Matri - The Beginnings

Y si, ese soy yo, el que caminaba con su chullo, sin saber en verdad lo que se esperaba venir....
My second time around in Istanbul.
Upon leaving I knew I was coming back; I couldn't tell you why. I simply knew I hadn´t seen enough, there was still so much more to see. A few days after arriving in Istanbul, an invitation to see that more presents itself: "There is a wedding in Eskisehir, want to come?" The question, almost redundant.



Finally, a bit over two months later, the wait is over and we start heading toward Eskisehir. 4 men, one car and many interesting ideas on how to spend this weekend. But it goes without saying: I fall asleep on the way there. Típico.

It´s already dark by the time we roll into town. Some quick maneuvers, some questions asked, a phone call is made, the noise of a car making toward us, a man that comes out of it, a greeting, a response, some gestures to get back in the car, he departs, we follow, he stops, so do we, he goes into a reception hall, I hesitate. I need a minute, the moment is here and I want to savour it. I should take it slow and sip on the moment, but it's late and the rush is big: the fear the music will soon finish is overwhelming....

Hard to explain the rest of events as they seem to get all mixed in now. I do remember running for chai and a lady saying something to me and tying a white cloth to my arm "so they know you are single" I refrained from asking who "they" were but a smile shows me that "they" also have something tied to their arms ;)

There is no one Turkish marriage tradition since there are so many different ethnic groups in this beautiful country. This time around it is Turkish-Crimeans we meet, and they have their special ways: the live band comes into the shape of an accordeon and a piece of wood to be beaten to the rhythm and the live show comes as a dance without shoes. Not comfortable enough to take my shoes off and too tone-deaf to join the percussion, I remain in my comfortable spot of side-observer/ sometimes-dancer/ photo-taker/ plenty-of-chai-drinker.

As I see it, there will be plenty of chances to be more daring ;)

The night dwindles and the place starts closing. Time to head back to the house, make some more raucous, drink some more tea, play some more music, sing a few verses, dance a bit, drink one beer, and then go wake up the groom who had a few hours before decided he needed to sleep before his wedding night and left the party ;) "It's an Eskisehir thing" they tell me.


Pero me recordaré la copla esa de: ya se casa mi hermana, ya se casa mi hermana, ¿cuándo diablos me tocará a mi?! ......