Head Office Istiklal cad. 21, 50400 Urgup Turkey (90 384) 341 6255 · fax 341 6257 Branch Office Sevgi Yolu 10A, 35920 Selçuk Turkey (90 232) 892 8484 · fax 892 8474
January 2nd, Friday, Soganli - Turkey The 'tourist' season in Cappadocia comes to an end in November, and people travelling to the region between then and April usually come in big groups and stay only for a day or two. Soganli (pronounced "So-on-la") village is unfortunately not one of the places on these itineraries, being located about 30 miles outside the so-called 'Rocky Cappadocia' where most of the main attarctions are. So life slows down a lot in Soganli in winter. This is when the village women make their dolls to sell in summer months. But how many they can make depends on how much money they have made and put aside from the summer. When we arrived in the village the ladies rushed out their houses with dolls in their arms and ran towards us - the potential customers. After recognising me and exchanging hugs and kisses and the usual pleasantries, I told them about the article in Marie Claire. Understandably what excited them most was the possibility of selling some of their dolls in the winter months, when any kind of income is almost non-existent. It was cold, so we moved into the ‘cave’ restaurant and the ladies spread all their dolls on the table. It was a real scene; trying to decide which ones to offer, trying to choose the most beautiful ones and trying to be fair to everyone. At one point, there were more than 40 dolls on the table, and my friend was worried that they would all get mixed up and the ladies would get upset since the dolls all look quite similar. She was astonished when the ladies told her they could all identify the maker of each doll by the way the faces are drawn or the materials used. It is true! I have had many chances to test them since my meeting with them in 1996 with Paola and Toby. They are never wrong. Thank you very much for your interest and your support of the women of Soganli. Kind regards, Sevim Karabiyik More...		THIS SECTION IS FOR YOU If you want to send a message to the women of Soganli, please send us an e-mail or fax. We will pass your message onto them periodically. If you don't tell us not to put your message on-line, we will. Fax +90 384 341 6257