A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a Turkish evening at my local parish church. Members of the Turkish community get together once a year and share a meal with our clergy and members of our congregation. They provided most of the food and we could bring something to share.
I decided to go armed with a few stories of my favourite Turkish characters, a few Rumi poems which I love, and stories of Nasruddin the Mullah, a humorous and delightful wisdom teacher. He is a clownish figure who turns the world upside to reveal something we miss in our daily situations of life.
Nasruddin emerges from the mists of time and finds a home in the countries around the Black Sea and of course Turkey. The Mulla and his stories appear in literature and oral traditions from the Middle East to Greece, Russia, France—the Stans. even China. Many nations claim Nasrudin as a native son.
But nobody really knows who he was or where he came from. He even has a tomb in Turkey and which has a gate, but no fence around it, just a single gate. It is almost as though he is watching to see how you engage entry. There are statues to honour the Mullah in a number of these countries. Some say that Mulla (Master) Nasruddin was devised by the dervishes for the purpose of halting for a moment situations in which certain states of mind are made clear. He is both humorous, profound and lovable.
bobcommin.com 
Such a delight! Thank you, Bob.
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