Turkey adventures continued

Here are some random pictures from Turkey that I thought were noteworthy.  First of all, the way I wish everyone would spell Cappadocia – the phonetic way: Kapadokya (and Seramik, if you happen to be a ceramic shop!):

Signs again.

We went to a cultural / Turkish dance show / dinner, in a cave of course!

There were more “traditional” dances, such as whirling dervishes (more “showy” than the religious ceremony that we attended earlier in our visit), belly dancers, and eastern/northern European influenced group dances.  Our favorite performer was just a spinning lady who had an amazing skirt that splayed out when spinning, as well as flags, etc:

Our hotel room in a cave in Cappadocia!  Highly recommended – comfortable temperature to sleep in at night, good natural ventilation shafts, all the amenities, and Turkish breakfast included, can’t go wrong!

Again – loads of flags on display around the country!

Balinese Kecak Trance Dance

The Balinese have a long and rich religious history, mainly Hindusim, though there are elements of Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism around.  Lots of gods, lots of temples.  Each house has a minimum of 4 temples in their yard, and usually around 7.  The complexity decoration of the temple will be in step with the family's means.

We saw a really interesting performance of the Kecak Trance Dance (Kechak / Ketjak / Ketjack); here’s a video clip of one from the excellent movie Baraka (1992):
(Watch full screen, with speakers turned up!)

There’s quite an interesting story of how this dance came about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecak (“the West or the central power adopts, transforms, and consumes non-Western or peripheral cultural elements”)  And now my photos:

Getting into the rhythm

One of the mesmerizing parts of the dance!

Hanuman (monkey god) doing his thing

Perfectly coordinated dancers using very delicate movements of their fingers, faces, arms, legs, etc.

Kicking & walking on coconut husk coals (using a horse (?) costume).

The fire-walker taking a well earned rest.

 

Stone version of two-person dance costume

Siva Afi Samoan fire dance

First full day in Samoa, I went with MS to an ice cream parlor which hosts a weekly "Siva afi" show.  Siva afi is the traditional Samoan dance, and this group trains youngsters once a week; some of the older dancers travel to different countries to dance in competitions!

First, a class is held, where people of different skill levels can get individual coaching.  I took part!  The sticks we're holding have a hooked knife blade on one end, and large wicks for fire on both ends.

After the fire knife class, MS taught a fire hoop class; about 15 young boys and girls were all spinning with hula hoops fashioned from hardware store supplies!  Then the teenage boys got their drums (wood dugout and tin cans) set up for the evenings performance.  After dinner, the show began:

Women danced various Polynesian dances, including Samoan, and the kids had turns to show off their skills, some with fire, some without.

MS was a huge hit with her fire hoop!  

It's awesome to see her spinning to the tribal drum beat!

Then it was time for the guys to do their high-level fire dances!  They didn't spin-off the excess fuel, but that just made the show a bit more enjoyable as the stage got temporary built-in lighting!  See the ground?!

Awesome experience, and highly recommended!