Gökçeören to Phellos via Hacioglan: page 2

We reached the saddle below the conical hill at about 13.15, and the cottage at 13.45. This gave us a walking time of 3.55 (Guide 4hrs), so we were on schedule, despite our difficulty in following the Way after the site where the stepping stones would have been.

A barking dog announced our arrival before the cottage was in site, and when we arrived Mehmet and Fatima were outside to greet us. They ushered us in. We removed our boots and left rucksacks and fell poles outside and stumbled in on the cool earth floor. Bay leaves were heaped in one corner. Mehmet continued his work of stuffing these into a large plastic sack, while Fatima (not convinced we picked up her name correctly) began to prepare a meal for us. At least that is what eventually dawned on us. Had we known earlier, and had words to explain, we would have accepted just tea, and perhaps an apple. But, realising too late, we presented them with the bread and cheese we had brought with us.

right 13.54: the fireplace, before Fatima began to make bread, and the metal tray on which much of the meal was placed.

There were cushions and rugs, but apart from a bed in a room at the back, no furniture. In another back room were more plastic sacks packed tightly with leaves. Storage consisted of bags hung around the walls. The upper walls were of wood above a few rough courses of stone. Windows were in one wall, overlooking the valley. They were unglazed. A plastic demi-john with a tap was their main water tank. Plastic containers recycled as buckets contained more water.

left 13.55: the çay pot.

A rug was placed in the middle of the floor and we sat on small cushions against the wall facing the windows. The meal consisted of a mix of tomates, cucumber, and other vegetables in oil placed on the tray, a large flat discs of freshly-baked bread, a dish of yoghurt, peppers, and olives. You tore of pieces of bread, but some of the mix on them, rolled them up and stuffed them into your mouth. Easy in principle, but, alone of the three of us, I find squatting like this uncomfortable to the point of pain in knees and back, and had to keep changing my position as I ate. Simon reached to take a piece of his bread and discovered it pinned underneath my sweaty sock.

We enjoyed our meal (though Simon seemed to lose his appetite), and the çay that followed, but the time was a problem.

To be continued ...