A journey of love - Bir aşk yolculuğu

Rings

I no longer ran away and he asked me when I was coming to Northern Cyprus again in the Summer. My plans were to go in June. He suggested we could get married and I agreed: being with him felt so natural and comfortable, yet exciting and challenging! Often I wonder how it is possible to feel almost everything at the same time and yet feel so at peace...it is a strange paradox, as one would imagine a sense of chaos, a turmoil in which one wouldn't know what to do or to how to feel. The reality is opposite: I can feel so overwhelmed with love for him, yet at the same time it provides me with such clarity, peace and wonder. The wonder of two people from different places finding love in a magical place called Cyprus. (Then again: Cyprus is supposed to be Aphrodite's birthplace and Aphrodite is the goddess of love!).

On the 31st of May my plane landed at Ercan airport with over an hour's delay and when I met my love, it was 1 o'clock in the morning. After a few days we flew to Turkey, where I met his family: I was so touched by their warmth, hospitality and generosity towards me! Most of his family do not speak English and my own Turkish is limited to some basic words and phrases. However, it is still amazing how much we can explain to others by gesturing and using our hands. I took pleasure in observing my man enjoying the company of his family and I felt so privileged to witness the love displayed between the various members of the family: through gestures, touches, the sharing of food and drink, the laughter.

My memories of that time will always be of that: the simple bonds of families, of love shared, given and accepted, of the colours of headscarfs and carpets, of children playing, of home cooked food and smells so fresh and fragrant, of the longing and melancholy of Turkish music and songs, of dancing spontaneously and of knowing that I would marry this man. On a Monday morning in June we set of for a journey to my man's birthplace and meet his parents and some of the younger brother's and sisters. We were prepared and ready: "armed" with the necessary paperwork and documents to get married. Once again I was moved and touched when I met his parents: his father a tall man, skin tanned from working in the sun all day, a face that showed determination, pride and character and above all: love. A friend of my man explained that his father was very happy as he had seen his son being so happy since meeting me. His mother hugged me and kept holding my hand, sometimes asking my husband-to-be how much she would love to talk to me. Again we were limited with our words and gestures, but I truly believed we communicated through acceptance and love.

We encountered a hurdle: most paperwork was in order, but one piece was missing and this needed to be obtained from the Embassy in Ankara. We said our goodbeys to the family and made our way back to the big town where we stayed with the other family members. We booked a flight to Ankara in a small internet cafe and got up at 4 in the morning for our 6 o'clock flight. We reached the embassy shortly before it opened, only to be sent off again for another document that my love had to get from the town hall (in Ankara). We returned again and waited for the processing of our documents and, despite our concerns when certain paperwork was kept back, we were reassured that we had everything to proceed with our marriage. We flew back late a night, arrived tired and fell asleep exhausted. The following day we set off again to the little town and we had our concerns of the day before confirmed when we were told no marriage could take place without all the documents: Ankara had been wrong! Fortunately we managed to ask them to fax the paperwork, but by then, still having to pay a visit to the hospital for a bloodtest, it was too late in the day to proceed and we were asked to come back the following day.

On Thursday 7th of June 2007 I married my darling, this was three days later than we had expected, but when I looked at my husband and the rings on our fingers, I knew it had all been worth it. The whole journey: from meeting him, to falling in love with him, to getting to know him better,to "running away", to loving him more and more, to facing set backs and hurdles and knowing we will still have more to learn from each other. I am so happy though, proud he is my husband, humbled by his ongoing faith in us and the fact he has so often proved me wrong when I started to doubt. No more: I am looking forward to our life together, I know it will not always be easy. But I look so forward to see him again next week when he will come to England as he has managed to get a visa! He can actually live and work here for the next two years! Thusfar our lives have been a journey: a journey of love - Bir aşk yolculuğu.....

Mariana_q

1.	Beginning
2.	Rings

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