By Ingrid Dalton                              USA                                12.08.2026

Editor’s Note: After an unexpected delay in Turkey due to travel restrictions in the Middle East, Ingrid continues her story about Turkey.

On this visit to Turkey there were two distinct occurrences that came as a surprise to me, and they were of spiritual matter. The first surprise was at dinner at an authentic Turkish restaurant near the Bazar. The energy I picked up as we walked in was positive and gave a sense of societal togetherness. Mostly local guests and a very small number of tourists. The food and service were exquisite and the traditional music with its middle eastern tones was soothing. One musician played a zither and the other an oriental type of guitar. As we watched, people engaging in conversation and socializing while enjoying a water pipe (hookah). Suddenly a whirling dervish appeared. I was overcome with joy since I am a great admirer of the mystic Sufis and their founder, the great poet and mystic Rumi. I was taken in by the dance of this monk. The habit he wore, his movements and whirling were so reverend, his footwork so precise and accomplished alongside the music that turned more into sacred sounds, so divine. The Divine allowed me another glimpse of a way towards spiritual ecstasy.

The other surprise came in Ephesus. Once it was decided to stay in Istanbul, I suggested a journey to Ephesus. Suddenly, I was drawn to this ancient place. From church history it was also known as the place where Jesus’ mother lived in her final years. For orthodox and catholic Christians Mary is known as the Blessed Mother, or the Virgin Mary, and the Muslims honour her as the Virgin Mary, the mother of the Prophet Jesua. Ephesus, now in ruins with several monuments like the 2300 years old reminiscence of a library, the ancient city that the Goddess Artemis protected, where the Greeks and Romans reigned, becomes vivid in one’s mind and maybe memories of a past life. It certainly is worth seeing if one loves ancient history.

Then came the unexpected. Our driver took us to the house of Mary – Meryem Ana. Upon arriving, one walks up a path towards the shrine. I was immediately drawn in by its simple yet powerful serenity, surrounded by trees, singing birds, like walking in a magical garden or woods. Walking up the path, I would only whisper when engaging in conversation. I felt as if I was not in this world, everything around seemed disconnected, surreal. It was a place of its own floating universe. It became to me a “woo woo” moment, a word we use in metaphysics when something supernatural occurs. The crescendo of my journey. Walking in that sacred space, I immediately felt this extraordinary energy of calm and peace.

This entire trip was meant to experience fellow humans during Ramadan, the Sufi and to meet Mother Mary in her former worldly home. What if – the original trip wasn’t cancelled? I would not have had this experience so necessary for my soul, an experience out of the ordinary, an experience to know that love and hope are essential to our worldly existence. Life interceptions always happen for a reason. The fact that we were so calm upon arrival in Istanbul was a sign that we were at the right place at the right time.

Ingrid Dalton is a widow and retired. She lives with her two cats in Georgia, USA, and enjoys writing, traveling and spending time with friends and family.