The mandolin and friendship...

I was having my morning soup at Zeynebim Cafe Restaurant in Göcek when Baran Üstüntaş arrived. He is a music teacher. He plays the saz quite well in his own right and sings folk songs. 

I invited him to our table. 

"The soup is good.." 

"Enjoy. Let me have some tarhana soup too," he said.

"Tarhana soup is very beneficial, Mr. Baran. In our childhood, after flour soup, we spooned up the most tarhana. In those years, our spoons were made of wood. Bulgur soup took third place. We grew up with them."  

"Actually, I don't really eat breakfast, but let me join you today," he said. 

"Tarhana is an important food that has kept us standing from Central Asia to the present day. My mother used to make tarhana in the summer months in the highlands, shaping them into fist-sized balls." 

"Mr. Baran, tarhana soup is good for some illnesses due to the nutrients it contains, such as antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals." "Tarhana is especially effective for ailments like colds and the flu because it is good for immunity. It also helps the body get rid of excess salt and regulates blood pressure." 

"I am going to İzmir. I have patients I have appointments with. I will return in the evening." 

"Oh, how nice! Can I come too? I haven't been in a while. I miss İzmir." 

"The distance between Göcek and İzmir is three to three and a half hours. We will return by evening," I said. After I finished my work at the hospital and Baran finished his trips around Karşıyaka, we took a short break in Eskiçine on the way back. As we were getting back on the road in our vehicle, Baran said, "I slept well. Let me take the wheel for a bit..."

"If we have time, can we stop by Nuri Hodja's?" Baran asked. 

I called him on my cell phone. "Hello! Nuri Hodja, if you are at home, we will be there in 45 minutes. We'll stop by for 5-10 minutes." "We missed you, we want to see you." 

The veteran Nuri Çelik said, "I'm on the minibus, I'm heading home. I would be pleased. I will also make the tarhana soup you like." 

"Don't go to any trouble, Hodja. But there are two of us." "Would it be a trouble? I would be very pleased. Who is with you?" 

"I won't tell you his name, it's a surprise."

Evening darkness had just begun. When we entered the garden in front of the house, it was drizzling. At the end of February, in the cold that chilled us to the bone, we entered Nuri Hodja's house. He had lit the fireplace. The room was only warmed by the air conditioner on one side and the fireplace on the other. Especially Nuri Hodja's warm welcome warmed our hearts thoroughly. 

"Baran Hodja, what a nice surprise. Ah, we still haven't found a pure Turkish equivalent for the word 'sürpriz' (surprise) that joined us from French." 

"Literary figures in Turkey have produced a lot, but I won't say anything on this subject. You are also a literature teacher, Nuri Hodja. You should study your lesson more," I blurted out. 

"With a short laugh of 'Hahhaaa', he brushed off the subject of the word 'sürpriz'." 

"I am a music teacher. I won't take it personally," said Baran. 

"The tarhana is ready. Let's go to the table. When it comes to music, my boarding school years came to mind. I studied as a boarder at the teacher training school, which were the final days of the Village Institutes. We couldn't pass to the next grade without learning to play the mandolin or any musical instrument. That's why I can play the mandolin." 

"Do you play the saz too?" asked Baran. 

"If I had one, I would play it. Nurettin Hodja didn't even gift me a baglama." 

We laughed. 

I chimed in. "I finished primary school in a two-classroom school. We studied the 5th grade alone. My teacher Ayşen (Bayındır) Gürbüz had said, 'If you don't learn a folk song or a song and sing it in class, you cannot pass the music lesson.' I had practiced 'Tren gelir hoş gelir' at home for days. Even if it was difficult, I sang the folk song to the end and passed the lesson. I don't know any other folk songs." 

"Tren gelir hoş gelir 

Ley, Ley, limi limi ley 

Tren gelir hoş gelir 

Ley ley, limi limi ley 

Odaları boş gelir 

Lim, lim güzel gel bize 

Odaları boş gelir 

Lim, lim güzel gel bize 

.... 

"Today, they have assigned an imam to each of the schools. There is no music teacher in many schools. They have ruined education," said the veteran teacher Nuri... 

.... 

Three days later, one day before the fasts began, teacher Baran walked through the door of Zeynebim Göcekiçi Restaurant. He had a musical instrument in its black case in his hand. I was eating walnut and tahini pumpkin dessert towards the end of my dinner. 

"Come on, Hodja, let's have dinner. The pumpkin with tahini is very good. It is very light and very healthy. Tahini is especially important." 

"Thank you. My daughters are waiting at home. If it's not too much trouble for you, I would be pleased if you could leave this three-stringed baglama with my teacher Nuri when you go to İzmir. While strumming this, he will remember us and the Village Institutes," he said. 

Do not forget your friendships and your friends. Let's not skip our elderly, especially. Let's ask how they are, even if it's once in a while. 

In these days when the door to peace is being opened, I wish the month of Ramadan brings peace and happiness to all humanity. 

May you have plenty of friends and friendships!

Prof. Dr. Nurettin DEMİR