An Aegean Wedding

Last weekend, a friend of mine, Valantis and his fiance, Sinem, celebrated their wedding. Valantis is a Greek-American whose family on his mother's side lived on the Turkish coast before the political troubles forced to leave.  Due to the rift in relations between Turkey and Greece, such inter-marriages are not as common as they were in the past.

One song in Turkish and another in Greek, but by the end of the night, everybody was dancing.  In the photo below, Val's family is dancing in the traditional style.  His delightful mother invited me on to the dance floor and when I gave my usual excuse, she said with a shrug, "What is there to know? You lift you arms in the air and you move your hips a little."  Obviously the dance shown below is a little move involved and, knowing my normal lack of grace, I wisely sat on the sidelines and took photos.

The woman in the purple dress is Val's mother. Such a delightful woman. I had met her a few days before the wedding and I was immediately charmed. So full of contagious enthusiasm and energy. It was her first time coming to Turkey although she had heard stories most of her life. Due to the troubles between the Turks and the Greeks living in the area back in the war of Turkish independence, her family was forced to leave. emigrating to Greece and then to America.
On the day I spent with her, Val and Sinem, we crossed the bay from Karsiyaka to Izmir proper. The air was cooled by the sea but moist.  The sun had already fallen behind the Yamanlar hills but  the sky was filled with color.
She turned to us and said, "I am living in a dream."

This last photo is my favorite.

Congrats to Val and Sinem, bringing together the best of Turkish, Greek and American cultures.