What Are Friends For?

Göreme, Turkey

What are friends for?
Well, to share happy times and get support and help during hard times. To not feel lonely and unwanted. To have fun together...

One freezing morning in Göreme I found a new friend. He was big, strong and handsome. Just the way I like it. He showed up in time to protect me from a furiously barking neighbour of his heading straight for me. After a first moment of panic I realized he was on my side. He saved me. I called him Doggy.
With the looks of a golden retriever and the calm and confidence of a creature living free and in harmony with nature Doggy accompanied me all day. Whenever I stopped he was whining or barking and pushing me to keep going. When he got tired it was my turn to encourage him to keep going. When we climbed steep slippery slopes he walked backwards ahead of me and watched me intensely, ready to grab my arm and pull me up. He was sweet.

He assumed his role as a protective friend entirely. He saved me from an innocent villager - a potential threat. When the man approached us on the road walking peacefully towards his village Doggy was ready to tear him apart, barking aggressively and preparing to charge. He was determined to save me. It was hard work to hold him back. As a result we changed the route and hiked up and down some slopes around the village, just to avoid any more potential dangers.

It was soon my turn to "save" Doggy. When we reached a touristy area I was relieved to see how friendly and nice he was with all people around. Until he saw the man with his 2 big shepherd dogs. One was leashed, the other free. There was a chase, a terrible dogfight and then I managed to grab Doggy. Within seconds he had turned from a sweet puppy into a fearsome beast. The whole story had a somewhat comic aspect to it. For a while the roles had changed: it was the poor man leashed to his dog being dragged hopelessly around the area.
I needed a break and a tea, but I did not have the time for that. Doggy needed soon my help again and little did it matter that I spilled hot tea over my camera :-) The scary beast had become a lame puppy again when I found him with a chain around his neck held by a young man while another man was trying to feed him raw meat. He couldn't care less. But he did not protest against the chain keeping him a prisoner. I talked to the guys, set him free and once again dragged him away by his lovely furry collar.

When we reached the village on the way back Doggy disappeared and I only found him again about an hour later. He was following two young men and a puppy. A young puppy. I was determined to bring him back home to the area we had met and so I had to once again drag him away from his new friends.
But there was danger lurking ahead. An old friendly dog was sitting on the path. Doggy turned once again into a horrible creature. He was wild and aggressive and started a terrible fight. No rocks, sticks, shouts helped to keep the dogs apart. A man came to help me separate the fighters but with no success. Eventually, I managed to grab my friend again by his neck and drag him away. He was the most obedient dog once held by his fur :-)

The rest of our walk was peaceful past rising hot-air balloons, leafless trees and spectacular rocks and across frozen fields. He was tired and most likely hungry. When he spotted some friends from the horse ranch he joined them and left without saying good-bye.

Later that night I noticed he had not disappeared without leaving me a reminder. I had a big hole in the back of my pants. Obviously from one of those times when he had jumped on me trying to persuade me to keep going.

It's so great to have friends! Every adventure is so much more fun when you share it with them.