Turkeys…in Greece

Happy almost-Thanksgiving!  Thought you might enjoy one of my favorite photos on such an auspicious week…for fowl.

I snapped these wild turkeys on the mountainous Greek island of Naxos, clucking and gibbering through the outskirts of a teeny, tiny village.

Two seconds before they appeared, this pebbly back-road had been sun-dappled and quiet, the only sound the soft crunch of gravel underfoot; cracks in the stone wall afforded an occasional glimpse of a yellow-green grapevine, gnarled olive tree, or epic tomato garden.  Then suddenly, in a flurry, this agitated crew turned a corner, hell-bent on escape, or possibly just late for an appointment.

We were suddenly struck by the strange irony of these birds.

Greece and Turkey have struggled with each other for centuries, but their hatred swelled during the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1923), in which Greece was forced to give up all the land it gained in World War I, while Turkey gained its independence.  Greeks slaughtered Turks, Turks slaughtered Greeks, and neither side has fully recovered.  In much of Greece, ordering a Turkish coffee instead of a Greek one (though they’re the same drink), is still grounds for narrowed eyes, hostile looks, or at best, an impromptu history lesson.

Thankfully, when we learned this the hard way, we were at a Greek restaurant in America.  There, no one expects Americans to know anything about their own history, much less that of Greece.

But here were turkeys…in Greece.  How to reconcile their sensitive name?  Well, pretty simply, really:  the Greek word for “turkey” (the bird) is galopoula.

Such a relief.

Enjoy your holiday, whatever your own struggles may be.  But first, click here to enjoy our other photos from romantic and far-away Naxos.