When was the last time you’ve meet someone new? Or what are the odds that someone you’ve recently met becomes your new friend, so quickly?

I think everything starts with a conversation where a heart-felt smile, a question, a comment or just simply saying “hello” may be the opening line for a long, insightful dialogue that would follow.

Honestly, I love how this pure, magical process works: two or more people interacting and sharing with each other genuine words from the hearts and minds in an open space in an honest, civilized way without any apparent reasons, expectations or any returns. I think this is no different than creating something new out of nothing. I believe by starting a delightful and inspirational conversation, we start creating a sacred space from which friendship and even love blooms itself. We unknowingly, unintentionally create a connection, a bond.

Obviously, not all communication does not reach to this potential for various reasons, yet the possibility of the existence of that potential may take you somewhere you’ve never imagined before…Nevertheless, I believe it is worth taking the initiative…

That’s how we’ve met Umit (means “Hope” in Turkish), a good-looking, middle-aged, wise man who happened to find himself in Urla after a series of events, just like us.

As we slowly start to know him better, we realize he’s also a nomad, a transplant, just like us.

Umit owns a nice little used bookstore/coffee shop in town across the street from one of Mosques. The store’s simple yet sophisticated name immediately attracts our attention: “Öte”, which has several nuances in the meaning such as “other”, “the further side of”, “the other side of”, “the far”, “the beyond”.

You enter his store sensing that the space welcoming you and the books surrounding the stone walls contain so many wonderful, inspiring stories from the past. Stories that were meticulously handpicked by him. After having a little conversation with him, suddenly reassurance sinks in. You feel that you’re in good hands, meaning that whatever book you randomly pick will have some kind of special significance.

“I usually do not go after and look for the book. Instead, they happen to find me.” he says humorously. He reads whatever books come along his way, a true “bookworm”, if you will. Therefore, it seems like he intends to keep his spectrum wide open by carrying books from all kinds of genres including erotic novels. While gazing at the book shelves, we even bumped into a series of very old, very interesting British and American books about female sexuality with a title like “Fanny Hill - Memories of a Woman of Pleasure”, which I’ve learned later on, is considered the first erotic novel and some Victorian anonymous novel like “Harriet Marwood, Governess – The story, told in scrupulous detail, of a beautiful but vicious governess and a man addicted to her punishments and cruelty.”

He boils down his humble beliefs and values to one single motto: “Lend to those who need it, vend to those who request it”. He genuinely notes that “The kids in town come here and get the books they want, some brings them back, some not. And that’s okay”.

In another incident, me and my wife once witnessed that the Imam of the Mosque across the street called him saying “Hey, good man! Here’s your book! Thank you so much, I appreciate it. It was such a great book.” He was basically giving Umit’s book back after having read it. Intrigued by this conversation, I wanted to purchase that same book the following day and Umit responded promptly by saying “Sure, take it home, but I’ll take it back after you’ve read it.”, implying that the book was not for sale. For him, some books are apparently priceless.

Since his very young age, he’s been in the trenches of the second-hand book business, co-working with the masters in the field and learning the magic formula and specifics of how to value an old book.

Half way through our chat, he tells us the story of his journey from Istanbul to Urla and everything in between, which has several interesting turning points. To say the least, in 2003, he moves to outskirts of Izmir, one of the major cities in Aegean region of Turkey, to become part of a community in an abandoned village and start ecological farming.

Meanwhile, he kindly serves us Turkish coffee with accompanying small, square-shaped Turkish delights, an old tradition without which the whole experience is not fully savored. The back garden of his store where we’re enjoying our coffee seems like a sanctuary full of living, breathing plants, flowers and succulents, all of which is a representation of the other project he’s involved in: “Permaculture Research Institute”. He and his friends behind this wonderful venture aim to teach and share their experiences through seminars and workshops and increase awareness toward sustainable lifestyle in alignment with the nature, not against it.

The more we understand the purpose of Umit and his colleagues, the more me and my wife inspire to be engaged in and become part of their vision.

The way they approach life reminds me of a recent article that I’ve come across about Robin Wall Kimmerer, the Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at SUNY, who wrote a book titled: “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants”. In it, she talks about the story of “The Three Sisters”, which are namely Corn, Beans and Squash. She emphasizes their harmonious co-workings and says: “Their layered spacing uses the light, a gift from the sun, efficiently, with no waste. The organic symmetry of forms belongs together; the placement of every leaf, the harmony of shapes speak their message. Respect one another, support one another, bring your gift to the world and receive the gifts of others, and there will be enough for all.” Isn’t that a great advice for all of us to live by?

By recognizing all the things happening around him, Umit, after all, seems quite happy at his current setting in Urla, at least until his next move. To know more about him and to be able to better understand his ecosystem, we kindly asked him to quench our curiosity by filling out the blank space in the below set of unfinished sentences and questions…

We dearly thank him for his participation even though he preferred to verbally express himself in the first place rather than putting his words on paper…

The story behind my journey from the city of Istanbul to town of Urla is briefly…

My close friend Mustafa was living in Urla and I had no apparent reason to continue living in Istanbu. Mustafa is also the founder of Permaculture Research Institute, which was continuing its activities at Marmariç Ecovillage since 2009. Yet, the very foundation of the institute was not quite leading towards the way they primarily envisioned. We then joined forces and started to look for an alternative location where books and the Institute could co-exist. And here we are.

The meaning behind our name "Öte" is…

It is a name that was popped up during an exceptionally fun gathering among close friends one night, even before the conception of the store and its location at the time. I guess it would be quite long to put the whole context together and get into details since I hardly remember it. That said, as far as our setting in Urla is concerned, we can say the name suited well and made perfect sense.

For me, the town of Urla is a place…

… where I am living for now.

The things that make me happy and brighten my day are…

All the things that happen within my book store…since I don’t go out much.

One of the novels that inspired me the most is…

In fact, I can say almost all the novels I’ve read in my young ages inspired me one way or another. There’s no one particular book which, I could say, influenced me to a great extent. However, that being said, I could name “Dangerous Games” by Oguz Atay as being the most exceptional one.

 If there is any one book I read over and over again, that is…

There is no particular one. I usually read certain parts of some books that I’ve read in the past, enjoyed or tried to comprehend its technique. I am trying to follow modern day, contemporary poetry. The books that I go back and read over and over again mostly happen to be poetry books.

When I come across a book that I was immensely searching for…

There has not been any books that I was eagerly searching for. Most of the time, it’s the books that find me.

The secret to appraising an old book is…

Every book is unique and therefore is evaluated in itself, there is no one particular point of reference. Sometimes it is the publishing date, the number of prints, being first edition…And on top of that, sometimes it’s the author’s level of expertise on the subject, sometimes it’s the signed copy or to whom it is dedicated to, or simply the high or low level of demand…

Permaculture Research Institute. Because…

It is an humble endeavor to provide a thorough solution to the part of the problems we are all having in common.

Umit Kilicgedik, beyond his interests in old books, nature and permaculture, is also…

There’s nothing more I could add to the above list; for now.

I feel lucky and grateful for…

…having been able to live without any trouble or calamity until now…

After a long, tiring day, as to calm my mind and relax, I do…

It’s been quite a while I haven’t experienced any long, hard day in Urla. I don’t even remember what I would do to relax or unwind. Maybe it would be just staring off into space without thinking alongside coffee and cigarettes…

My humble advise to the young reader would be…

I kindly suggest they put into practice what Gustave Flaubert eloquently put it: “Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.”

- G

For more info about Ote - Used Bookstore/Coffee Shop, please visit their instagram as well as facebook page.

Copy: G

Image: D + G