Life in this land began with a love for Mother Nature that saw all living beings as equals. The ancient Turks shamanism (Kamanism), a belief that predates the advent of Islam, still shows traces of its deep influence on the culture of Turkey today, from rituals to folklore, from literature to art. WATER follows the traces of the kamanism that migrated from Northern Siberia with the Turkic people a thousand years ago, and which is the lifeblood of the Turkic soul, all the way into today's Istanbul.
When journalist Defne Kaman boards an Istanbul ferryboat one summer evening and suddenly disappears, Sergeant Umit is determined to find her. Soon he and his friend Secondhand Semahat are swept away in a series of adventures as they struggle to make sense of a mysterious world of ancient symbols and codes of ancient Turkish shamanism. Meanwhile, they are forced to confront the traditions and taboos that have restricted their own lives.
In WATER Buket Uzuner, one of Turkey's best selling authors explores eco-feminist themes and the ancient Turkish tradition of kamanism with her witty, warm and wise literary style. Through the ancient kamanist Kutadgu Bilig (Book of Happiness) written over 1,000 years ago in pro-Turkish in the Uighur alphabet, she invites the reader to see the work in a new light.