Plenty of posts on this blog look back two or three thousand years  to when Lelegians, Carians, Persians, Greeks or  Romans were busy settling, raiding, overthrowing or abandoning this region of Bodrum. There are multiple ancient historical sources and a couple of centuries of archaeological reports to sift through, most of which are now accessible on line.  A small post on one archaeological site can lead to hours and often days of fascinating research as one university paper leads to another.  Unfortunately the same can not be said of the recent history of Bodrum, so I was extremely happy to sit in on a meeting of the Bodrum Oral History Group, who are trying to record the memories of Bodrum's oldest residents before their stories are lost for ever.  The group are traveling to different villages and towns in and around the Bodrum peninsula, asking questions and prompting recollections, recording as they go.  Their aim is to open a local museum where all the recordings will be indexed so that future generations will be able to visit, look up their forebears and listen to their stories on dvd or mp3.  It's an ambitious and exciting project and I hope it bears fruit. 

On Wednesday, the group's attention was focused on Mumcular and surrounding villages and I went along to listen first-hand to some of the stories.  There was a lot of laughter, songs and a few tears as life without running water and electricity (which didn't arrive until 1974) was described.  All the speakers had spent their early lives rising before dawn to plant and tend tobacco or herd goats and sheep, with beekeeping and carpet making as sidelines.  At one time or another, the majority had also seen their yearly profits disappear in the hands of unscrupulous rogues who would make off without paying their dues.  What came across in bucket loads while listening to the stories, is the great sense of humour these folk possess. It was a joy to witness. 

Yusuf Özkara giggling at the fact that nothing interesting happened in his 18 years as a night watchman. 

Mustafa Bacaksız, nicknamed "Steel Uncle"  - A musician and songwriter. 

Yusuf Akgöl, nicknamed "Chinese Yusuf" travelled the world as an engineer before returning to Mumcular 

and Orhan Tan who worked for the municipality - " when water arrived I became a plumber, when electricity arrived I became an electrician and when vehicles arrived I became a driver". 

Organisers and participants in Mumcular's splendid meeting hall which doubles as a wedding venue.