Take a Lucky Flight to Selçuk for Peace of Mind / 🇹🇷 Turkey

Look at the ribbons along the stone wall and notice how many small knots fit into a single stretch. They belong to the wishing wall outside the House of the Virgin Mary, a pilgrimage site near Ephesus in western Türkiye. People visiting the site can leave a wish by tying a ribbon. From home, look at the photograph before you decide what to say. Your wish can be about a person you have been thinking of or a quiet moment you need for yourself. Picture coming up to the wall, choosing a place and tying one knot. Let the act of imagining the knot give you a few seconds to decide what you want the wish to hold.

1. Open the photograph and follow the line of the wall from the nearest cluster of ribbons into the distance. Choose one knot as a place to rest your eyes.
2. Think of a wish you can say in one sentence. If it concerns another person, use words you would feel comfortable saying to them.
3. Imagine tying a ribbon at the wall. Hold the wish in mind for a little while and look back at the other knots without trying to read the individual messages.
4. Before you leave, decide whether there is a small gesture you want to make for the person you thought of. Record your arrival in your passport when you are ready.

The House of the Virgin Mary stands on Bülbül Dağı near Selçuk. Christian tradition links the site to the later life of Mary, and it has become a place of pilgrimage. The outdoor wall gives visitors a separate place to leave petitions. In the photograph, the pale pieces stand out against the darker stone and gather in groups along the wall. One ribbon is small, but the clusters show how many people have stopped at the same spot with something on their mind. The place is remembered for the house as well as the wall. On this flight, following the ribbons gives you a moment to notice the part of a visit that happens outdoors, one knot at a time.