Istanbul? Yes, Istanbul.

What’s really interesting about this is that it is a story about what happened before the beginning, and of course it is logically impossible to talk about what something was like before it actually existed.  However, the mythmaker was extremely clever, so when we read this we do have the feeling that we are able to “observe” an intrinsically unobservable event.  The myth goes on to say that

                                  No reed hut had been matted, no marshland had appeared,

                                  When no gods whatever had been brought into being,

                                  Uncalled by men, (3) their destinies undetermined—

                                  Then it was that the gods were formed within them.

                                  Lahmu and Lahamu were brought forth, by name they were called. (4)

“Lahmu and Lahamu were brought forth, by name they were called.”  Naming again.  And very important, because after that, the whole process of creation took off, and the entire universe got organized:  right and left, up and down, the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west were established, sky, earth, sea, animals, human beings, all of it, everything.  The point here is that the naming was important.  The naming was necessary before anything could come into being.

Do you remember that last month I said that Turkish people are lucky?  Well, they are.  It’s true.  Just look.  It’s a huge responsibility to come up with a name for a book, or a new business. Now when we name a child, we are helping to shape his/her character, even helping to shape his/her destiny.  Turkish parents give their children a priceless gift because they choose meaningful names with great care.  The fact is that, even today, in 2003, newborn babies here are often given names that can take them the entire lifetime to live up to.   

So, please, at least for a few moments, forget about the traffic, and the economic problems, and the madness brewing to the east of this wonderful country.  We can’t do anything about those things, anyway.  Take a few moments and think about what you’ve been reading here.  It will probably make you feel happy and you’ll smile.  That’s good.  Very, very good.

Until next month, all of you out there please take care. 

Notes:

1.  If you have a preschool aged child and are interested in getting more information about this program, you can email me at karenclaire@bnet.net.tr and I can give you the name, address, and phone number of the school so that you can contact them yourself. 

2.  James B. Pritchard, trans. and ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1950, p. 61.

3. “Uncalled by men,” simply means that even the gods did not exist, even the gods had no names; that is, they were “uncalled.”  This is all before the “Big Bang,” as it were. 

4.  Pritchard, p. 61.