This place is incredible...

Ok...so the wonderfullness continues. The eid celebration was one of going from house to house with people I don't even know well and eating food...lots of food and drinking tea...lots of tea. It was simply amazing. The Turkish people espically those of the Naqshabandi tariqa (A sufi path) have blown open my impression of what hospitality is. All Muslims are hospitiable...even those with disagreeable notions of religion to my own, but this is a new breed of Hospitality. And from here on out it will be spelled with a capital H for emphatic purposes. After touring Istanbul a bit with my new found friend and brother in european height (6'7 and Polish) Abdu Rahim as well as touring the houses for the Eid. We attended a lecture from a very esteemed man who's only goal is to spread his sheikh's wonderfully peaceful teachings through the use of business. Go figure...Islam in the 20th century. after the meeting was over we talked with some people who were estatic about me traveling around the world and seeing all the muslims and the fact that I was there. From there a man who is now coined as "Funny man" because of his jolly nature and willinhgness to sound extremly funny when he speaks english, introduced me to some young men who were going to Bursa, a very old and important city in the Ottoman empire as well as religious significance. Sort story short...I jumped in the car and was on my way to Bursa. I was housed the first two nights by this amazing family who have two sons who can squeak out some english and we had many a nice english lesson. I cant pay for anything in this country by the way. I wanted to by some long underwear and they bought them for me. They gave me a sweater. I had food and candy chestnuts....ridiculsy good...so good I cant spell ridicoulsly right any more. They took me to more people who all have busniss cards and friends in the places i'm going...God willing. They took me to another very sweet family who put me up for a night and gave me new socks and filled me full of food and good conversation. It is just incredible. My other new found friend Utgu took me around to meet more people and visit more special places and gravesights and even took me to the barber. I really don't know what to say other than...I love Turkey. I am in Ankara now for a few days and then am heading to Konya for the end of the Rumi festival. All is well...cold but well thanks to new, free, soft wool thermal underwear. God bless the Turks!