Turning and turning, change...

Change in the individual, change in the family, change in society, change in nature and in the world...

As a lucky earthling approaching the age of 75, I have experienced and am still experiencing many of the changes occurring in every field and at every stage. 

Following a serious traffic accident I had on July 29, 2025, I set out on my first journey toward Fethiye-Göcek with my newly acquired electric vehicle. My car did not have enough electricity to finish the trip. Electric vehicle charging stations are only just beginning to multiply. 

Before setting off in the morning, I arrived at the charging station in front of the Dokuz Eylül University Rectorate. It was a charging station from a new and different company; I looked here, I looked there, and the warning on the station said, "download the company's app to your phone." The process took some time, but I partially succeeded. Then there was the credit card issue—this didn't work, that didn't work. An hour or two slipped by in front of the charging station. There was no one to ask. There was a phone number on the station; I dialed it, and a robot answered. Hello, hello... what does a robot understand from a hello? It just keeps reciting its script. "You are the 7th person in line, we apologize for the wait, etc., etc." Twenty minutes passed, and we hadn't even moved from 7th to 6th place. Oh, how I missed the days of pulling into a gas station, having the attendant fill up the tank with gasoline or diesel, and being on my way; instead, I had found this trouble and misery for myself. It was just me, the car, and the charging station. And a robot... If you can get out of this mess, go ahead. If it's so easy, you come and do it.. Should I take an antidepressant? No, no, that won't do, I have a journey to make...

Experiencing change, keeping up with change, in short, changing is difficult. But so be it, there is no giving up. I set off even though my car's charge was low. I'll charge it at a large gas station. I'll surely find someone who knows how. Before reaching the Torbalı junction, the car says every 3-5 minutes, "your charge is running low, be careful, don't leave me on the road." Even the car thinks of itself. No one thinks of me. The charge is about to run out. The screen shows the charge dropping by percentage. It went from 4% to 3%.

We barely managed to pull ourselves into a gas station near the village of Selçuk Belevi. 

I immediately pulled up to the charging unit near the station. It was a station from a different charging company... I downloaded their program to my phone. I am keeping up with change, after all... Communication with the company headquarters was easy. After a short conversation with a robot, the lady on the other end of the phone guided me nicely, and we started our charge. The screen showed the charging time as 2 hours and 20 minutes. It was going to take quite a while!

What can we do? We will wait. I hadn't even bought a book to read. There are no newspapers around either; they aren't sold. Is there anyone left who reads newspapers?! 

The whole world is on the mobile phone, provided it has a charge and you can access the internet. I sat in a corner and found the TRT Türkü channel and started listening. I love folk songs (türkü). Folk songs are the best way for a society to connect with its past. 

On the radio station on the phone, they were interviewing the artist Turhan Alıcı. An artist whose name I had heard before. He is from Sarıkamış. One of the young children of two Village Institute-educated teachers. He grew up in his childhood surrounded by mandolins and other instruments played by his family. He is one of the very valuable Anatolian artists of our day. Looking at it from another angle, it is the success of education and hard work, the power of familial change. It is the product of that incredible change in Anatolia that began with the Village Institutes on April 17.. 

In the meantime, happy 86th anniversary to the April 17 Village Institutes. 

While listening to the conversation with the artist and the folk songs on the radio, I saw that the charge had reached 77%. I told myself "that's enough" and tried to free the vehicle from the charger. Aha... the charging wouldn't stop. I am trying to remove the charging connection. The screen gives a warning: "stop the charging from your application." I immediately grabbed my mobile phone. Oh, how surprising... the phone's battery had died while I was listening to the folk songs. I get into the car. A new warning says, "do not use electrical appliances while the car is charging, it is dangerous." I thought to myself, "wow," and pulled myself together.

I enter the cafe-market adjacent to the station across the way. I get the answer, "I'm sorry, our electricity is cut off." When I entered the gas station market, I found an outlet and plugged in my phone's charging cable. While waiting, I ordered a tea. The girls at the counter next to me turned to the waiter who gave me the tea and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "2 months and 5 days left," so I, like a curious cat, asked. What is this you are saying? The girl replied, "I'm getting married," and with a smile, she explained, "I hope you'll come too. In Belevi.." and went back to her work. Is the flirtatious girl also waiting for change?...

After the phone had charged a little, I was able to stop the car's charging from the application. I set off with a 97% charge and a range of 444 km.

I turned on my radio, excuse me, I dialed it... They were giving the 4 o'clock news. It was reporting the great success of the opposition in Hungary in "returning to democracy and change." The autocracy of Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu lost. Democracy won. The people won.

I sincerely congratulate the Hungarian people… 

After the short news, Turhan Alıcı's interview continued. While listening to the last track, "Döne Döne/ Bahar gelsin" (Turning and turning / Let spring come), the "Döne Döne ghazal" by Necati of Kastamonu, which made him the most famous poet in the Ottoman palace in a single day, came to my eyes. I remembered that it was a source of inspiration for dozens of poets, starting with Baki, one of the unforgettable poets of Divan literature. Is there a connection between Turhan Alıcı's "döne döne" and Necati's "Döne Döne ghazal"? I don't know? This is Anatolia, the motherland of folk songs... 

I thought about how folk songs have shown the power of Anatolian culture from the past to the present.

Are the springs of the past years the same as the spring we live in today? Change is the fresh blood of life. How beautiful it is to experience change and changes. 

My column is getting tight. I would have liked to share the lyrics of the folk song. I have no space left. I recommend you listen to Turhan Alıcı's "Döne Döne/ Bahar gelsin" track on YouTube... 

Folk songs have a very special place in our health. Do not remain without music...