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Dear Sufi Trail friend ,

We are swirling into summer and Sufi Trail hikers swirl along their adventures once again. This summer Susan Elliott, who is our solo female hiker hero, starts writing her fascinating story about the Sufi Trail. David Jury is sharing the route in pictures and we can't wait for his book to come. Then to make this all possible we have our artist in Yalova who is stalwart and maintained the marking in the forest. Where would we be without all these artists..we all swirl together.

love,
Sedat & Iris

Items July edition | Summer

Afbeelding
We are developing a film poster for the documentary Bansuri to Rumi. We are happy with all the input so that we can achieve a fantastic result together.

Choose A, B or C and even better tell us why? Stay tuned for more news ...
 
Survey filmposter Bansuri to Rumi
Hadija Susan Elliott
from hiker to writer


We were already impressed but during Susan's journey on the Sufi Trail we were regularly perplexed. She endured storm, language discomfort and camping nights in the mountains. In-between she also managed to share and brighten our days with pictures. One of the emails we received was this picture with our Sufi Trail notary Ahmet Albayrak. He is an official Sufi Trail stamping point and also has a logbook for pilgrims to enjoy and mark their presence. Susan shared one paragraph of her new book to come, with all of her stories along the Sufi Trail.
"I decided to overcome my shyness and stopped at Ahmet’s house which lies alongside the Sufi Trail. At first, Ahmet did not believe that there was a photograph of him in the Sufi Trail guide book. His extended family, who were busy cooking ready to break their fast, welcomed me so wholeheartedly. A young woman, a teacher and with some English, arrived to facilitate our conversation. I was invited to stay for iftar, but I felt I needed to keep going to find somewhere to sleep in Orhangazi before darkness fell. They recognized my need and in spite of being Ramadan and before sunset, they gave me dinner straight away - such a beautiful gift. The food included special traditional dishes which tasted wonderful. Indeed, my best ever meal. I regret that in my tiredness, I did not think to take a photo. To my embarrassment, they asked if the tired dog, which had collapsed in the lane, was mine. I admitted he had been my companion all day. They then fussed around him with water and food. I hoped that perhaps he would remain with them, but no, he faithfully set off again with me.

I had not encouraged the dog initially, but he insisted on coming with me. I had chatted to him all day as we searched for the trail through the forest but at the end of the day I heartlessly stopped talking to him, and we became separated in Orhangazi. I hoped he would find a nice lady dog" 

Bansuri to Rumi

Stay tuned we could say as were gone start some music on the Sufi Trail. We already made an epic journey on the Sufi Trail with Bansuri flute player Kees van Boxtel. As the music played we thought about how pilgrims used to share their arts, music and poetry on their journeys. In Anatolia and especially along the Sufi Trail towards Jerusalem and Mecca people still are familiar with these artists passing bye. In those days the pilgrims often performed mystic stories, and music was good for a nice rest in the families homes or during a shared meal. This tradition has deep roots and we love to revive some of this feeling in modern times travel. The documentary we are making is about Kees van Boxtel hiking to Konya and performing with the musicians he meets along his hike. We have a small sneak preview to share some footage and we will start a crowdfunding campaign shortly to support the project. Stay tuned for Kees' epic documentary Bansuri to Rumi.
Afbeelding

Marking artist in Yalova

Our artist Linda in Yalova has some more special skills then making art. She and her lovely companion dog did some needed maintenance on the forest markings near Yalova. The forest area's are the most difficult to mark and it does involve some cutting branches and overgrown paths. Together with her friends they did the job for our new hikers to come. Apart from your Sufi Trail present you will also be guided by her marking work!
Afbeelding

Pilgrim David Jury

David went on a true pilgrimage after his dad and promised after the completion of the Sufi Trail to post some images. We now relive the Sufi Trail all over again through the eyes of pilgrim David Jury. There are lovely writings to explain the whereabouts and all the adventures pilgrims have to endure. Luckily all went well and we can enjoy the Sufi Trail and especially David’s unique perspective by following the Facebook posts. Here some writings of David, who might surprise us with a pilgrim book.
David on facebook


In July 1947 my father received a certificate of Pilgrimage (see photo) from the Holy Sepulchre - he told me many stories about his time in Palestine. From an early age I had ambitions to travel to the Holy Lands. On the 31st October 2019, 72 years after my Father's visit, I arrived in Jerusalem after a 6000 kilometre pilgrimage from Canterbury. This was my route.

David on Sufi Trail

Afbeelding
3rd October 2019
I arrived in Konya yesterday and today I went to Mevlana and the tomb of Rumi, a very special moment in my continuing journey. Turkey is a beautiful country and its people have been so generous, so hospitable and show so much love - it as if since I crossed the border at Ipsala Turkey has been holding out its arms to welcome me. I would like to sincerely thank Iris and Sedat for their book which has guided me from Istanbul to Konya. I do not camp so my route has been modified at times to find suitable accommodation and on some days involved long distances but it has been an incredible joy to see the wonderful landscapes and to experience the love of the Turkish people. The Sufi trail was for me part of a longer and continuing journey but it will be remembered for its beauty and love.

(when I arrive home I will post additional photos)
Lovely posts from David Jury's 

We love & admire Thair Abud

Afbeelding
Thair Abud, a professional hiker with one big amazing story! He already accomplished more than anyone's dream and is going strong, onwards to the end cape in South Africa. He started in Norway Nordkapp and he has a website and daily posts on facebook and instagram.

You can support his adventure and donate for the cancer research at the same time. We are a big fan of his work and would like to hurray him in our newsletter just hiking on through difficult times, and saying goodbye to so many friends, also his companion the donkey Sidi. Thair wrote: "Of course I already had a name for my new companion “Sidi Rahal” which means something like: Mr. Wanderer! His nickname is: Sidi!". Thair's posts are in three languages: English, German and Arabic so quite some work after every hiking day! He visited us 1,5 years ago but we are thrilled by the idea that he will reach Sufi Trail one day!!

Sufi on Bike

Ready to prepare your cycling journey on the Sufi Trail? We are very happy to offer the cycling guide with all the information you need to cycle from Istanbul to Konya visiting the ever-changing landscape of Anatolian Turkey. Get ready to Cycle to the light


Hike & Bike Events

Sufi Trail organizes hiking and cycling events on the Sufi Trail. They are events to promote slow travel and camp outside under the stars of Turkey.  

If you have questions you can call & app us on:
+31 6 440 447 90

Agenda

Turkey 2020:
Sufi Trail bike caravan
4 - 20 September

Turkey 2021:
Sufi Trail hiking caravan
16 May - 24 June
Sufi Trail biking caravan
10 - 26 September

Summer Hike Caravan 2021

Autumn Bike Caravan 2021

Publications

Published by Sufi Trail:
Sufi Trail hike guide part 1 (English)
Sufi Trail hike guide part 2 (English)
Sufi Trail hike guide (Turkish)
Bella Coma - Natalia Mihai (English)
Leegte - Merel van Essen (Dutch)
Sufi on Bike (English)

Expected Books:
Hiking the Sufi Trail in Turkey - Susan Elliott (English)

Check out our shop for more 

Your Sufi Story

We love to hear your Sufi Trail story for the next newsletter. You can also send your Sufi (trail) related message or story. Keep it short. 300 words maximum and send it to sufitrail@gmail.com
And yes we love pictures and video's ❤

We hope that you like the work of Sufi Trail. You may also consider making a donation to the Sufi Trail foundation.

CONTACT

Stichting Sufi Trail, Friends of Rumi and Khorasan Saints
Hagestraat 10
2011 CV Haarlem
Holland

Email: sufitrail@gmail.com

Whatsapp & mobile:
Sedat Çakır:  +31 6 508 906 96
Iris Bezuijen: +31 6 440 447 90

Editor: Dorette Jansen
Contributions: Thair Abud, Susan Elliott, David Jury

Sufi Trail

 
Website Turkish
Website NL
Website Engels
❤ S u p p o r t S u f i T r a i l ❤