As you can see Turkey is like a bridge between Europe and Asia and it has been home to many different cultures over many centuries.

Today I am going to tell you about a very special man who lived in Turkey hundreds of years ago. His name was Nasreddin Hoca. In Turkish "Hoca"(pronounced Hodya) means TEACHER. He was born in 1208 in a village in central Anatolia. He was an educated man. He was wise, funny and very intelligent. He loved life and he loved people.

His stories have been told almost everywhere around the world. First among Turkish-speaking tribes and then in to Persia, Arabia, Africa and along the silk road to the east (China and India) and later to the west to Europe.
The year 1996 was proclaimed Nasreddin Hoca year by UNESCO. Now in 2002, he would be 794 years old.

Hoca stories are well known because they show the funny side of people´s behaviour.

Hoca thought that it would be a lot more peaceful working in the farm than sitting at home listening to his wife. Also he could work up a big appetite for the evening´s feast. So off he went to the stable to get his beloved donkey. His donky was like his best friend. Sometimes Hoca would talk to his donkey for hours. The donkey greeted him in his own special way and they headed off to the farm together.

On the way Hoca was stopped by a man. He gave Hoca a letter and asked him to read it for him. Hoca looked at the letter but it was in another language. He told the man that he couldn´t read it.
The man was cross and said:
- Shame on you Hoca! You wear the turban of an educated man but you can´t read my letter.
Hoca took off his turban, smiled at the man and said:
OK, if it is the skill of the turban, wear it and read it yourself!....
The man stood there all confused. What could he possibly say to answer Hoca.

Hoca carried on his way to the farm. He worked very hard and he thought he should sit and rest for a little bit. So he sat under a walnut tree, admiring the fields around him, his mind started to wonder... He spotted great big pumpkins growing on the vines in the next field. Then he looked up at the magnificent walnut tree and those little walnuts growing on it. He said to himself:
- Sometimes I can´t understand the ways of God. Fancy letting littkle walnuts grow on such a majestic tree and yet huge pumpkins grow on those delicate little vines.
Just then with a breeze a walnut snapped off the tree and fell smack on his head.
He got up at once, lifting his hands and face to the heavens he said:
- Oh God! Forgive my questioning ways. You are all wise. Where would I be now, if pumpkins grew on trees?.

Hoca decided to carry on with his work. After a while a passer by spotted him walking up and down the fields, sprinkling som sort of powder around. He was curious, so he walked up to him and asked:
- Hoca! What are you doing? Why are you sprinkling that powder around?
- I want to keep the tigers away, Hoca answered.
- But there are no tigers within thousands of miles, the man said.
Hoca looked rather pleased with himself and said with a big smile:
- Well, you see it works then, doesn´t it?

Hoca realised that it was time to go home and start getting ready for the dinner party. He went to get his donkey but the donkey was nowhere to be seen. Where was his best friend? He was cross at first. He had been working all day and he was tired but now he had to walk all the way back home.

By the time he got back to the village he had had time to think. The people in the village were surprised to see Hoca without his donkey. But more surprisingly Hoca seemed quite pleased with himself. They watched him as he kept walking, lifting his hands up and saying "Thank Goodness, I am so lucky!" Everybody was really curious. One of them had to ask Hoca what had happened.
Hoca answered:
- My donkey is lost.
The man said:
- Then why are you so happy and grateful?
- I am happy because I wasn´t sitting on him or I would have been lost too.
Hoca left the man standing there all amused.

When he got home he realised that he had misjudged his day´s work. There wasn´t much time for him to get cleaned up and get dressed with the care needed for such an important occasion. It was either not change, or be late for dinner and he couldn´t possibly be late for dinner. So off he went with the dirt on his hands and clothes. When he arrived at the Muhtar´s door, he realised that the rest of the guests had already arrived and conversations buzzed around the room.

Usually people would ask Hoca´s opinion and request his advice on many matters, but curiously nobody noticed Hoca and nobody asked his opinion on any matter. To make things worse Hoca was seated at the end of the room, far away from the host...
Hoca, feeling neglected, left the house and hurried home. He washed and dressed himself in his best clothes and turban. Then he slipped on his new fur coat, by far the most striking garment in all the village.

At last he was ready. With his head held high he went back to the party. Every eye was upon him as the servants welcomed him in. Immediately the host came to greet him and led him straight to the place of honor at his own tray.

As dinner went on the host asked one question after another to his guest and served Hoca the finest foods. To Muhtar´s astonishment, Hoca began stuffing food into the big pockets of his fur coat.
EAT, MY FINE FUR COAT! Hoca would say each time.
Everyone watched him, but no one could make sense of Hoca´s behaviour.
At last the Muhtar couldn´t wait any longer.
- HOCA, SIR said he, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
- AH, SIRE, I´M FEEDING THE GUEST YOU INVITED TO THE BANQUET. WHEN I CAME THE FIRST TIME THIS EVENING, YOU TOOK NO NOTICE OF ME AT ALL, WHEN I CAME THE SECOND TIME YOU TREATED ME AS THE GUEST OF HONOUR. I HAVE NOT CHANGED; I AM STILL NASREDDIN HOCA. THE ONLY THING THAT IS DIFFERENT IS MY FUR COAT. SINCE MY COAT IS THE GUEST OF HONOUR, IT SHOULD HAVE A FAIR SHARE OF THIS FINE FOOD!!