The Party in Sivas
Trip Start
Feb 08, 2008
1
39
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Trip End
Sep 11, 2009
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Sivas,
Turkey
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
modern Turkish Republic. Once I got oriented it was easy to find my way to a hotel at
which I had stayed on a previous pass.
Late in the evening I went for a walk, specifically to visit the castle, which I had not seen
before. But by the way in which I approached the hill I came upon two restored Ottoman
houses apparently serving some municipal function. At one the large gate was open, giving
entry into a garden. Lights were on in the building and through a window I could see the
lower legs and feet of a man. So I proceeded around to the back, where in fact the entrance
was. Outside the door there were about three gentlemen who noticed my approach
immediately. And, obviously noting I was a foreigner, one spoke to me in English.
It was a little bit of an awkward situation, but I asked if the building was a museum and if it was
open. Or some such question. The gentleman himself made an inquiry, then proceeded to
lead me into the house. Right away I saw a tray of food and got the idea that I had
stumbled into some function taking place. Nevertheless, the fellow proceeded to take me
to the several rooms of the house. Ottoman houses seem to be pretty spare, and
sometimes it's not easy to distinguish any differential functionality between one room and
another. They are open, and ringed with benches and cushions.
As the tour seemed to be concluded my guide opened one last room in which several men
were sitting--around the perimeter on the benches and cushions.
School Room Site of the Sivas Congress
He made an inquiry if Icould be invited to join the group, and I was welcomed in--to what I knew not.
Well, from what I could gather from the restricted English of two of the participants this
was a mixed group. One portion were, I think, of faculty and administrators at the Turkish
National Military College in Ankara, and the other portion were functionaries of the City of
Sivas hosting them. The Ankara fellows were apparently doing something like I was,
making a tour to significant sites associated with Ataturk's May 19, 1919 landing at
Samsun to begin the war for Turkish independence.
When, shortly, things got going each man of variously 25 to 30 or so of the men around
the room each made a personal introduction to the assembly. In my turn I tried in sketchy
Turkish to present myself.
The Sivas hosts had provided a musician, a single saz player, for the evening's activity,
which was to lead the group of men in singing Turkish folksongs, a list of which had been
seemingly chosen by one of the English-speaking fellows who stayed at my side. He had a
briefcase of pages of song lyrics, which few seemed to need. But at one point he held a
sheet before the two of us, and I tried to follow and sing along. This was noticed by the Sivas host
and favorably commented upon.
At another point my neighbor read a poem; and another fellow recited a poem. I liked
hearing the poems. But, frankly, the saz and a bunch of men singing folksongs wore thin
to me after a while. And while interesting, the evening got to be fairly boring for me after a
while, despite the food and tea offered. There was no alchohol.
But I felt compelled to stay with it to the end, which came at about 11:30 with concluding
remarks from each party . including something from me in thanks for being included in
the evenings' events, and my appreciation for the importance of Sivas in the national history.
I'm sure whatever I did say was not quite as elaborate or fulsome as just the above
sentence. And then, I was out on the street, walking back to the hotel.
