Dinner With Arturo

Dinner with Arturo...

After the exhausting day crawling over rocks of tufa, we were settling down for a nap when Janset called and asked if we would like to go to dinner with her and Arturo that evening.  Of course, we replied!  

So Arturo roared up in his Ford to pick us up and drove us to a small bar/restaurant in a nearby town that is unpronounceable!  We walked into the bar area, with lots of local people and other tour guides, who all knew Arturo and Janset and we climbed up to the roof to watch the stars.  It reminded us of ancient times in Jerusalem or something!  There were arbors covered with grapes and tables for diners.  Arturo, who is one of the most dynamic people I’ve met, ordered dinner which started with lots of mezes (appetizers like tapas) and concluded with kebabs of chicken and lamb.  Lamb is the staple food of the area, it appears.  And lots of it is inedble, with gristle and fat.  But not at this inn.  

And later we learned that this restaurant was a stop on the Silk Road for merchants who were traveling through.  We noticed the doors coming off the roof -- and each one was a  room for a weary traveler in ancient times!  These inns were built every 25 miles because that is how far a camel could travel in a day.  You know how I love history, so I was in historical heaven!

But about Arturo:  his grandfather and his great grandfather had all been rug merchants in Kusadasi.  They had done their procuring of the rugs in the traditional ways of going out to the tribes to buy.  Arturo grew up in the business, so to speak.  But he is the one who invented the cooperative idea and the method of securing money for the women.  He moved to Cappadocia part-time because it is more centrally located within the tribal area, but still has his business -- and his family -- in Kusadasi.  Arturo cannot sit still.  And I told him I felt he was ADD -- and he agreed with me!!  He is bubbling over with ideas and, while quite modest, he is one of those fellows who could never sit still.  His family of wife and two sons, 7 and 5, live in Kusadasi and he goes there every couple weeks, although it is a 10 hour drive.  And then ... back to Cappadocia to look over his business!  

We spent time telling Janset how both Arturo and myself shop on the computer and he, like me, loves Amazon!  He buys clothes, shoes, books, almost everything on Amazon U.K..  Janset was incredulous and says she may try, but I think it may be too much a jump of faith for her! 

Arturo comes to the states frequently, has even been to St Louis and Minneapolis.  He actually lectures on rugs at universities and, in St. Louis, at the Ethical Society.  In fact, he told us he has been to every state except four!

Needless to say, Arturo was the highlight of our trip!  He has become a friend.  In fact, Colleen -- he reminded me of Jack, and not just a little!!!