April 22, 2006

From the center of two continents –Part 2
I salute the service of Istanbul's Turkmen Community

Next day I met my English friend, who had come from Beirut. It was our first face-to-face meeting, and I found him to be quite a pleasant man. We chatted for an hour, and then I headed to Istanbul's shopping district, Aksaray.
Shopping is one of my favorite things to do in Istanbul, something I've enjoyed since I first visited the city in 1998. It's not just the choice of goods on offer -- it's the huge markets, and the amazing bargains you can get.
If I hadn't taken so long shopping, I would have gone to the tomb of Hz. Eyup Ansari, a prominent soldier of Islam and a friend of Prophet Muhammad in the early days of Islam. I always say that I am not an extremely religious person, but this place gives me a feeling of protection. I used to sit beside the tomb and spend hours and hours oblivious to the world going by.
Unfortunately, I was going to miss my chance this time, since I was going to be late for a promised meeting with my Turkmen friend Halmehmet. He was planing to take me to the guesthouse of Abdul Hekim Mahdum.
I have lots of memories connected with this guesthouse. This is the only place I know where people can stay as long as they want, free of charge. They even provide free food.
The guesthouse is run with financial help from Afghan Turkmen businessmen in Istanbul, and it's one of my favorite places to go in the city. I remember one morning in particular. In contrast to other guesthouses I have stayed in, people here expect to have meals together. One morning, when we gathered for breakfast, I found six people there, each one from a different country. This was something completely new to me, but later I found it was nothing out of the ordinary here.
I stayed there for the first time in 1998, and since then I've never seen its door shut to anyone, or known the owners to ask for payment.
When we reached the guesthouse, as usual I was welcomed by Abdul Hekim Mahdum, or Mulla Agha as he's known to friends. Again, there were guests from many different countries.
Mulla Agha was as enthusiastic as he was years ago, and proud of being able to serve the needy. I can only wish him a long and healthy life, and salute him for his enthusiasm in serving people.
In talking about Istanbul, I forgot to tell you about the plan I had to visit to Ankara. I was going to sign an agreement there with a Turkish publisher interested in publishing my recent book on Iran called ‘Illegal Dating’. In the end, I couldn’t make the trip, since I was racing against time, and next day I had to fly back to Prague.
However, I've since managed to strike the deal via e-mail. I am proud to announce that the Turkish version of my book should be on the market in the coming months. I again will be looking forward to your support.
Dear readers, my next Diary entry will come from the heart of Germany -- Berlin. I will explore this city and share my experiences as I did in the past. So see you then.