‘Hobbits!’ I thought as J and I tucked into our second breakfast of the morning – Hobbits, you see, have second everything and breakfast at our hotel was now being followed a couple of hours later by a veritable feast. We were being hosted by a couple of ranking bureaucrats (no names to protect the [...]
~ read more ~
‘Cornucopia’ – a Horn of Plenty; a symbol of abundance. So says my dictionary and so says anyone who picks up a copy of this magazine which is always filled to overflowing with wonderful and fascinating stories and information about Turkey. Can you imagine my delight when the editorial team asked to be allowed to [...]
~ read more ~
Sixty years ago, in the middle of my newt, slow-worm and birds’ nesting period, I was ‘introduced’ to two amazing images that left indelible impressions and a passion that has lasted to this day. The first was of the classic view of the Lion Courtyard at la Alhambra and the second was of Arabic calligraphy. The [...]
~ read more ~
My mother, who joined the last Norwegian Blue in pining for the fjords many years ago, had a number of apposite sayings relating to dogs. The country was always ‘going to the dogs!’ and I always looked like a ‘dog’s dinner tied up in the middle!’, a comment on my sartorial inelegance. If the reference to ‘Norwegian [...]
~ read more ~
Last week I was rambling on about wandering over the mountains and getting overly excited about a huge stick of ‘asparagus‘ that I’d discovered. In my sweaty, fevered state I’d convinced myself that it must be the biggest tongue orchid anyone had ever seen and vowed to return this week to check it out once [...]
~ read more ~
After two bleak years with Ducati the greatest motorcycle racer in the history of the sport is back. Back with Yamaha, back in the groove and back on the hunt for an eighth World Championship. Valentino Rossi – the Greatest Motorcycle Racer of All Time Alan Fenn, Seventh Heaven
~ read more ~
J and I have a habit of packing up a bit of cheese, olives and bread; humping (in an English as opposed to a US sense) the camera gear and wandering off into obscure places. Yesterday it was the head of one of our local valleys that has likely seldom felt the tread of man [...]
~ read more ~
J and I had a glorious ramble up and down the mountain that constitutes our ‘back garden’ today. We’ve learned (after 15 years) that the local distribution range of the Armenian Tulip is much larger than the two little pockets we’d previously found. We’ve added yet another species of orchid to Okçular’s tally – it [...]
~ read more ~
. . along the mountain track, and as I go I love to . . tra-la-la! I know what you’re thinking – ‘what is going on here?’ After a desultory one or two posts each week or ten days this bloke is spewing them out like the pubs after a bad night on Sauchiehall Street. [...]
~ read more ~
Sistine Chapel ceiling (Wikipedia) . . now we know how Michelangelo felt after skylights were fitted to the Sistine Chapel! Eighteen months after our crew had completed the nearest thing to perfection since Banksy did a tin of TESCO’s soup; eighteen months after adding the last dob of paint to the wonderful murals at Okçular [...]
~ read more ~
Pure Line theme by Theme4Press • Powered by WordPress archers of okçular 'burası Türkiye!' - 'this is Turkey!' - living, loving and travelling Turkey
recent comments