Looking at Dalyan from the sky is like an anatomy lesson where the
body is geography. The canals below you spread like green veins.

“When the waters of the flood receded, the Oaxaca Valley was a swamp. A handful of mud came to life and began walking. Turtle was walking very, very slowly. His head stretched out, his eyes wide open,he moved forward, roaming to see the world that the sun had brought back to life. At a place that stank, Turtle saw Vulture eating carrion. ‘Take me to the sky,’ he said. ‘I want to meet God.’ Vulture made him repeat his request several times. Turtle poked out his head to plead, and then, because of the unbearable stench, retreated it back into his shell. ‘You have wings; take me up,’ he begged. Tired of this insistence, Vulture spread his great black wings and took off with Turtle on his back. They flew through the clouds as Turtle, his head pulled in, complained, ‘You smell revolting!’ Vulture pretended not to hear.