Cultural faux pas de deux By Kathleen Rolenz November 30, 2011

I. After leaving Cappadocia we headed southeast to Konya, to visit the tomb of Mevlana Rumi, Sufi Master and poet. The atmosphere around his tomb was somber and devotional; as Muslim women wept openly and prayed with their palms raised. One woman in particular stood out; clearly in deep prayer. Then piercing the devotional silence was the ring of someone's cell phone. The woman in Western dress scrambled for quite some time to find the offending phone to shut it off. The woman in prayer didn't even seem to notice.

II. About an hour after leaving Konya, we pulled up to a really nice gas station rest stop for lunch. I found the restroom, went inside, and then was faced with a row of bidets, but no toilets. This is curious, I thought. I had never seen s restroom like this. Eastern style toilets yes, bidets yes, but this was a wholly new cultural experience. Just then, there was frantic pounding on the door. "Occupied!!" I said. More pounding on the door. "OK, just a minute...". I opened the door and a Muslim woman gently rook my arm and led me out of the bidet room. She pointed towards the sign that said "WC". (bathroom) Then she gestured to a sign that said "mosque". I had unknowingly entered the room where Muslim women wash themselves before going into the mosque to pray. I never expected to see a mosque in a gas station, but there it was!!!

I did not know the Turkish word for "I'm sorry" so I put my hand over my heart and bowed low. She smiled, and seemed to forgive me for almost defiling the place where the faithful wash before prayers. Whew! Now I know the difference between a bidet, a WC, and a place to wash before one prays.

Location:Konya, Turkey