New Europe (2007) s01e02 Episode Script

MICHAEL PALIN: Lake Ohrld lles
between Albanla, whlch I've just left,
and Macedonla,
on whlch I'm settlng foot.
I shall be headlng east
through Macedonla's eye-catchlng scenery
and onto the border
It shares wlth Bulgarla.
Then across Bulgarla Into Turkey,
and vla Istanbul and Ephesus
to Cappadocla on the Anatollan Plateau.
PALIN: Pretty spectacular up here!
DIMITAR: Yeah!
Wlth my frlend, Dlmltar,
I'm enterlng terrltory where
even four-by-fours fear to tread,
the rocky foothllls of
the Rlla Mountalns In western Bulgarla.
Dlmltar Is a member of an order called
the Whlte Brotherhood,
who hold an annual gatherlng
In the starkly beautlful surroundlngs
of an area they call the Seven Lakes.
PALIN: We've just seen a lake!
DIMITAR: Yeah!
PALIN: Fantastic!
DIMITAR: First lake!
PALIN: That's beautiful!
This is the first of the Seven Lakes
up here! It's lovely!
PALIN: It's been a long day's journey
to get to thls remote spot.
Well, as remote as a spot can be
when there's 1,000 other people
sharlng It wlth you.
PALIN: This is the camp?
It's like a small city, isn't it?
DIMITAR: 0h, yeah!
PALIN: Up there, all those tents,
perched very precariously!
PALIN: I dldn't sleep much last nlght.
By the tlme I nodded off,
everyone else
was gettlng up for the sunrlse,
whlch Is very lmportant
to the Whlte Brotherhood.
The summer solstlce Is the most
ausplclous tlme of year for them,
and thls lofty mountaln top Is
the most ausplclous place to wltness lt.
The Whlte Brotherhood was founded
by a Bulgarlan called Peter Deunov
on whom the splrlt of God descended
on March 7, 1 89 7.
Non-smoklng and vegetarlan,
It's a curlous mlx
of Chrlstlan and Indlan mystlclsm
wlth much talk of splrltual energles,
whlch are evldently abundant
In these spectacular mountalns.
The cllmax of the day
Is what they call paneurythmlc danclng.
No bobble hats and anoraks here.
Thls Is the Whlte Brotherhood
In all lts glory.
(SINGING SPIRITUAL S0NG)
PALIN: What Is the alm
of what you are dolng here today?
What's It really all about?
MAN: It's about the peak of the summer.
Today Is the peak of the summer.
And people are gathering today because
it's a celebration for The Brotherhood!
Since this day is when
you can receive the most of energies
from the sun!
We come together, we dance
the paneurythmy, we have concerts!
And that also makes us feel
more close to each other,
more llke brothers and slsters.
The paneurythmic dancing,
is that a sort of a way of achieving
this kind of harmony, this function?
Yes, this is the best tool
that we have for achieving the harmony
because it's a union
of three very important things!
Number one,
that's the materlal, the moves.
Number two,
thls Is the words, you know, the mlnd.
It's words whlch are words about nature,
about love, about harmony,
about the sprlng, the energles.
And, also, It's the thlrd thlng,
It's also the heart.
You know, people are also worklng
wlth thelr hearts,
whlle belng In the clrcle.
It's a unlon clrcle, unltlng people.
It's the symbol of the sun.
And, also, people are also worklng
on thelr splrltual level.
It's llke a prayer
In movement and dance.
PALIN: Today was an extraordinary event!
Were you pleased with the way it went?
Yeah, absolutely!
I think, every year
it's becoming more and more harmonious!
What happened to the White Brotherhood
during the Communist period?
During the Communist period, it was hard
for all spiritual work in Bulgaria!
Because, you know,
the only spiritual thing allowed
was worshipping the Communist ideal,
the Communist principles!
So, it was not only
The White Brotherhood,
also all kinds of religious
and spiritual movements
were either forbidden,
at times they were persecuted,
and, all, they have to hide!
What I like about The White Brotherhood
is that they're not dogmatic!
They may be excessively tolerant!
But also this great event today,
very spectacular,
but a quiet spectacular!
It's not been the blasted noise
from PA's and loudspeaker systems
that seem to be so important these days!
The other thing is that they talk a lot
about the feel of natural energy
in an arena,
and I've never been sure about that!
But here, in the Rila mountains,
I think it actually really does exist!
PALIN: After the elevated harmonles
of the Whlte Brotherhood,
mundane conslderatlons,
llke gettlng off the mountaln,
brlng us down to Earth wlth a jolt.
Well, rather a lot of jolts, actually.
On the way to the capltal, Sofla,
we detour to meet Stefan Kltanov,
who has for many years champloned
the work of Monty Python In Bulgarla.
Whether It's our fault or not,
I don't know,
but hls other great enthuslasm
Is the powerful local splrlt, raklya.
Hls father,
who gave hlm the taste for lt,
worked for a sports goods buslness
run by the state.
KITAN0V: My father
was Deputy Director then,
and it was not possible,
for him to be Director
because he was not member of the Party!
PALIN: 0h, I see,
so he never got to the top!
So, after he got retired,
he came here and he escaped!
Yeah!
It was very important,
during the Socialism,
for people to have country house!
- So it was one of the aims for them!
- Yeah!
He grows absolutely everything here,
doesn't he, really?
Well, basically, yes!
But my father doesn't believe in trees
which does not deliver fruits!
0h, I see!
Because from any type of fruit,
we can make rakiya!
But you see the best rakiya
comes from this!!!
These plums!
- And this is my father!
- Yes, hello!
The rlpe frult Is carted off to a couple
of doughty 70-year-olds
called Lubo and Tzeta.
In thelr garden shed,
they produce a head-whacklng,
double-dlstllled concoctlon.
Brewed In a copper stlll called a kazan
and decanted
Into an attractlve plastlc bucket.
- Cheers!
- Ah, well, cheers!
- Na ztrave. We say "na ztrave".
- Na ztrave.
(CHEERING IN BULGARIAN)
Thank you! 0ops!
PALIN: Does the government, sort of,
discourage moonshine rakiya-making
like this?
Is there any sort of disapproval of it?
You know, it's a very important part
of the life of the people!
So the government
doesn't want to interfere!
PALIN: 0h, yeah! Yes!
It's a bit like opium poppies
or cocoa in!!!
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
Nobody knows and everybody has a kazan.
(PALIN LAUGHS)
PALIN: Sofla Is one of Eastern Europe's
most Intlmate and walkable capltals.
There are one or two grand bulldlngs,
llke the Alexander Nevsky Church,
a memorlal to Russlans who dled
helplng thelr fellow Slavs
flght the Turks.
But, by and large,
her leafy streets are on a human scale.
If you want to get around more qulckly,
there Is, as throughout Eastern Europe,
a ublqultous tram system,
whlch the Communlsts wlsely kept
and, Indeed, actlvely encouraged.
Today, In pursult
of a wlder cultural context,
I'm turnlng my back
on cathedrals and churches.
(SINGING IN BULGARIAN)
Thls Is Azls,
and he must have come as qulte a shock
to some of hls fellow Bulgarlans.
In a predomlnantly conservatlve
and homophoblc country,
you couldn't be much more out of llne
than a gay gypsy transvestlte.
And, as a result, he's wlldly popular.
I meet hlm, wlth Maya, a local
fllm dlrector, as our translator.
PALIN: Were you encouraged
by others around you,
your mother, your father,
to become a singer?
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
MAYA: His mother had
some kind of sick ambitions!!!
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
MAYA:!!! Thinking that her child
should be a megastar!
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
MAYA: Something like Elizabeth Taylor
and her mother!
(ALL LAUGH)
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
MAYA: But, in one moment,
because of he's gypsy!!!
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
MAYA:!!! All the doors were closed
in front of him!
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
MAYA: But that was before!
I mean, you're born
and brought up a gypsy!
Do you think the situation has changed
for the gypsy community now?
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
MAYA: No, actually not! They're still
so dirty and so miserable as they were!
When you were young, were you angry
at the way you were treated as a gypsy?
MAYA: Yes, there were people
who obviously did it!
They rejected him
because of what his race is!
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
His mother took him to film castings!!!
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
!!! And nobody took him
because of the colour of his skin!
This is not a tan! It's the colour
of the skin! He was born like that!
Desplte hls problems,
Azls Is one of the lucky ones.
Most gypsles llve as close to the edge
as the threadbare horses
they're raclng for pln money In Plovdlv,
Bulgarla's second clty.
I'm here wlth local glrl Mlra Staleva.
Well, they move pretty quickly!
They're moving fast, aren't they?
We're enjoylng ourselves,
even If no one else Is.
PALIN: What's going on?
(ALL CHEERING)
The shouts and cheers belle
uncomfortable facts.
85% of Bulgarla's gypsles
are unemployed.
Only 1 0% of thelr chlldren
are In secondary educatlon.
They llve In a part of town domlnated
by canyons of Communlst houslng blocks
quletly golng to seed.
PALIN: Are all these blocks here totally
occupied by gypsies or do they mix them?
No, no, they are not mixed!
Actually, this quarter here
is fully gypsies!
Do they try to mix them ever?
Yeah, they try! There is another quarter
in the south of Plovdiv!
At every first floor
they put the gypsies, gypsy families
and all the other floors
were settled with Bulgarian families!
About the big spy in the door
you just have a hole
and behind that there is a horse!
- A horse in the apartment?
- Yeah! A horse in the apartment,
and a fire in front of the block!
- So this didn't really work?
- No, at all, at all!
But it's a quite funny
and interesting idea!
Do they like living in these blocks
or would they rather be living
in the countryside?
If you spend some hours here,
you will see,
they are just out of the blocks!
They never spend
much time in the blocks!
STALEVA: They are just gatherlng
all together In front of the blocks
dolng muslc, slnglng, chattlng.
PALIN: Do I mean, would
other Bulgarlans come here very often?
No, actually, not.
PALIN: Hey!
Desplte the condltlons,
wherever there are gypsles,
there'll be muslc.
And where there's muslc,
there'll be a party.
I've been Invlted to sway along
wlth the local Women's Instltute.
Some of them have come armed.
(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING)
The gypsles of Plovdlv
are not wlthout frlends.
There are groups worklng hard
to lmprove condltlons
In ghettoes llke thls.
But llke gypsles all over Europe,
these people cllng tenaclously
to thelr own way of llfe.
Plovdlv Is the last blg clty
thls slde of Turkey,
and outslde a local transport cafe
I hltch a rlde aboard one of the many
trucks headlng for the end of Europe.
(GRUNTS)
(SPEAKING BULGARIAN)
Turkey?
- Istanbul!
- Istanbul! That'll do me fine!
Fantastic! Thank you!
Istanbul turnoff!
There's a title for a novel!
PALIN: It's a long, stralght drlve,
down the E80,
across a flat, featureless plaln
that wlll take me to the border,
then on to Edlrne and Istanbul
before crosslng the Bosphorus Into Asla,
to Ephesus
and as far east as Cappadocla.
I ask the drlver to drop me
at the border
because I want to see as much
as I can of European Turkey,
whlch many people tend to forget about.
Well, this is the Turkish border,
which used to stretch far into Europe,
as far as Vienna, at one time,
under the 0ttoman Empire!
The Empire is now long gone,
but modern Turkey
still wants to be part of Europe!
PALIN: I take a taxl
Into the nearest blg town, Edlrne.
Hello, Edirne or bust!
There's nothlng beautlful
to see at flrst.
Just another wlndswept frontler
and another Intermlnable
llne of trafflc.
Well, people, you know,
ask what the connection is
between Turkey and the rest of Europe!
Well, I mean, just look at
all these trucks for the answer!
There's certalnly no evldence
that Turkey's an underdeveloped natlon.
Qulte the contrary.
It's the growlng strength
of the Turklsh economy
and the slze of the place
that worrles people.
If Turkey jolns the European Unlon,
It won't be as a small country
glad of the securlty, but as a glant,
wlth a populatlon blgger
than any other member state.
I'm beglnnlng to wonder
If I've made the rlght declslon
to stop off at Edlrne.
But a 1 5th-century stone brldge
leadlng Into town
Is just the flrst of a serles
of wonderful revelatlons.
Behlnd the mundane facade
of a busy modern clty
Iles an lmpresslve hlstory.
My gulde, Selen Korkut,
born and brought up In Edlrne,
Is keen to show It off.
PALIN: I'm glad to have met you,
otherwise I would have just bypassed,
gone through Edirne
and straight to Istanbul!
K0RKUT: That would be a shame
because this city is full
of so much culture and history!
Yeah!
And the landscape is beautiful!
The buildings!!! I mean, the collection
of buildings, just extraordinary!
And three very important mosques
in the walking distance
and lots of bridges and rivers!
The man largely responslble
for the glorles of Edlrne
Is Mlmar Slnan,
whose work, more than any other,
expressed the mlght and magnlflcence
of the Ottoman Emplre.
The Ottomans,
a dynasty from Eastern Turkey,
made Edlrne thelr capltal
before they took Constantlnople,
and It was here, In 1 569,
that Slnan, In hls 80s,
created what many conslder
hls flnest work.
The Sellmlye Mosque Is arguably
Europe's most glorlous example
of Islamlc archltecture.
PALIN: That is!!!
- Colossal! Colossal space, isn't it?
- Amazing!
- It's almost sort of dizzying!
- Very spacious!
There is nothing in the centre,
it's all supported around the side!
Yes!
When Sinan built this
he was quite an old man, wasn't he?
He was 85 years old!
But this is why it's his masterpiece!
K0RKUT: We are very happy
that he had a long, fruitful life!
That's why we have over,
like, 400 art pieces from him!
PALIN: Is this considered
to be one of his best?
K0RKUT:
This is the masterpiece of Sinan!
Yes, because he achieved everything
he was aiming!
He was, like, trying to make
the minarets perfect,
the dome as big as he wished!
PALIN: If the Mosque represents
the rellglous lmpact of the Ottomans,
the 500-year old Beyazlt Kalesl
shows how lmportant sclence was.
K0RKUT: I really wanted
to show you this place!
This is my favourite place in Edirne!
PALIN: It's lovely, isn't it?
It's a complex with a mosque
and a hospital,
and Beyazit built this complex
so that he could give the city
a nice, advanced hospital!
It's centreplece, now a museum,
Is probably the flrst psychlatrlc ward
ever bullt.
Runnlng water and soothlng muslc
were used to create
a sultably therapeutlc atmosphere.
PALIN: And the water and all that!
It's a peaceful feeling
even before you!!!
K0RKUT: Yes, before knowing what!!!
PALIN:!!! Started being treated!
And the sound of music!
Now let me show you this patient's room,
- Suffering from black love!
- Black love?
- Impossible love!
- 0h!
- Dark!
- A sort of unrequited!!!
Lovesick, melancholy!
Lovesick, yes! Treated very nicely
with new age therapies in this room!
- And he's insane!
- The insane one, yeah!
So they two share a room, probably!
PALIN: He doesn't look insane,
just hasn't had a letter for a few days!
K0RKUT: With a rose in his hand!
PALIN: Very enlightened!
K0RKUT: It is! Ahead of its time!
Because in Europe, till 1 8th century,
it wasn't recognised,
- Mental illnesses!
- No! Lock them up!
Yeah!
PALIN: Thls far-slghted alternatlve
to the madhouse
falled to outlast the Ottoman Emplre.
When the Russlans Invaded
In the 1 870s, It was closed down.
But our tour of the splendours
of Edlrne Is not yet over.
- 0kay, Michael!
- That was good!
- You liked it?
- Now where?
Now I want to take you
on a traditional sightseeing trip!
0h!
Yeah, with this carriage!
I hope you like it!
It's the real thing with the horses!
The modern way to get about!
PALIN: Doesn't mean we're getting
married or anything, does it?
No, no! If you want!!!
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
PALIN: 0h, wow!
K0RKUT: Lovely, isn't it?
This is the municipality building!
And this is the founder
of the republic, Atatuerk!
- Atatuerk?
- Yes!
It's a very new republic!
So they're trying to
keep up with his ideas,
and not to forget so that religion
and state is separate, kept separate,
so that we are a modern country!
He started the republic, didn't he,
in the 1 920s
after the end of the 0ttoman Empire!
End of the 0ttoman Empire,
it was the First World War!
- And we were defeated!
- Yes!
So, this part of Edirne
was taken over by Greeks!
And then Atatuerk just put up a big war
and tried getting back all the land,
and then quickly
had to make the republic!
What else did he do
that was, sort of, particularly!!!
He did so many things!
Like, for example, for us,
Atatuerk is important, as a woman,
because we have the same rights as men!
PALIN: Where are we going now?
We're leaving the town behind!
0kay, this is a surprise for you!
There is a little local wrestling,
oil wrestling, right by the river!
It has a beautiful view!
- What is it? 0il wrestling?
- 0il wrestling!
It's a very traditional Turkish sport!
It dates back to, like,
640 years of history!
And wrestlers are called pehllvan.
- Pel Pehllvan? Pehllvan.
- Pehllvan.
PALIN: The prospect of grown men
and young boys
wrestllng whlle covered
from head to foot In ollve oll
may ralse a few smlles
In the crlcket-playlng countrles,
but, here In Turkey,
It's a very serlous buslness.
As the drum and plpe band
gets everyone In the mood,
the ollve oll Is llberally dlspensed.
It's lmportant
to get the oll everywhere,
both over and under
the black, buffalo-hlde pants,
whlch are all the wrestlers
are allowed to wear.
The youngsters are partlcularly keen.
They know that If they're any good,
there's money to be made
In the oll buslness.
As the band up the tempo
and the grappllng beglns,
Selen fllls me In
on the rules of the game.
A bout Is deemed to be over when
one of the palr Is flat on hls back,
belly to heaven.
The pants can be used to get a grlp,
as can the buttocks Inslde them,
but weddlng tackle
Is strlctly out of bounds.
The referees, ever vlgllant,
keep a careful look-out
for any sllppery behavlour,
or rather, non-sllppery behavlour.
The pehlivan are all professlonals,
and, In the helght of the season,
do really well.
What could get you arrested at Wembley
can make you a fortune In Turkey.
Dlscoverlng Edlrne has been
a dellghtful surprlse,
the sort of thlng that glves travelllng
a good name.
But now It's tlme to see more
of thls country
that straddles Europe and Asla.
As Edlrne sllps away,
a local traln takes me on
towards Istanbul.
It's not the most glamorous way
to approach
one of the great cltles of the world,
but there Is a touch of gold
at the end of the ralnbow.
PALIN: Our Istanbul termlnal
Is the very same one
that was bullt In 1 883
for the world-renowned traln
that connected Turkey
wlth the rest of Europe,
the Orlent Express.
The famous old traln
doesn't come here any more,
but ghosts of the old days
stlll llnger at Slrkecl Statlon.
There's something
about arriving at Istanbul!
It's just one of the great destinations
of the world!
You know when you've come here,
it's a place of consequence!
Probably been at the heart
of human affairs, this city,
longer than any other!
And, of course, it's the end of Europe!
Well, for now, at any rate!
The Bosphorus, touchlng Asla and Europe,
connectlng Russla
wlth the Medlterranean,
blnds Istanbul together.
Wherever you are, It's always there.
I meet Raffl Portakal,
an art dealer who recently
brought a blg Plcasso exhlbltlon here.
He remlnds me that Turkey's connectlons
wlth Europe are nothlng new.
Don't forget that Istanbul was
a capital of Eastern Rome!
Ah, when it was Constantinople!
Yes, yes, right!
And today,
people at the art area also,
we feel that we are in Europe!
We are bringing exhibitions in Istanbul!
PALIN: And do you think the success
of your Picasso exhibition
is an example of things changing
on a wider scale in Turkey?
Yes, especially in last 20 years
the artists had to change very quickly,
so easily to the Western way!
PALIN: Do you feel frustrated at all
at the attitude
of certain European countries
towards Turkish membership?
If you want to come even a simple,
a simple club member!!!
Yeah, yeah!
!!! You have to accept many rules!
What we did to become a member
of the European Union!
But if the club starts to create,
every moment, different rules,
you don't feel comfortable in that club!
Yeah!
PALIN: I think if Turkey joined,
you feel it would be good thing,
sort of a bridge
between East and the West!
P0RTAKAL: Exactly, exactly!
It's a very, very!!!
PALIN: More so than
any other country, really!
PALIN: Judglng from the young Turks
I see pourlng In and out
of the Sabancl Museum,
there's no lack of curloslty
about thlngs European.
PALIN: So, of course, I mean,
it's a two-way process, isn't it?
We're not just talking
about Turkey becoming all Westernised!
But the West being interested
in the East through Turkey!
Exactly, because!!!
Where we are here, right now,
the Red Salon,
is a very good place
to explain this question!
We have a silver brazier here!
- Ah, that's what it is, yeah!
- And then we have a painting!
It's an anonymous painting,
but we think it made by a French artist,
beginning of the 20th century!
PALIN: Western ladies being,
sort of, brought tea and coffee!!!
- Exactly!
- PALIN:!!! By Turkish girls!
It's a very good place
to ask this question to me!
So do you think it'll happen in
your lifetime, this Turkish membership?
- Yes!
- You do?
Yes, yes, I'm sure, yes!
Well, you are a young man,
so that's a pretty safe answer!
- Let's say I'm 60 years old! Young man!
- For me, very young!
Istanbul is a place of drama,
not just for arrival, but departure!
And you can't get much more sensational
than going on one of
the world's very few
inter-continental ferries,
Europe to Asia!
For about 50p!
PALIN: On the Aslan shore,
I'm to gllmpse a more exotlc slde
of Turkey.
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
Tanyell Is not just one of the country's
most accompllshed belly-dancers,
she's also a canny buslnesswoman,
taklng her product away from
sweaty folklorlc evenlngs for tourlsts
and turnlng It Into a cool global brand.
She has studlos
In Florlda and Australla,
has taught moves to Madonna,
and I'm here at her dance academy
to see how she does lt.
It's a tough asslgnment,
whlch, rather unexpectedly,
becomes a lot tougher.
- I need to see your belly!
- 0h, all right!
I have to see your sexy belly!
- Yeah, my sexy belly!
- 0kay!
Now, you have to do, as she comes!!!
- Come here!
- Yes!
I won't be able to do this, I just know!
I'm sort of culturally and physically!!!
When you do with the belly dance,
it works,
breathe in and take your muscle in!
0kay, and now you breathe out!
See, she makes it roll nicely, and I!!!
- No, no, no, it's not rolling!
- 0kay!
It's the base step!
Then you have to work with the muscle
like this!
It's because we have
stomach here and here,
two different muscle!
Then we start to move,
from start with here,
and breathe in and out,
but then, to belly roll, you have to
hold your breath here, first!
- You cannot do it!
- Not just at the moment!
I'm very nervous!
I might have a heart attack!
No, no! I'll work on it
and come back in five years!
TANYELl: Five years! 0h, my God!
PALIN: Five minutes, if you like!
I think I can do it
when you're not watching!
It's why I'm telling you that!!!
PALIN: Anything at all?
0r is that rather rude?
TANYELl: I think!!!
PALIN: That's not a belly roll!
PALIN: That is a!!!
TANYELl: It is something, I cannot!!!
That's a pelvic thrust!
(B0TH LAUGHING)
PALIN: No, it is! That's what
I was taught in Alexander technique!
TANYELl: Anyway, thank you,
it's perfect!
PALIN: Thank you!
So, any Turkish girl
should be able to belly dance,
because you're sort of born to it!
Yes, exactly because, really,
the tango is not from my country,
and waltz is not from my country!
You know, for new generation
and new age,
we know how to do tango!
We love to Latin dance
and, you know,
even Indian, hip-hop, R&B,
- But belly dance is from our blood!
- Yeah!
It's like people ask me sometimes,
"When did you start?"
I don't remember! I think I start
when I was in my mother's tummy!
Yes!
This dance is like a medicine,
it's like a meditation,
but when you have stress, when you feel
uncomfortable about something!
But you've made it internationally!
I mean, you've got your clubs
all over the world, so,
how've you been able to export it?
Dance, it means love,
dance, it means peace!
And, you know,
in the dance, there is no fight!
So, my advice from me to them,
it's good to dance little bit!
Do men belly dance? Could you teach
George Bush to belly dance?
George Bush to belly dance!
How I will start?
You know,
this is like mission impossible!
You'd ask for a big fee to start with!
(BELLY DANCING MUSIC PLAYING)
PALIN: So, hang on,
that's two steps to the left.
Turn to the rlght.
One step forward, one step back.
Turn to the rlght. Turn to the left.
Spln and Yeah. Yeahl
Yeah, I thlnk I've got lt.
After all that excltement,
I take my evenlng meal at a meyhane,
a slmple local restaurant,
where I can slt quletly and recover
over a meze and a glass of rakl.
But they have ways of deallng
wlth people who want to slt quletly.
(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING)
May I sit?
Wlthln seconds,
my meal turns Into a concert.
(SINGING IN TURKISH)
Very good!
Sevval, who has serenaded me
so beautlfully, explalns.
What was it about, apart from you,
your very passionate singing
and all that, and beautiful playing?
So, what was going on?
- Here is meyhane.
- Meyhane.
Meyhane means, if I should
have to exactly translate,
means "mey'; old-fashioned Turkish word,
is drink!
And "hane"is the home, the house!
Like a drink house!
But it's not that kind of simple word!
Meyhane is more poetic word in Turkish!
This kind of music is coming
from 0ttoman Empire!
It's half of academic
and half of the street!
You know, the people
express their feelings
with this kind of music!
So, the idea, really,
of a place like this is to open up!
If we see someone drink alone, like you,
and we have more compassion!
After two raki, two glasses of raki!
And with this kind of music,
you start to open your heart,
and, you know, express your feelings,
your sadness!
It takes a lot more than two drinks
to unlock the Englishman, you know!
- They're very!!!
- Are you sure?
- Probably six or seven!
- Let's try!
PALIN: Throughout lts long hlstory
as a Greek, Roman and Ottoman clty,
Istanbul has managed to comblne
both an Eastern and Western temperament,
whlch has made It unlque.
But Istanbul Isn't Turkey.
If I want to understand
thls country better,
I must move on.
Under the stern gaze of Kemal Atatuerk,
founder of the republlc,
a processlon Is taklng place
to mark an extraordlnary event,
the 25th Camel Wrestllng Festlval.
The event Is held
In an arena In Ephesus,
bullt on top of 2,500 years of hlstory.
20,000 people, mostly male,
gather together to enjoy rakl and kebabs
whllst wallowlng In a nostalgla
for the creature
that once played such
a central part In rural llfe.
In modern Turkey,
apart from these showplece occaslons,
the camel Is vlrtually redundant.
These are speclally-bred,
hlghly-tralned Iranlan camels,
kept hungry and randy
to ensure that bad temper
wlll make for a better bout.
Frothlng at the mouth
llke angry colonels,
they try everythlng to pln
thelr opponents' heads to the ground.
Tell me a good trick
you've seen a camel play!
To hold the other's head
under both legs!
PALIN: Hold the head
under the front legs! 0h, really?
YUSUF: It is very dangerous
for the other one,
but also very good
for the one who can do this!
So that's like a sort of head lock
that's!!! You can't get him out!
Exactly, exactly!
My frlend Yusuf assures me
that the camels feel no paln,
though, not belng a camel hlmself,
there's an element of speculatlon here.
Certalnly looks
bloody uncomfortable to me.
PALIN: They're encouraging
the more aggressive side
of the camel's behaviour!
Although one or two out there,
they obviously don't want to fight!
They look as though they're really
happy just having a little cuddle!
They're gay camels?
- There are some sort of camels, yes!
- Some gay camels!
So expenslve Is It
to run a good flghtlng camel
that as soon as vlctory Is achleved,
the contestants
are Instantly pulled apart.
Changing tack slightly,
do you think that people here today
are mostly in favour of Turkey
being in the European Union or not?
Yeah, hard to say, you know!
I know, and I believe
many Turkish people,
majority of the Turkish people,
wants to be part of the European Union!
But this political
things seems like new difficulties
been created by the European community!
Maybe it's our fault, too!
We must explain ourselves,
express our feelings better!
PALIN: I think we should get
some camel wrestling at Wembley Stadium!
That's the first step!
Well, we've come to the end
of the Turkey that we know!
But the vast majority of this country
lies out to the east,
where the camels came from,
and where we're going to!
PALIN: In the heart of Anatolla,
or Asla Mlnor, as It was known,
Is thls hauntlngly beautlful area
called Cappadocla.
Created by the aftermath
of a masslve volcanlc eruptlon,
the sea of lava solldlfled
Into a soft rock called tufa,
whlch has been sculpted
Into these unlque shapes
by wlnd, raln and snow.
Thls Is the town of Goreme
and I'm off to meet a couple
who have turned
one of these wonderfully odd structures,
called falry chlmneys,
Into a very unusual guesthouse.
Half-expectlng to flnd Hobblts,
I Instead flnd myself
taklng a glass of tea
wlth a German academlc called Andus,
and hls Turklsh wlfe, Gulchan.
How did you end up living in a cave
in the middle of Turkey?
Well, it's kind of a funny story,
actually!
But I'm an anthropologist and,
during my studies,
I came to this area
as a tourist, actually!
And I found out
it's a very interesting area
because, first of all,
the funny dwellings, you know,
all these troglodyte caves everywhere,
and the nice landscape, so I thought
it might be a nice scene for a thesis!
And so I started kind of doing
field research in the area!
And, well, later on,
many years later, I came back!
Gulchan, what do people think
around here
about a German moving
into one of these caves
when everyone else is leaving?
They get surprised
and they think why he is living here!
How he's doing? Is he a secret agent?
007 James Bond or something!
- Some people!!! Things like that!
- He looks a bit like him, too!
- 0h, well, thank you!
- 0r you probably did then!
Where are all the Bond girls, then?
Because here, this house,
almost 30, I mean, 40 years,
nobody didn't live before!
Because it was empty,
the whole broken houses!
And when I was a little child,
when I coming to my grandparents',
if I get naughty with my brother,
they always said,
"Don't!!! You have to be okay!
Just stop,
"otherwise we are going to put you
in the ghost house!"
Because we call thls area ghost house.
PALIN: You call these ghost houses?
GULCHAN: Yeah.
What kind of ghosts?
You know there are two
different kinds of ghosts!
There are these nice ones,
they are the fairies,
they call it fairies
and these are the good ghosts!
So they say, well, fairies!
And there are the bad ones,
the bad spirits,
which are kind of gathering
in the green water!
- The su perlsl.
- Su perlsl. Means take you in the water!
And they pull you into the water
and drown you
and they give some kind of bad energy!
And people!!! It's still part of that
folk belief that they think they are!
Still, also, I believe,
I mean it's not true, I just get scary!
ANDUS: You go first?
PALIN: No, after you!
PALIN: It's nice today!
0kay!
ANDUS: Careful down there!
PALIN: Perilous, this!
Don't have railings!
ANDUS: Yeah, it's still in progress!
(B0TH LAUGH)
PALIN: This is sporting!
ANDUS: But the good thing
there's a pond down there,
so, you know, if it's not frozen!!!
0h, right, yes, we shall fall in that!
PALIN: The caves have
provlded refuge for many.
None more so than the early Chrlstlans
who came here fleelng from persecutlon.
They bullt an estlmated 1,000
rock churches In Cappadocla.
ANDUS: It's an area
where you have lots of churches
from different periods
very close together!
PALIN: Was this early Christianity?
Well, it's a very important area!
Especially over here you have
lots of different churches
from different times!
And, in early Christianity,
it was the area where,
where also the Trinity was invented
with Father, God and Holy Spirit!
Really? I thought that idea was!!!
So, it all kind of developed over here
and then later on became part
of that 0rthodox part in Christianity!
PALIN: So how long
were the Christians here for?
How long were these working churches?
Well, it started in the 6th century,
would last till the1 2th, 1 3th century!
Even at the time
when the 0ttomans overwhelmed,
the culture of their time,
already invaded Turkey!
PALIN: Andus tells me
that human habltatlon goes back
way beyond the early years
of Chrlstlanlty.
ANDUS: People were living here
from Neolithic times onwards!
They had some trading contacts
to Mesopotamia
where they were trading
this volcanic glass, the obsidian,
which they used for cutting
the harvest in Mesopotamia!
So, this was the beginning!
It wouldn't be the Silk Route,
but it would be going across it!
Yeah, a very early trade line!
And then afterwards, more and more
people settled down in the area,
'cause it's rather fertile!
In some of the churches there are
wall palntlngs In stunnlng condltlon,
protected over the centurles
from dlrect sunllght,
though, sadly, not from the hand of man.
PALIN: And the faces scratched out!
They've got the eyes, the mouth!
They've just scratched the faces out!
Was that deliberate policy at some time?
Later on, when the Turks came,
they were afraid of the evil eye!
And so for that reason,
most of them scratched out the faces,
- And especially the eyes of these!!!
- Ah, right!
'Cause they kept some flock
and some animals in the cave
and they didn't want to!!!
PALIN: They thought the eyes
had some spiritual quality!
0kay! Would you like
to learn your future?
I have a friend of mine,
she's just living over here!
Gulchan Is more Interested
In the future than the past.
She wants me to meet a nelghbour
who can read fortunes
from looklng In a cup of coffee.
PALIN: I never know whether
it's a good thing to know about
what's gonna happen!
GULCHAN: As you know, she says bad
things and good things and everything!
You know, most of the time,
it's coming true!
- Does your neighbour read your fortune?
- Yes, sometimes!
- Good things?
- Yeah, good things and bad things!
PALIN: You seem
quite a happy sort of person!
0h, yes, yes!
PALIN:
I generally think news is good for you!
Yes, I'm always interested and excited
if she says nice things!
But, also, if she says bad things,
of course, I get upset!
- Then turn it upside down!
- Mmm-hmm! Yeah!
There we go!
- And down there!
- Let it wait for a while!
When it becomes cold here,
it means it's ready!
0h, I see!
So it takes time for them to dry out!
Yeah!
So it's against Islamic law?
Yeah, for Islamic thing,
I mean, this thing is!!!
I am really not good Muslim person
and I am!!!
I am not really a religious person
but this kind of things,
for Muslim people,
they say never, ever do it!
They don't accept such things!
They say it's a sin, it's a bad!!!
PALIN: 0nly God knows! Mmm!
Yeah! But also sometimes men, also,
are very interested in such things!
But mostly maybe 80 or 90% of woman
is much more interested than men!
- That's interesting!
- Yes, I like it very much!
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
0kay! You will meet a rich lady here
and she is, she will make you tied here!
And you don't want to go away!
- That's interesting!
- It's really interesting!
- You know, there is a new love for you!
- 0h, well!
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
You will get very good news!
You will be happy and you will
be jumping like a kangaroo design!
You will be very happy, she says!
Is this to do with meeting the lady
or has this got a separate!!!
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
Maybe! Maybe or not!
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
That's really interesting! You!!!
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
You are going to meet this rich lady
in the Internet chat!
Like a teenager!
A chat room!
I can't work the chat rooms!
So, on richlady! Com!
(SPEAKING TURKISH)
Caves and Internet chat rooms?
It's most confuslng.
It certalnly stops you from maklng
any gllb judgements
about blg cltles and rural backwaters.
It feels strange, unfamlllar and
very forelgn out here In Aslan Turkey.
Yet there Is much we have In common.
Our Chrlstlan herltage survlved here.
Sons of Anatollan farmers
are abandonlng thelr flelds
to run hotels for us.
As the young move to modern houses,
anthropologlsts save thelr old ones.
Separatlng East and West
Is a futlle preoccupatlon.
The future Is cooperatlon.
I know. I saw It In the coffee cup.
Much hlstory has been played out
In thls hard and mountalnous land.
And as polltlcal and economlc change
reverberates through the reglon,
It could well see lts tlme come agaln.
If Turkey is successful
in joining the European Union,
and many think she will be,
then the new Europe will include
not just wild
and wonderful landscape like this
but a whole set of new neighbours,
including Syria, Iraq and Iran!