MALATYA TO THE DIG
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The moon out my window in MALATYA – Orfi got me into Aslantepe Dig, introduced me to the minister of Malatya Kultur & Turizm, drove me all over hell, sold me a kilim for a song and held the flashlight while I drew in the ruins – Today we stopped the bus for a pee by a stream out in the middle of chill, absolute and beautiful silence. Out of time, just the breeze blowing through centuries of quiet. A profound moment: blessed island in a sea of pounding wailing Turkish pop music –
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Apricots rule – The Italians dig on at ASLANTEPE HÜGE – They’ve been at it 22 years – 5000-5500-year-old Hittite settlement in MALATYA Papaya Ide – Fragrance of peace – 5 kitties at Aslantepe – 1 stone fountain lion (lapis eyes) 2 bronze Hittite copies & 2 furry volunteers up in the apricot leaves- Hittite clock—> when the sun hit it, did bells ring?
HITTITE HOT SEAT
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HATUŞA- The culprit sat in the middle with devils all around, judged by a group in front of him——painted devils. This was the actual dig. It was the oldest human-made place I’d ever been.
AROUND ASLANTEPE
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Tweezers! – Apricots everywhere! – Top of the dig at Aslantepe – Orfi had the carpet & tribal art concession for our hotel (owned by the same company as Pera Palas) He opened a lot of doors for me. I would meet a carpet salesman on the moon—— A better take on Orfi, and Hittite accoutrements from the museum. At Orfi’s carpet shop, they brought a plate of apricot goodies. Much jollity as I ate them all.
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More tribal artifacts and an ancient bronze cloak pin.
ANCIENT HITTITE STOVE
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Top of an old stove – Notice on door in Miroglu Hotel Diyarbakir: >>We don’t accept one and valuable things without being given us! >>Close safety lock, Please..!
DEVRIS ÖSBAY & GRANDSON
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-Kültür ve Turizm Md MALATYA – Devris Ösbay and his grandson – Sadig——I met all these folks through Orfi while the rest of the university folk were out hustling for students.
THE GRANDSON
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Şeniz’s nephew waits for his Grandma to get out of surgery——Şeniz was a lovely University professor who took me to dinner to welcome me.
ELAZIG MUSE & REYHAN
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ELAZIĞ VALILIĞI IL KÜLTÜR MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ – MÜZE MU – A fabulous museum with no one inside. – I think this is a stone toy – baby-carriage – candle-holder, I guess they had those gift shops even in Selçuk Turkey – “My Grandfather was English…my Mother hair was yellow & eyes blue…not so I” – Why is this lamp interesting? Metal, from Urartu, the first Urartian artifact I’ve seen –
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Reyhan Kaya – Reyhan’s daughter will be born soon – daughter expected July 12 – 36 days away! – Pale green ceramic selçuk plate – Many jaunty little goddesses – 2 more floors full of Ottoman artifacts, clothes, & tribal art——I was invited to tea by the museum director. When I praised the museum he said, “Nobody ever comes here.” It was on a university campus…it should have been full.
DIYARBAKIR TOWER WITH MÜRTEZE
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Mürteze posed relentlessly until I gave in and drew him. If I drew every handsome Turk in Turkey I would never draw anything else! Showed up later in a suit & posed. This guy owns the car park opposite – Towers of Diyarbakir on the Silk Road—My colleague said “What are you doing talking to such people?”
THE MARDIN GATE
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Mardinkapi: Diyarbakir rocks! 4/6/4——Looks positively Biblical. I loved drawing this. Fifteen years later I saw Diyarbakir again. They’d cleaned the blue-black towers to a uniform tan and rebuilt the collapsed part. What a fabulous ancient city.
TEN EYES BRIDGE
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Ongoz Kötlü (Ten Eyes Bridge) Down through the Mardin Gate: Promised Land. Drawing from the top of a wide wall over a warren of houses while fending off a ravening horde of feral little boys. A passing man dispatches them and admires the work before moving on – Much later in Sultanahmet someone said excitedly, “That’s my village!”- pointing to the mesa – “Just drive that road!”——The man saw the boys swarming over me as I clutched my bag and sunglasses. He charged them, screaming and windmilling his arms. A savior!
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