Every discipline has its eccentrics. The spiritual disciplines indeed have no shortages of those who are looking to lose themselves, for some period of time, in the way which they feel will bring them closer to Allah. Today, finding these people is a rare experience, but in older times it was common to have heard tales of an eccentric hermit who comes into town only to step away from Allah for some basic necessities and then returns to his simple lifestyle in the mountains.
Yunus is Cyprus’s version of that type of person. When trekking up the mountain we found Yunus’s home, which was little more than a mud hut with some wooden support and metal roof to keep the rain away. Yunus himself is German and he wears his turban cloth in a braided fashion circling around the familiar Naqshbandi Taj cap.
After finishing the work planting almond trees we started on our way down returning some items that we had borrowed from Yunus. He very politely invited us to sit and have some food with him.
In Yunus’s humble and meager home there was still adab and manners in place. Although the floor was all cardboard, there were two layers, of it. Shoes were not allowed in the cardboard which made the greater part of the inside.
His cooking equipment was a small camping oven (this served dual purposes as his home heating system), a few pots and some vegetables. There was also some sujuk (Turkish Sausage) hanging up above us.
Needless to say, we were a bit apprehensive at first at eating what was sitting in the pot, but after a few bites of enjoying its flavor, it became clear that this was better than most of the food we had been eating during our trip. Carrots, spinach, leeks, and other vegetables combined with sujuk and some good stock gave us a hearty meal.
Yunus himself looked as strong as one might expect from a German living in the mountains of Cyprus, so such food must offer plenty of nutrition. We were each given utensils to reach into the pot and eat, and during the meal Yunus shared some of his thoughts with us.
Right away, I noticed that Yunus spoke about himself in the third person. His English was not the best, and it was clear that there was something more to that style of speaking. Though, he clearly wasn’t someone who sought out company in order to preach some universal truth he had found. No, the circumstances of our arrival and his lifestyle clearly eliminated any obtusely ego filled speech.
Rather, it seemed to me his life is centered around coming to terms and understanding with a truth he had experienced. Certainly, being in the presence of Shaykh Maulana so closely, who knows what doors have opened for him?
So, Yunus spoke about his desire to concentrate on his Lord and to be close with Him. He spoke at length about how important that was for him. The rare aspect of this was that here was someone who very apparently was acting on his words. The intensity of his expression compelled quite a few emotions from me. What I felt was an odd combination of curiosity, awe, inadequacy, pride, sadness and hope. I felt I was witnessing a rare level of sincerity.
On his walls he had pictures of ancient hieroglyphs, from his studies he believed he had found evidences of Khizr (AS) in different times. Is it true or not? It wasn’t really relevant to me, what was more important was that it was really true to him.
As a parting reminder to not forget his eccentricities, when offering to give us a ride into town (in a car where the doors barely closed), he donned a cape with the EU flag, with the added picture of an angelic figure on it.
