Rashid is also a poet and enjoys sharing with interested tour groups his poetry, particularly those on Turkey, such as a poem on Troy.  

"I never in my life would have imagined that a poem written by a total stranger so far from home, would touch me so deeply, that brought tears to my eyes! Your knowledge and your passion has made me fall in love with Turkey." Norma Moderana, INSIGHT VACATIONS, May 5, 2010  

SUMELA MONASTERY

I wish, I could

like an aged monk

hide in a monastery

I'd build on a cliff

Yet, inevitably,

Through a forest of tall and calm trees,

my heart

flows to you

                    R. Ergener

ANTIOCH MOSAIC MUSEUM

A circle, a circle, yet another circle

Circles on top of one another

Circles growing into a pattern

With no beginning and no end

You look, look and look at me

Your looks pile on top of one another

Love like a poppy field

With no beginning and no end

                                              R. Ergener

TROY

I come to Troy, at times

On the trail of lost wars

Among layers of walls

Some covered with earth, some cleared

There are the remains of a house:

    a few pots, a fireplace, two columns

Who sought refuge in Troy ?

Which wars were fought ?

Troy was once rich

Filled with happy men and women

Wells were dug ruthlessly,

Its treasures stolen

Three goddesses competed in front of Paris

Beautiful Aphrodite, mother Hera and virgin Athena

Paris chose Aphrodite

Troy was damned

Paris was a prince, yet he belonged to the mountains, was

     reared by shepherds, didn’t know how to fight

He fought for Troy

So did Aphrodite, and the river Skamander, quitting its flamingos

And Hector, Paris’s brother, alone in front of the gate

     behind which his parents hid

Hector was alone, he would die

Trojans had left Hector alone, they would also die

Aphrodite couldn’t fight for long, she would leave

Troy would fall

I came to Troy, I’m digging for my past

there is a gate, beyond which I cannot go

Some flamingos take off

Aphrodite smiles

We are all nobles at birth belonging to the mountains, we choose beauty

Beauty is taken away from us, we die

We can’t remember how it was before death

We miss Troy

Everybody has a Troy, fought over for beauty

A gate beyond which death is encountered

New cities are founded thereafter, new wars are fought