Today’s walk was from Mustafabeyli, a small town west of Osmaniye, into Osmaniye.
Before starting the walk I stopped in at a market in Mustafabeyli to pick up some bread and cheese for the road.
At the market I stood around drinking three cups of tea and chatting with the store owner, Cevdet Aksu, while he took care of the Sunday morning rush of people buying bread and newspapers.
I love the fact that Sunday mornings are the same whether you’re in Manhattan or a small village in southern Turkey — carbohydrates and newspapers.
Cevdet bey has three children: a 23-year old daughter, a 20-year old son, and a 12-year old daughter. The son is a student at Korkut Ata University in Osmaniye, the same university my hosts go to.
Between customers Cevdet bey pulled up Facebook on the computer near the cash register and asked me for my profile. I typed my username into the search box, and Cevdet sent me a friend request right there on the spot.
Hello Cevdet bey, thank you for the tea and conversation. It was a great start to a gray and drizzly morning!