RMD

It’s a running joke amongst my friends. No matter where I travel, I’d run into someone I know. Just some random thing that happens to me. I did not run into anyone I knew, on this trip, but I did run into to someone that I should’ve known.

The well planned photo shoot was a bust, so I ditched my favorite Camilla dress for some sweats and sneakers and decided to visit the Open Air Museum.

The Open Air Museum of Goreme is a mass collection of historical monasteries and cave churches. Within some of those churches exist the finest specimens of ancient Byzantine frescoes. Most of the churches date from 10th to 12th centuries.

I was prepared to take the fifteen minute hike to the museum, but the hotel driver insisted on taking me. “I’ll drive you there and you can walk back,” he insisted. He dropped me off at the entrance, gave me directions on how to return to the hotel, and drove off.

I will post more photos on the Open Air Museum, in a separate post. But for now, I stick to the story.

As I toured the open air museum, climbing and descending stairs, entering and exiting ancient caves, churches and tombs, I took note of the large number of people. ‘Where did all of these people come from?’

Bus loads of people, mainly from China, pulled into the parking area. Hundreds converged into the park and separated into groups. Each group leader carried a long stick with a flag, a teddy bear, or some type of identifying item attached and held high, so members of their group could locate them, from a distance.

The Chinese tourists were the most dominant group in the park. I came across a group that were very animated and friendly. While I was taking selfies, a few members of the group photo bombed me, and then proceed to take out their own cameras and pose with me, while their friends snapped their own cameras.

I wasn’t quite sure why they wanted me in their pictures, but I was okay with it. It was fun. I just shrugged it off as, “Traveling While Black,” -when random people, who rarely come in contact with African people openly show their amusement and curiosity. So, if you see my face on some random page and say, “That looks like Yvette… Yeah, it’s me.

Generally, when people of African descent are in a place where we’re clearly the minority, we’ll take notice of another person of color. When we cross paths, we would often acknowledge each other with a mutual exchange of some sort, a smile, a verbal greeting, a head nod, or a combination of all three.

As I meandered through the museum. I caught a glimpse of a tall, very attractive Black man and an equally attractive Black woman, strolling through the museum. My eye caught them few more times, while I entered and exited various caves. Strangely, a noticed few Asian young men taking selfies with the gentleman. ‘Him too?’ I thought. ‘I had that same experience an hour ago, in an episode of  Traveling While Black’

I looked at the beautiful man and the first thing I thought of was the Turkish name for man, Adam.

The next time I saw the black couple, I noticed something I didn’t see before, a film crew. As they walked toward me,  I approached one of the crew members and asked, “What are you filming?” If he responded, I didn’t hear him. I shrugged off the shade and walked up to, what I assumed was the person in charge (I’ll call him the producer). I asked him the same question. I also complained to him regarding the guy not answering my question. The director said, “I wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer you, he doesn’t understand English.” ‘Oh.

The producer asked where I was from. I answered, “the US.” He asked if I ever watched Nigerian films.“Not really,” I quickly responded. The producer explained to me that the tall good looking gentleman was the most famous actor, in Nigeria. “Oh, nice” I responded. As I spoke to the producer, the couple approached me.

I introduced myself and asked them their names. The woman spoke, first, “His name is Richard Mofe-Damijo, but if you google RMD, it’ll come up.” The RMD introduced the woman as, Sandra Ankobiah. “She’s known as the Queen of Travel.” he said. “Very nice to meet you both,” I said.

We talked our love for travel, our Cappadocian hotels and the local food. I talked about my Nigerian friends and asked if he knew them. “Maybe,” he said. I spoke about wanting to visit Nigeria, for this trip, but I needed to do more research. “I want to travel to all of the places that matches my DNA. Nigeria is on my list, because I’m nineteen percent,” I said “What about the other percentages?” asked Sandra (QOT) “The most would be the Congo, thirty-three percent,” I answered. “Oh, that’s interesting,” she continued, “when Richard first saw you, he said, you’re from The Congo,” Sandra confessed. ‘Wow,’  I thought. ‘That’s impressive.’

We chatted a little while longer. I looked over and saw the film crew on pause. “Take a photo with me?” I asked. “Sure,” Richard complied. I asked them if they were a couple. Richard laughed. Sandra scoffed. ‘I have to work on my Nigerian pop culture,’ I thought.  I walked alongside them and chatted for a little while longer, and then said my goodbyes. I turned to address Richard, “I’ve never seen your movies, but consider me a fan.”

 

Film crew captures Richard Mofe-Damijo RMD and Sandra Ankobiah strolling through Open Air Museum

Richard Mofe-Damijo RMD

I was very impressed with the RMD, not necessarily with his work (never seen his films), but how he presented himself as a person, a man. In that huge park, amongst hundreds of people, Richard stood in the midst of the crowd. I didn’t see his celebrity. I saw a man who knows his place, in the universe. I saw a man that exudes confidence, a man who’s pleasant and approachable. His celebrity didn’t seem get in his way. He appeared to have a genuine love for life and a genuine interest in others. I’m sure he loves his profession, but it doesn’t define who he is.

When I decided to make Turkey a destination, I downloaded a Turkish language app. One of the first Turkish words I learned was the word for man, Adam

Like me, the young men may not have been responding to Richard’s celebrity, when they embraced him and took selfies with him. They probably were unaware of his movie stardom. When Richard walked through the park, he was radiant and regal. His majestic presence couldn’t be denied. He exuded strength, confidence, kindness, compassion and love. Maybe, those young men ultimately recognized and accepted Richard as a direct descendant of the first human being that walked the earth, the father of the human race…Adam