Au revoir, Izmir.

 We’re back in Axminster now. Our four weeks in Izmir passed quickly, but were both enjoyable and – we hope – fruitful.  Our final day in Izmir was sunny and warm (25°), whilst it was wet and cold in England. Fortunately, things improved, and we landed in Stansted on Tuesday in sunshine, though less hot. Our return flight was very smooth, and we left the airport in good time. We had decided not to travel back to Devon that day, but stayed overnight near Waterloo, which enabled us to meet our son Daniel for supper, and to walk to the British

The last week had been the usual mixture of ministry and exploration. April 23^rd was St George’s Day for the English (recalling that our patron saint was born in Turkey to a Palestinian mother); but in Turkey it was National Sovereignty and Children’s Day. This commemorates the foundation of the Grand National Assembly in 1920, and was designated by Atatürk as a holiday for children and a celebration of their potential. (We were treated to a very nice lunch by a church member.)

That week, we finally made it to Ephesus for our eighth visit. It’s a very special place, now easily accessible by the suburban railway (Izban.) We always find something new to see in the extensive ruins. We included a pilgrimage to the tomb of St John the Evangelist in Selcuk, in the heart of the ruins of the great basilica on the hill-top below the walls of the citadel. (WE didn’t this time go to the site of the once-great Temple of Artemis -  one of the Seven Wonders of the World, now reduced to a couple of columns in a swamp). In the town centre, the storks were back, nesting on the pillars of the Roman aqueduct.

It's great to see storks flying. But bird-life in and around Izmir is limited. There are plenty of gulls, and hooded crows, as well as the ubiquitous sparrows and pigeons. It is lovely to see and hear the swifts swooping and diving above us. We didn’t see any flamingos this time, but caught sight of one pelican and a couple of cormorants on the Aegean. There is virtually no bird-song – so it’s been a joy to hear dawn-choruses back in Devon. Against that, we do miss watching the sun rise over the hills while we say morning prayer.

What else will we miss?  St John’s feels like a second spiritual home, into which we are quickly re-welcomed. The congregation averages 30 to 40, many of whom are young, but with a core of mature and prayerful believers. Our final Sunday saw an impressive and surprising influx of young men and women (students?) most of whom stayed for the whole service and came up to the communion rail for a blessing. There are plenty of challenges for James the chaplain, but much that is rewarding too. We will continue to remember the church and its members in our prayer. The wonder of Zoom enables us to maintain contact regularly through the weekly Bible Studies, which I will sometimes lead when the chaplain is occupied elsewhere.

On our final full day, we revisited the church for some prayer – and then found ourselves locked in, as the gate padlock had obviously been damaged by being carelessly closed. We had got in to the garden and re-locked the gate for security, and so faced the prospect of spending the rest of the day captive. Fortunately the Turkish police who watch over the church and the adjacent British Consulate came to our aid, and they managed to open the gate sufficiently for us to squeeze out. The young police-women, who spoke excellent English, told us that in Türkiye they say the police get thigs done – and that was proved to be true. We spent the rest of the day enjoying final trips on the ferries that criss-cross the bay, and taking the free lift – the Asansor – which was gifted to the city over a hundred years ago by a Jewish benefactor to make it easy for people to access the heights behind the large synagogue. There are fine views – and a nice café – at the top.

We are so fortunate to be able to continue with these spells of locum ministry. There seem to be some real movements of the Holy Spirit in Türkiye at the moment. There is no tradition of church-going, and so it can seem fresh and attractive to young people, and a lively alternative to both Islam and the official secularism of the state. Certainly in Izmir, there is no evident hostility to Christian worship and (discreet) activity. We hope and pray we will be able to maintain our regular contact for a few more years.

On cats, marathons (and much else)

 Another week in Izmir has passed. We have been asking ourselves what has changed since our first visit; and the answer is not much, apart from the price rises, given the high rate of inflation. But there is not much evidence of increased poverty; there seem to be few beggars, though they may have been moved on by the police – of whom there are plenty. There also seem to be more Turkish flags around each year. There has been a lot of new building – some to replace buildings damaged in an earthquake a few years ago. So the view from the chaplain’s apartment, facing east, is more of tower blocks (and a new football stadium), and less of the hills which surround the city; our view of the sunrise is less dramatic! The city is as noisy and busy as ever, and the new electric scooters are a pest. And there are more cats, but fewer dogs, on the streets – presumably because the latter are castrated.

Some things which were strange at first now seem quite normal: having to order large flasks of drinking water to be delivered; the disposal of household refuse (of all sorts) in large containers on some street corners – fortunately there are two close to the flat. Emptying the contents seems to be left to individuals – some, we suspect, refugees – who have to sift out anything that can be recycled, and dispose of everything else; not a job I would like!

We’ve enjoyed our trips by vapur across the bay, and the good tram system. It was lovely to meet up with Şeyma, who lives in Izmir, and whom Jo taught in Exeter more than 25 years ago, for a beer and some food. Also, walking by the Aegean in the morning, before queuing at the bakers for gevreks (a sort of sesame covered bagel) taken straight from a fiery oven by a skilled baker; and meeting some friendly and helpful people in restaurants and at supermarket checkouts – some of them speaking much better English than my feeble Turkish.

What has been most enlightening at St John’s has been meeting a number of university students who have become, or are becoming, Christians. One shared a very appropriate quotation from St Augustine in a Bible Study. And three or four others have met with us for coffee after Sunday lunch to ask informed and challenging questions about our faith. I met with another, recently baptised, who wanted to make his confession, showing a real sensitivity about the life of prayer. It is rare to have similar experiences of awareness among young people in England. And we continue to appreciate the mixture of nationalities and languages at the church.

There have been some lighter moments. Being recognised in the street by Cleopatra, the ‘church cat’, was nice – on Sunday she spent most of the Eucharist asleep on the clergy chair in the sanctuary; we did once see Henrietta (the ‘church office cat’ – she likes to sit on the printer!) on the doorstep on the British Consulate, and wondered if she was going to ask for asylum.

Last Sunday, we discovered that the Izmir marathon was routed past the church. This meant that the trams and buses that most of the congregation depend on were not running – and nobody seemed to have been aware of this event beforehand (local publicity is poor!) At 10 o’clock there were about eight people in the church (three of them being police and other officials who were keeping watch on the streets and saw the open door!) But in the end we had a healthy-sized congregation (about 30 people); two of the police stayed for half the service.

 I started to type this, as the adhan (the call to prayer, repeated five times  day) was broadcast through loudspeakers on the mosques. This afternoon, we had explored Kemeraltı, the traditional bazaar area, with narrow alleys, several mosques and hans (former inns for travellers – caravanserais.) We found a friendly café (bizarrely called Daisy Café!) which served a good sweet Turkish coffee, with small cubes of Turkish delight.

 The chaplain is at present leading a pilgrimage in central Türkiye; he returns on Saturday, when we move to the local Ibis hotel. I will preach on Sunday – and we fly home to the UK on Tuesday. If you pray, please pray for easy journeys for us.

Back in Izmir

 We’ve already been in Izmir for ten days, but we’ve been quite busy. The first five days we stayed in temporary accommodation, as Fr James the chaplain, was still in his apartment. But we have now moved in – and it’s all very familiar! As is Izmir, and St John’s – though, as always, there are some new members whilst others have moved on.

I've preached twice; on our first Sunday Fr James celebrated. The congregation are fairly easy to preach to, though it is quite a big building, so the congregation of 25-30 are  bit spread out. And for at least half of those attending, English is a second or third language, which can be a bit of a challenge! That’s one reason liturgical worship is preferable, as it becomes familiar for all the congregation, who can understand what is being said and done. It’s encouraging that there are a number of new young Turkish men and women attending quite regularly; we met with a couple of them on Sunday after church – and had some interesting conversations.

 We arrived at the end of Ramadan, and the beginning of the Eid/Bayram holiday, which has been extended to over a week. Most supermarkets and restaurants stayed open, but the streets were quieter in the morning, and public transport much busier for the latter part of the day, as people took advantage of the good weather and the holiday, together with free transport on a couple of the days. We’ve only had one full day off, and went to a lovely spot on the bay to the south of the main city. Most of the many picnic tables were occupied by families enjoying picnics of various complexities (some had portable stoves to brew the tea without which most Turkish meals are incomplete. The atmosphere was relaxed and convivial; there is little rowdiness or anti-social behaviour.

 Apart that is, from the increased number of electric scooters and bicycles which come at one from most directions. Izmir is a large and busy town, and the local area has narrow roads, along which many large cars and countless scooters and bikes weave their way. The scooters are rented by the hour, and then apparently abandoned all over the place. One is always looking over one’s shoulder to see what is coming (the scourge of electric motors is that they are silent!) It seems to be a matter of honour for drivers not to use their indicators – and it is rare for a driver to slow down to allow pedestrians to cross the road. If you stand back you will not be thanked in anyway. Walking in Devon one almost invariably greets those one passes with at least a smile, and usually a good morning. But here – and this may be equally true of English cities – there is little eye-contact.

 It is good to be back here; my understanding of Turkish is still depressingly poor, but we seem to get by. Outwardly, the economy seems much the same, but the country has experienced massive inflation over the past couple of years, and prices have risen. We’re barely affected, because the exchange rate has also changed – we get around 5 or 6 times as many lira to the pound as we did in 2016. There have been political changes too; President Erdoğan is still in power, but his country-wide support has lessened. In other ways his control may have increased; there seem to be more police in evidence, and life is more difficult for most refugees and asylum seekers. But for most people, life goes on. We always feel safe and comfortable when out in the streets, apart from the litter which is ubiquitous, on land and in the sea.

 This is a shorter visit than usual. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing, as we are a little slower and less energetic than we were 8 years ago. But we always have a warm welcome at St John’s, and feel almost part of the furniture. We’ve had a couple of sessions, listening to and praying with some church members. In addition, there is a weekly Evening  Prayer on line, and a Bible Study which gathers some to the church office, whilst others follow on Zoom. It seems we still have something to offer, which is good. Pray for the rest of our time here, that we can make good use of it.  

In the footsteps of St Paul

 Time is passing quickly. My last blog was ten days ago; so since then, we have had two full days off. Each time we repeated things we have done before – we find it difficult to travel to new places, as it’s not always easy or comfortable (we’re not great fans of bus journeys, especially in crowded minibuses!)

 Last week, we went to Foça – ancient Phocaia. It was the base for many sea journeys around the Mediterranean; Phocaians are credited with establishing colonies at Marseilles, and in Spain. It’s still an active port, with numerous small fishing boats, and many tourist boats. It retains many of its 19^th century ‘Greek-style’ houses, and it’s always pleasant to walk beside the sea. There are ruins of a  classical Temple, to which there is no public access; remains of a Genoese fort and an old mosque. All the Orthodox churches were destroyed in a massacre of Greeks at the start of the Great War. But despite its painful history, it is a calm and pleasant place.

This week, we enjoyed our annual pilgrimage to Ephesus; it takes a couple of hours to Selçuk by Izban trains, with a further taxi or minibus journey. But it is a remarkable place – extensive, with some splendid ruins, notably the two theatres, the Agoras and the famous Library of Celsus. A large ruined basilica, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was the site of the third Ecumenical Council in 431. And of course, one remembers St Paul’s visits and sojourn in the city. The first time we went, in July 2016, its almost deserted, as there had been terrorist attacks and an attempted coup in Türkiye shortly before, and tourists were obviously discouraged. This time it was crowded, with tour parties from cruise ships and elsewhere. But it’s good so many people want to come to this special place.

 We are here to minister, of course, and we have continued with the Sunday Eucharists; attendance is around 30 – some different people each week, and a number of regulars have been away. The fact that many of the congregation do not have good English can be a little inhibiting, as far as preaching is concerned; but there are a number of young university students and others who are eager to learn more. Most people stay in the church hall for an hour afterwards, and some then adjourn to a local restaurant for lunch together. The weekly Bible Study is usually challenging and interesting. There is an enthusiasm, and desire to learn, that one does not always experience in England.

 This area of Izmir, Alsancak, attracts many young people, especially in the evenings; they come to walk and talk,  to go to the bars and cafés. There seems to have been a proliferation of the latter, offering a wide range of ‘Western’ coffees, as well as the Turkish coffee (which we like.) There are often some rather delicious cakes! On the whole, behaviour seems calm and sensible, with little of the rowdiness that can be seen sometimes in British cities. In the same way, there are usually groups of people – often young people – sitting and talking on the Kordon. We always feel perfectly safe. People are friendly and welcoming.

 Izmir has its downsides. Litter is a problem – every morning we see cigarette ends, plastic bags and bottles and empty beer cans all along the Kordon – and in the sea. There is no clearly organised recycling. Domestic refuse has to be taken and thrown into large open wheeled bins in the back streets – where each day it gets sorted by hand by obviously underpaid and under-nourished men, and children. One often sees them dragging loads of rubbish in large sacks on barrows. Traffic in the narrow streets is rather a nightmare. It’s sometimes hard to see what the rules are, cars park wherever they can, and motorbikes go everywhere, including along pedestrianised streets in both directions. Often the bikes are electric, and there are many electric scooters. So no pollution – but more chance of one coming up behind us without warning!

 We’ve also visited a newly opened carpet museum, in Bornova, set in a beautifully refurbished Levantine mansion, I hadn’t realised how many different varieties of carpet Turkey could boast of. It would be interesting to compare designs and methods with those of the famous Axminster carpet weavers.

 Only two more Sundays, and then we pack up and return (though our journey home will be rather complicated, thanks to the train drivers strike!)

 

Getting Settled by the Aegean

 We are settling more into Izmir ways – including starting most days (after Morning Prayer) with a walk along the Kordon by the Aegean Sea before breakfast. We’ve eaten out a couple of evenings – including one strange experience, when I ordered two different dishes, chicken for Jo and köfte for me, only for the waiter to bring two plates of each, claiming that was what I had ordered. How we were supposed to eat two meals is a mystery, but fortunately the manager told him to remove the superfluous plates!

 For our day off last week, we took the tram to Űçkuyular, where there is lovely recreation area around a lagoon. We walked along by the beach, among a variety of semi-tropical trees, with different sea-birds around (including one flamingo). Lots of families go there for picnics and bathing.

 Other leisure activities included our regular Sunday afternoon ‘voyage’ across to Bostanlı by vapur (the water-buses which criss-cross the gulf to and from different areas of Izmir.) We usually treat ourselves to an ice-cream, but this time came across a lovely little café that served excellent Turkish coffee and delicious cheesecake. And we had another coffee one afternoon after spending two or three hours at the really good new Museum of Art and Culture opposite the church. A big improvement on the old one; it was encouraging that it recognised the multi-culturalism of Smyrna’s history, with a number of references and displays of Christian artefacts. (And the tourist leaflet includes a downloadable walk around Izmir’s churches, as well as one around its mosques.)

 We’ve continued with the weekly pattern of Sunday Eucharist, Tuesday Zoom Evening Prayer and Wednesday Bible Study (today we had 8 in the office and 5 on line!) I mentioned last week that Jo and I are older than most of the congregation – but it doesn’t seem to matter, and the younger members (several students at one of Izmir’s universities) are comfortable talking to and sharing with us. Indeed, we had two of the students with us on Saturday afternoon, when we opened the church for visitors – not as many as sometimes, because there were activities around the Kordon (for the 101^st anniversary of Ataturk’s victory over the Greek forces defending Smyrna – after which most Armenians and Greeks were driven out of the city.) 

There are certainly some restrictions on freedoms in Türkiye – the media is inhibited, if not censored, and most institutions have been purged of any critics of the government. But it is a relaxed and friendly country, and always feels safe and comfortable. There are many police in evidence in the streets and on the Kordon – but their presence seems pretty benign. There is no obvious feeling of there being surveillance of the population (there seem to be no more CCTV cameras than in the UK.) Churches are free to gather; some discretion is called for – but that is also true in France. The only change since our first visit is that non-Turks leading Turkish churches have been refused continuing visas.

 Residency permission is certainly getting more difficult: several church members have been unable to gain permanent resident permission, and so have to move between Türkiye and another country on 3-monthly intervals. And in general there has been a strong clampdown on refugees and others without full papers, many of whom have been deported, especially back to Iran. Others have been deprived of any medical care. So it is not all good news. But one church member is finding it absurdly difficult to get a green card to move to the States, where his wife is living. 

 To finish on a lighter note, the church cat, Cleopatra, waylaid us on our way to church on our first morning in Izmir. She welcomes stroking and expects to be fed on a daily basis, something she shares with her ‘understudy’ Henrietta. But we certainly had the impression that she remembered us from last year. So we have had a good ‘welcome back to Izmir’, all round.

Izmir 2023

 

It’s a week since we left Axminster, to travel to London and Izmir, via Stansted airport. So we are now reasonably acclimatised, to being 2 hours ahead of British time, and expecting a normal daytime temperature around 32°C.

Izmir has not changed much in the past 12 months, except that we now look over to a new Museum of History and Culture, in renovated buildings that were formerly a tobacco factory, and the view of the hills to the east is largely obscured by more new tower blocks; so we don’t get such a good view of the rising sun while we say Morning Prayer together.

St John’s has changed a bit. The interior has been re-decorated, and the electrical system replaced, with good new lights. The congregation at the Eucharist on Sunday was about 30, of whom only 4 or 5 were around in our first visit in 2016. There is still a good mixture of nationalities, with native English-speakers a definite minority. Most of the others have quite good English, but some are attracted more by the atmosphere and ‘style’ of the worship. Most people gather for refreshments in the church hall afterwards, and the discussions and conversations continue for up to an hour.

We’ve also shared in one on-line Evening Service, with a congregation of 5, one of whom was in a car in the States; and at the Bible Study 7 gathered in the chaplain’s office and 3 were on-line. How church life has changed since the pandemic (before which hardly any of us had heard of Zoom)!

The mixture of the congregation is always attractive – a foretaste of the eternal gathering of that ‘great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb’ (Revelation 7:9). It’s also challenging, as is the fact that Jo and I are clearly older than most of the church members. It also probably creates some problems in achieving a strong sense of solidarity and belonging; but it’s moving in the right direction, and gives some hope that this is a church with a future.

It's too early to make any real comments on Turkish society. Economically, the last few years have been difficult: inflation is over 30% this year, but the lira has been so devalued against the euro that the price rises make little impact on us – food is still cheaper than in Britain. There are more empty shops than we remember from last year, but some new cafés have opened.

The annual ‘International Fair’ is taking place at the moment, in Kulturpark. There are plenty of food-stalls and market stalls, plus various displays and exhibitions. There are evening concerts. But it’s hard for foreigners like us to navigate, as the only maps are exclusively in Turkish, as are most of the displays – so it doesn’t feel terribly ‘international’.  But perhaps that’s a rebuke to our assumption that everybody ought to speak English!

It is right for us to be here, though we are perhaps more aware of our being older than when we first visited Izmir. Please continue to think of us – and pray for us, if you are inclined to. 

Blessings to all our readers.

Our final week in Izmir

 The past week has, again, been quite busy.

 I had to take a funeral on Wednesday – details of which were very slow in coming (I was getting calls from someone – the funeral director? – in Turkish) until a contact at the Catholic Cathedral called me. So I had less than 10 hours to prepare a service etc. I was told they just wanted prayers by the graveside. They arranged a car to pick me up from the church, and fortunately there was an English-speaking woman also travelling, who could interpret for the Turkish driver. I had no idea where we were going, but discovered that there is a Christian cemetery on the outskirts of Izmir. There were around 30 people waiting; and we had a short service, with some of them, in the very small chapel – which had an altar, and a crucifix. We then processed to the grave, and the interment was very similar to one in England. (So I have now taken funerals in France, Corfu, Germany and Turkey.) This also meant Jo had to facilitate and lead the Bible Study in my place, which was good. I got back to the church in time for the last 25 minutes.

 After all that stress, we felt we owed ourselves a complete day-off, and took ourselves to Foça, a delightful harbour town to the north of Izmir. It’s an ancient site –Greek Phocaia was base for much exploring, and its voyagers went all round the Mediterranean, founding colonies, including Massilia (Marseilles). It’s an attractive town, with a lovely setting. It’s also got some fine fish restaurants, and we enjoyed an excellent meal of fried sardines.

 After a rather slow start, our time in Izmir has gone quickly, and this morning was our final service. The congregation was around 25, the usual mixture of nationalities and languages. Jo and I were probably the oldest people in church. It’s always refreshing to see new people, some just visiting out of curiosity, others more seriously attending. After the service we were asked to pray with a Turkish woman with some problem with muscle pain; and then with two Azerbaijan women who felt they had been put under some kind of curse. Ministering to non-English speakers is always a problem, but we had two excellent interpreters!

 After church, we joined with a few people for lunch at a local restaurant – a nice opportunity to talk and listen. Then a walk by the Kordon, and return to the flat to begin packing, as we move tomorrow to the Ibis hotel, in time for Fr James to return. We fly out on Wednesday morning.

 Initial thoughts: we think we have been able to contribute something to St John’s. People have been very welcoming and receptive, and it’s a refreshing change to worship with keen young believers and seekers, who have probing questions to ask. We shall be glad to be home in many ways, but we will miss many aspects of church life here – though some things about Izmir (noise, dust, crowds, traffic…) we won’t miss so much!