Travels, Musings and Whatnots: December 2013

When my husband retired, November became our month of choice to travel, because it being a low travel season, there are lots of deals on air fares, and accommodations. There is of course, the added bonus of not having to contend with hordes of tourists. Of course it is also a rainy, cold month but we have learned, in the course of our lives, to take the good with the bad.

This November, I decided that a return to Rome, my favorite city, was called for, so that my husband could finally "see" her as I did, in that magical year we spent there prior to his retirement, but before that, a first encounter with that most fascinating of cities, Istanbul!

There is so much to remember and recount of Istanbul, but witnessing the "dance" of the Whirling Dervishes was for me unforgettable. I put this experience at par with my enchantment with the Pantheon in Rome. Could it be because of the understated elegance of the sublime that both experiences conveyed to me?

A Dikhr, a remembrance of God

Pantheon's Oculus, a vision of heaven

The whirling dervishes are members of the Sufi order of Mevlevi, which was founded by a Persian poet, Islamic jurist and theologian in Konya a town in central Turkey. A Dervish is one who follows the Sufi path and the act of whirling is part of the Mevlevi Sema ceremony, a dihkr (dance) or a rememberance of God. The Sama, the whirling, represents man's mystical journey to the perfect. As man turns toward truth, he grows in love, abandons his ego, approaches perfection and is more able to love and serve all creation.

The ceremony starts with an ensemble of instruments accompanying a solo singer, singing praises to the Prophet.

Then the 4 dervishes make their entrance, one of them lays down a red cloth to which all bow.

The 5th dervish or the Sheikh, enters and proceeds to the front of the red cloth, where he is approached one by one by the samas who have at this time shed their black robes. After passing the Sheikh, they begin to whirl. The four samas represent the moon who are whirling around the Sheikh who represents the sun.

The dance represents the spiritual journey that every believer goes through. The first Sama represents the recognition of God, the second, the recognition of one's unity with God, the third, the ecstasy that one experiences when one surrenders to God, and the fourth, when the Sheikh joins the dance, symbolizes the peace which comes with this unity.

The dikhr is accompanied by sufi music and song, one also hears the scraping of the samas shoes on the floor. There is a slight continuous breeze coming from the whirling samas' tennure which represents the death shroud. Their sikkes, representing gravestones stay firmly on their heads. Their hands are lifted with one palm facing up and the other facing down. A form of dying before dying, some say.

Click on the link to see part of the performance taped by my hubby:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=676866602353986&set=vb.100000919567053&type=2&theater

Because my mother is in her 88th year, she's no longer keen on going to places that require taking those long (across the pacific) flights. Having said this, however, doesn't mean that her "wanderlust" is gone. Maybe it has dimmed a little but it's definitely still there. This year alone, she has travelled thrice with me or one or two or three of my siblings. One of those trips was to Hanoi.

Ha Long Bay

When my father was alive, he used to plan all our trips and our accomodations. This being the case, my mother is used to a certain kind of accomodation. The boutique hotel, in the old part of the city, which we stayed in was not what she is used to. So, no saying what would have happened if we hadn't arrived past midnight!

But the hotel itself was charming and owned by a very enterprising young woman, who took very good care of us. The staff were friendly and helpful and all of them started to call my mother, "mommy". In addition, they transferred her to their "presidential" suite. So she decided to stay and for the rest of us, staying in the "old part" of the city brought us closer to the more interesting sites and sounds of this city's life!

busy street in the old quarter

Hanoi is charming indeed, largely escaping the Vietnam War unscathed. French influence is seen in its buildings, apartments, embassy houses, the Opera house, as well as the ubiquitous baguette vendors lining the roadsides. There are no towering condominiums or office buldings. Adding to its allure, are the Sino-Vietnamese temples, pagodas and public gardens.

Hanoi, the former capital of Indochina and now the capital of reunified Vietnam (because the north defeated the south in the Vietnam war), is the second largest city in Vietnam and sits on the right bank of the Red River.

On our first day there we rented a car to bring us around the city. Thank God we had a driver! Driving can be nerve wracking in Hanoi, there being almost four million registered motorbikes! Seeing the swarm of motorcycles facing you in an intersection can be truly intimidating!

Because it was very hot and humid, we decided to remain in the car, having no real interest in seeing the War Museum or Ho Chi Minh's sarcophagus, we just asked the driver to bring us around the city. What made an impression was the Hanoi Ceramic Road, completed in October 2010, to commemorate the establishment of the city 1,000 years ago. This road is bounded on one side with a ceramic mosaic mural on the wall of the dyke system of Hanoi, covering 5 kilometers. Something that took scores of mosaicists, professionals, hobbyists, weekend artists, children, adults, foreign and local 5 years to complete. Hanoi Ceramic Mural Project on CNN

Part of the Mural

We of course ate in the local restaurants and I must say I found the food delicious: flavorful, fragrant with spices and just enough chillis to give it a little kick. The flavor is enhanced with the use of fish sauce and fish paste. The fragrance intensified by the liberal use of mint, lemongrass, coriander, ginger and basil. The more conservative use of chilli is more similar to Cambodian rather than Thai cooking. Phoa Ba was our breakfast of choice accompanied by a small baguette, and I must say, the best baguette I have had outside of Paris.

Local food stall

The highlight of our trip to Hanoi was undoubtedly the side trip to Ha Long Bay. Almost 4 hours by car from Hanoi, the ride included a visit to a handicraft factory producing and selling Vietnamese silk, embroidery, laquer ware, sculptures and coffee.

Pandemonium greets one upon reaching the wharf where the boats to Ha Long Bay are docked. People and more people are herded into areas where passengers are segregated into premiere, first, second class etc. tour groups. After a lot of delays we finally boarded our boat. Our accomodations were not bad at all, except that the bathroom was miniscule.

Then we were on our way, slowly leaving our berth, sailing past the other boats heading to the opening of Halong Bay.

According to the information provided on the web Halong Bay's thousands of limestone karst or islets took 500 million years of formation. Awesome is hardly an adequate word to describe this!

More interesting is the legend that surrounds the origins of the bay. As locals tell it, a very long time ago when Vietnam was just starting to develop as a country, she had to defend herself against invaders from the sea. To assist Vietnam, the gods sent dragons from the sky, who spat out jewels and jade which abruptly turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay. After the enemy was repulsed, the dragons decided to stay in the bay with the mother of all the dragons descending and staying in Ha Long Bay.

Can't blame the dragons for staying, the beauty, serenity and majesty of Ha Long is unforgetable:

Approaching the Bay

An islet dwarfs a fishing boat

Inside the Bay at dusk

Anchored in the Bay for the night

View from my porthole

Early next morning taken from top deck after taichi

The next morning, after early morning taichi and a hearty breakfast we proceeded to visit one of the caves in the Bay. As magnificent as Halong is, it is a of this world, Hang Sung Sot, the Cave of Surprises on the other hand at times appeared not to be! Beautiful, sometimes amazingly so, it was also in places, eeriely other wordly!