A Haircut

OK, so I rushed around before I left the U.S. and the one thing I didn't get done was get a haircut. I figured I would find a barber at a hotel, I just didn't think it would be this close to the end of the trip.

We are staying in the very nice Richmond Pamukkale Thermal Spa. The rooms aren't as nice as the Annemon in Manisa (goodness, it had leather and panel and very modern), but the buffet is good and the pool looks great (like I will have a chance for a dip - hah!).

So I wasn't surprised, but was delighted, to see a barber. Five Euros for a haircut, and an extra Euro for washing my hair. A very modest and very pretty young Turkish woman was minding the store, and through signs and babel I discovered that I had about a half hour to eat and return.

When I did (with my dirt-caked hair and sweat-streaked clothes), I was graciously seated with my head in the wash basin. That girl's kind ministrations to my baked noggin were delightful, bringing a huge smile to my face. I think they call it grinning like a loon.

The barber (who may have been her older brother or uncle) came in, and through more signs and less babel (he knew some English), let me know that although he needed cash, he would take US dollars and could wait until after the haircut.

I started to make more signs about how I wanted it cut (I am, after all, an American), but he waved me off, with a bemused look that seemed to convey "Sir, I think I know what I am doing."

Meanwhile, his assitant was now playing solitaire on a laptop. I said "Internet?" and she nodded affirmatively. I showed them both my lanyard with my "In the Footsteps of the Disciples" identity card, and pointed to the computer, and said "Internet." She pushed the laptop over.

Let me tell you - it is quite an experience to be in a foreign country and show what you have been doing to the local population. I pulled up this blog and although they couldn't read much of the words, the pictures showed them our interest, respect, and appreciation for their country. He asked "Archeology" and I nodded. A far sight better reaction than the schoolteacher in Philadelphia, who when he heard we were from Texas, made signs and sounds imitating a rifle being fired.

Anyway, the haircut is perfect. Randy and Brian came by, laughing at my indulgence, and to my exclamation "I feel like royalty," they replied, "You look like royalty!" I still have a smile as I write this.

So after all was done and I approved the work, I sprinted back to my room. Now 6 Euros is right at 8 bucks, and I would have paid ten times that for how good I felt. I handed him a twenty. He asked "Change?" and when I shook my head, he grabbed my hand, kind of around the thumb, like what we called in my youth a soul handshake.

Then he pulled me closer to him, and pressed his right temple to my right temple, pulled back, and pressed his left temple to my left temple, all the while grasping my hand. He smiled broadly and said, "This is Turkish Hello!"

We are safe and happy.

Grace and Peace

Karl