Birol

It was the very first morning in Kas, Turkey. The view from the apartment was spectacular. The charming white washed village below, the yacht harbour, the deep blue of  Mediterranian, the bays along the coast and the Greek island Meis in the distance. I could not wait to go and explore.

I walked down the steep and winding road through the village before eventually finding my way to the yacht harbour. The road is slightly elevated above the harbour allowing for a nice a view of the yachts below.

I noticed a man working on a yacht. What drew my attention was the different shades of blue - his light blue overalls with white shirt against the intense blue of the yacht he was working on. He worked with such a strong energy. It seemed like he was cleaning the yacht after just having completed a layer of paint. There was strength in each and every stroke.

I stood for a moment watching him before I took my camera out.

The moment I had him in focus I got totally carried away by the image framed in the lense. I loved the different shades of blue and the energy of this unknown man. I walked closer and closer along the railing until I was right in line with him, hidden somewhat by the leaves of an Oleander tree. I took several photos, before suddenly he became aware of my presence and turned around.

I froze, caught red handed barely ten meters away sneaking photos of a complete stranger.  I thought he would swear at me. But he looked straight at me and instead of swearing he raised his hand and gave me a thumbs up.

It was only at that moment that I noticed his face, severely scarred. But the man smiled, seemingly unperturbed allowing time for me to take a few more shots before returning to what he was busy with.

When I returned to the apartment later that day I downloaded the images to my laptop. I was amazed by the beauty thereof. Viewing the images full screen I became more aware of the extent of the scarring to his face. This was less obvious when looking through the small camera lens.

This humbled me. This man certainly must have had his share of hardship and yet he welcomes a stranger taking unsolicited photographs of him in a clandestine way.

How often do we not have issues with the features that we are born with? A crooked nose, or a too big one, or frown lines or big ears. Each one of us have our complexes  relating to the looks we were given. I for one hate being photographed pretty much for the things in my face I have issues with.

And here is someone who has every reason to not want to have his photo taken and he behaves exactly the opposite to what I would have done, were the roles reversed. 

The next morning I walked past his yacht again and he was again on duty. This time I called him and beckoned at my camera that I wanted to show him the images. He directed me to the entrance so that I could come down to where he was.

Conversation was somewhat of a challenge since he could speak very little English and I have no knowledge of Turkish. He introduced himself as Birol. He wanted to know where I was from and I explained from South Africa - but all he understood was "yes yes Africa....."

I showed him the images on the small screen and tried to explain that I thought they were really beautiful and that I will take them home and show my friends. He looked again long and intensely at the images. Then he looked at me with a big smile and a real sense of pride and said "Birol superstar Africa". 


What a giant of a soul. Not only did he love the images clearly showing his own imperfection, he thought they were well worthy of making him a superstar in Africa. This man made such an impression on me. 

That same day I went to the local photo printer and printed a copy each of the most beautiful images. I placed the photo's in an envelope, wrote on the cover "Birol superstar" and delivered these to him. I did not remain until he opened the envelope. I walked away, my heart touched in a very special way by this stranger with his grateful smile and the lesson he taught me.