Fethiye International Group

AN AFTERNOON WITH

LOUIS de BERNIЀRES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too many superlatives would not be enough to describe what a wonderful afternoon we spent with Louis de Berniѐres, on Sunday the 1^st of May.  This softly spoken, unpretentious author delighted us with readings from his book ‘Birds without wings’ under the very shadow of the remains of the Ottoman Christian (Rum) village that had been forcibly abandoned and whose story was the essence of his book.

First we were treated to him reading an excerpt containing a conversation between Mehmetcik and Kara Tavuk, two village boyhood friends discussing their lives and their educational experiences in a way that revealed many telling insights about the impact of the diverse cultures on their young lives whilst they and their families lived as close neighbours.  Both Ottoman citizens, yet one with a Turkish Moslem background the other a Greek Orthodox one.

Then we were treated to a reading illustrating life in the army, touching, comic and very revealing of the constraints and pressures of army life on both officers and men.  The final passage Louis chose to read was about the forced evacuation of the village.  Here Louis’ talent for illustrating the human condition from its highest to its lowest, from its best to its worst, led the listener to tears of frustrated anguish and really touched the heart when a straightforward, practical act of kindness relieved an intolerable situation and allowed a dire and awful moment to be managed with some modicum of dignity.

Louis de Berniѐres has a truly awesome talent for describing people in their various roles and conditions, without according merit or criticism, just how they are and how they react to the situations life forces upon them; deeply profound and yet in a language and style accessible to all – simply Wonderful!  Just as one can be deeply moved by music so Louis’ prose evokes an amazing depth of emotions, we are all deeply grateful to him and delighted that so many of us were able to have our books signed by the author himself and we all thoroughly enjoyed learning more about his thoughts and experiences in the question and conversation session.

The afternoon was further enhanced by the outstanding and thoughtful catering provided by Rebecca and Tolga Keskin in the idyllic setting of Izela and Günay’s Garden in Kayaköy.  They looked after over a hundred guests, serving drinks and an open buffet of lavish proportions with an ease and efficiency that belied the tremendous efforts they must have made to do so.  They and their staff had worked for days preparing home grown foods for the table.  Many many thanks to them for this admirable donation to a charitable event and I cannot recommend them enough for you to enjoy some unique Mediterranean dining in a beautiful garden in a quiet pastoral village whose tranquillity does not readily evoke the pains embedded in its history.  The music provided by ‘Cafe Aman’ which included Rebetika and Turkish-Greek folksongs delighted us all with their mellifluous sounds, many of which you felt must have echoed in the village in the past, especially before the ancient order was torn apart.

Whilst I hope I have illustrated some sense of the very special experience this afternoon was I want to stress that none of this would have happened were it not for the vision, tenacity and hard work of Jane Akatay, who over the years and with friends, had dreamed of bringing Louis de Berniѐres back to the village whose story had provided the inspiration for his book ‘Birds without Wings’.  It was Jane’s idea that an event could be arranged to benefit local children and it was she who contacted FIG so that we could help support and arrange the event.  We are very pleased to be able to announce and it is a credit to Jane, that the afternoon raised over 3,500TL after expenses, which also included Louis’ expenses, had been deducted.  This money will be spent both on Kaya village school, which is fighting to remain open and has been extensively restored recently and on Fig’s current work supporting those suffering from Thalasseamia; a sincere thank you to all those who participated and supported us.

Of course Louis de Berniѐres also took part in Fethiye’s ‘Yunus Nadi’ week of culture, where he appeared on local television and at events held in the antique amphitheatre, the cultural centre and at local schools.  Fig also bought and had delivered several bags of clay so that many of Fethiye’s schoolchildren could be introduced to the art of sculpturing by experts and in these ways, by being active in the organisation of bringing Louis de Berniѐres to Fethiye and by providing the clay, Fig seriously sponsored the cultural week for local children.

And last but not least, by facilitating the printing of posters tickets and pamphlets and by always being there, always willing to help good causes, are our dear friends Serdar and Cağla Duzenli of the Land of Lights newspaper.  Also in need of special mention are the hours our treasurer, Jill Erdoğan, spent in chasing and controlling ticket sales and accounting for all the monies and having to answer that phone!  She was at times ably assisted by Julie Peach who also gave generously of her time and efforts to make this event successful.

Sue Tekin