Cyprus most northern spot, a wonderful beach, friends, my first Zazenkai and the earthquake (January, February 2023)

After getting off the ferry, I headed straight to the center of Girne to get a SIM card. “To the left, to the left, always driving on the left side” I was repeating in my head. From there, I continued my journey to the most natural area of “North Cyprus” that I could identify on Google Maps.

I found a wonderful, spacious sandy beach and ended up staying there for a week, or perhaps even a bit longer. What I enjoyed the most was the solitude, which gave me the chance to experience my first Zazenkai – a full day of meditation, mindfulness, and no communication. On the magnificent beach in Turkey, I had done my own three-day-long fasting and meditation retreat, but back then, I meditated only when and for as long as I felt like it. The Zazenkai with the Bright Way Zen Sangha, I had become a member of in the meantime, was different. There was an exact schedule that I decided to follow. Due to the time difference between the US West Coast and Cyprus, I started the day in solitude with meditation, and later I joined the others in an online meeting.

Before that day, I had not meditated for about eight hours a day, and I was curious about how it would turn out. I felt confident, and honestly, I think I was pretty arrogant at that point. After six hours of meditation, I felt an unbearable sensation of pain and somehow managed to let it go. However, in the next session, the pain was even stronger, and I did shift my sitting position, but it didn’t help much. In the following session, I tried sitting in a chair instead of the quarter-lotus posture, but the pain was only different but still there, and it was hardly bearable for me. Nevertheless, I kept going. During these painful episodes, all kinds of thoughts and feelings were arising inside of me, and it was more an act of willpower-based endurance than letting go and accepting.

Now, as I write this about three months later, I feel that my ego was pretty hurt and suppressed and rejected a lot of what was coming up inside me. I realize that a part of me did not want to accept what was happening within me – the pain, the struggle, the impermanence. Looking back, it seems like I went into that Zazenkai with a strong ego that wanted to prove it was capable of enduring that day, but I came out of it feeling insecure and disappointed.

A couple of weeks later, I participated in a five-day Sesshin (essentially, five days of Zazenkai), and in my post about that experience, I’ll describe a very different encounter with pain, letting go and other sensations.

During my stay at the beautiful beach, I also went on some long walks along the beach and through the sand dunes. While hiking along the beach, I found an incredible spot for tent living right next to the beach with a sun chair in between beautiful bushes and trees. I also found very accurately “cut” stone formations that looked very out of place. On one occasion, I came across a group of soldiers who were clearly searching for something. After they checked my ID, I asked them what they were doing, but all they said was “nothing.” It’s always the same when I ask these guys – they’re always “doing nothing.” It’s a crazy job they have.

From that beach, it wasn’t a long hike to reach the most northern point of the entire Island. I began my hike, and shortly after that, a friendly guy with a pickup truck offered me a ride for a few kilometers. Just when I started hiking again, another car stopped, and it’s super friendly passengers took me all the way to the most northern spot. That’s how I met Tarzan, a funny and warm-hearted guy from Turkey who had been to some rainbow gatherings. At the northernmost point, it felt like the end of the world, and that end was guarded by a herd of cute and funny roaming mules. I found myself thinking about traveling with a mule again and had a beautiful hike back to my home.

After a few more days, Isa and Arne (who I had met earlier in Turkey) wrote to me that they were tired of the cold weather in Cappadocia and had the idea to take the ferry to Cyprus. Just a few days later, they arrived at the beach, and we had another super nice time together. Sihong and Thomas also joined our little camp, and we had a wonderful evening playing an absolutely crazy version of “Mensch, ärgere dich nicht” (aka Ludo).

The night after the others had left, I woke up in the middle of the night to find Rosinante shaking in a way she had never shaken before. It felt like being in a storm, but there was no storm and the shaking was like a strong nodding. I didn’t think too much about it and fell back to sleep again. The next day, I realized that it was the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, about a hundred kilometers away, that had caused Rosinante to shake in the night and made the sea flood the beach.

The magical rocks of Köprülü Kanyon Milli Parkı and wonderful people (January 2023)

After encountering the fire cats, I traveled to Antalya where I was able to provide Rosiante with some much-needed maintenance. She received fresh oil for her engine, a new oil filter, lubrication for her prop shaft, and a new air filter. These improvements greatly benefited Rosiante, but it was swapping the air conditioning filter that had the most noticeable effect for me. Previously, I had been perplexed as to why I couldn’t get the driver’s cabin to smell fresh. However, after replacing the air conditioning filter, the improvement was remarkable – the cabin now smells like a dream.

I discovered a magnificent beach east of Antalya, where I stayed for a few days. During my stay, I had the pleasure of meeting a very friendly shepherd and his flock of sheep. After that beach, I continued my journey by heading north towards the Köprülü Kanyon Milli Parkı, a truly magical place. It instantly reminded me of the magical mountains of Bulgaria. I embarked on a fantastic hike with a little bit of climbing, and was completely captivated by the unique rock formations. They looked as though they belonged to a different planet, a magical realm inhabited by fairy-like creatures who exist in another dimension, invisible to human eyes…

After completing my 25 km hike/ trail run, I found myself feeling both tired and hungry. I began searching for a suitable place to rest for the night, relax. I drove around, stopped at three different places, and while they were pleasant, they just didn’t feel quite right. So, I decided to keep searching. I examined the satellite images on Google Maps and stumbled upon a spot that looked absolutely incredible. In fact, I was so impressed by it that I thought to myself, “If I had to choose a place to build a house in this area, I would choose there.”

After crossing a small river and navigating through some muddy, tight, and rocky paths, I finally arrived at the spot I had discovered on Google Maps. It was even more stunning in person, but to my disappointment, it turned out to be a dead end, with a fenced private property blocking my way. Just as I was about to turn around, I heard a man calling out to me. We met and talked, and I felt an immediate connection with him.

He had been on Rainbow gatherings and since I learned about these gatherings I was feeling that these gatherings could be something special, something that deeply resonates with me. Although I didn’t make it to the big gathering in Turkey in October, I’m still looking forward to be part of one.

The nice guy in the magical stone land had already started building a special place on his property, with plans to create a camping site next to the gorgeous river, some small natural huts, and establish the surrounding woods as a food forest. He had plenty more ideas and I couldn’t help but feel excited about the idea of participating in something like this myself someday. If you want to learn more or contact him directly, be sure to visit his website. And there is a drone video on Youtube were you can get an impression of that beautiful spot.

He then introduced me to his friend, Seher, who was absolutely lovely and stunning. After my tiring hike, I was quite famished, and they graciously invited me to dinner. Their warmth and kindness revitalized me, and we spent a delightful evening together. If I hadn’t needed to leave Turkey, I would have happily stayed longer. However, the next day I needed to make my way to the port to catch the ferry to Cyprus. Seher wanted to visit her family, so she accompanied me and Rosinante until we reached the bus station in the nearest large city.