Who should I wear a mantle for?

Both Ramadan and Eid al-Adha have vanished. Don't worry, if you chase them out the door, they'll come back through the window. And sooner, too. After a few Bektashi jokes, let me show you what I've heard in today's article. Let's see who understands what.

One day they asked a Bektashi:

- Father, saints, why don't you fast?

- I swear I would like to keep it but I don't have the strength.

- If they invite you to iftar, would you go?

- Oh... honestly, I'll do whatever I can to go.

"My dear, how is this possible? You do not listen to God's command, but you accept the invitation of His servants."

"What's surprising about that?" You know that God Almighty is the most merciful of the merciful. If He comes at a blessed hour, He can immediately forgive His servants' sins. But is that how people are? They can become offended at the slightest cause. Therefore, invitations must be accepted immediately.

He was drinking Bektashi. He said to himself:

- Aren't you afraid of getting drunk? they asked. He:

"No, my drunkenness doesn't harm anyone. You should beware of those who get drunk without actually drinking."

- Who are they?

- These are some nouveau riche who become crazy because they get their hands on worldly goods.

A pious fool would make up dreams every time he met Bektashi, supposedly to mock him, and he would always tell him about made-up events that would humiliate the Bektashi fathers.

One morning, while Bektashi was going to work, this chatterbox met him again:

- Oh man, I had such a dream tonight that you'll faint.

He began his speech by telling that in his dream, a Bektashi father spat into his mouth.

Bektashi listened to the dream with great attention.

- Indeed, the dream is very important... Our father was probably going to spit in your face. But the spit accidentally went into your mouth.

One day, Sultan Abdülmecid went to visit a Bektashi father who lived in his mansion in the middle of a large vineyard on the Bosphorus.

That day, Bektashi went to visit a friend in a neighboring vineyard. The sultan wandered around the vineyard until he returned. When Bektashi returned, they began to talk:

Abdulmecid: "Saints, your vineyard is very large. What do you do with your grapes?"

Bektashi: "We will eat together with the disciples and the souls, my Sultan."

Abdulmecid: "Can you finish eating the grapes here?"

Bektashi: "We squeeze what we don't eat, press it into barrels and drink the juice!"

Abdulmecid: "But can't squeezed grapes become wine?"

Bektashi: "I swear, my Sultan, we press the grapes and put them into barrels. Whatever God wishes, it happens. Do we dare to interfere with the rest?"

After these jokes, let's come to our idiom.

Young men now wear earrings. To those who criticize them, they point to the picture of Selim I with an earring in history books.

In fact, that painting isn't of Selim I, but of Shah Ismail. If you look closely, you'll see the 12-piece red headdress he wears. It's said that this headdress is why followers of Shah Ismail were called Kızılbaş (Red Head) back then, and still are. Sir, I won't go up without drawing your name. Let me bring this to the expression "to be a good ear to you."

In the Bektashi order, new initiates would receive earplugs and advice, and to ensure they would remember the order's core tenets, their ears would be pierced at the doorstep of the pir or sheikh, and a type of earring called a "Menkuş" would be worn. The expression "Let it be an earring for your ear"—which we use today to emphasize the importance of what is being said and the importance of remembering what is being said—originated from this Bektashi tradition of earring.