Bergama to Foca

This photo is for Carol and Dana... as we drive further south, the wildflowers are increasing in quantity and frequency. Leaving Istanbul, there were very few flowers blooming alongside the road. A few daisies and not much else. Now there are flowers everywhere. Yesterday, driving from Bergama to Foca, we suddenly began seeing these purple flowers whizzing by. Curiosity got the best of us and we stopped to see what they were. The buzzing bees and the delightful fragrance immediately screamed "lavender"! This stuff grows WILD for miles along the highway, interspersed with white rockrose, pine and fig trees. It's beautiful!


In many ways, this land reminds me of southern California. The coastline is rugged, but not as arid as the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. The hills are covered with fig and pine trees, rockrose and tamarask, and the rock is mostly white limestone now. The water is clear and looks like it would be great for snorkeling or diving. We are starting to see lots of little islands just off the coast.


Here are a couple of obligatory shots of stuff too funny to pass up. Gas stations in Turkey are pretty easy to spot: there are the familiar ones like Shell, and then the local ones such as AKPET, USPET, etc. "PET" in each of these refers to "petroleum". Yesterday we saw a sign for a new one... "petkim". This sign was standing at a highway intersection, rather than at a gas station, so I'm not actually certain that it was a petroleum company brand. But it was funny nonetheless!

Here's another cultural curiosity that caught my attention. As Ed knows, I LOVE ice cream. On this trip I haven't had much opportunity to indulge since Robert is diabetic and the convenience of eating what is available usually takes precedence over my preferences. Yesterday was different. We spent a hot morning trudging and climbing through two different historic ruins and I was hot, sunburned and tired, and when we stopped at the market to stock up on lunch and dinner items, I saw the ice cream bars. They looked a lot like the familiar Dove Bars and Ben & Jerry's bars, so I checked out the different types - caramel, hazelnut, milk chocolate, FISHSTIK? Oh, it actually says "fistik" which means pistachio. Pistachio sounded great, so I got it! Fishstick didn't sound quite so appealing! By the way, pistachios are native to this area...


These fellows are the first I have seen playing backgammon. I expected to see lots of people playing. Maybe there is more to come.


Another fisherman. We have spent most of our time along the coast, so far. Today we go inland for a few days. I expect to return to the coast by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. I've taken lots of images of boats and fisherman. It is very difficult to get photos of women here. They seem to be so modest that when we ask permission, they mostly say no. I will keep trying. We are noticing that the further south we go (along the coast, at least) there are more women without the headscarf, head uncovered. The next big city along our route, Izmir, is supposed to be the most westernized city of all Turkey. Next Thursday I will return to Izmir and fly to Istanbul to catch my return flight home.


Here's one last shot of the style of boat photo I love most. This was taken in the same little harbor where I took the fisherman shot above, in a little village called Babakale, west of Bergama. Babakale is one of the most western points of Turkey. Just offshore are a number of Greek islands, such as Lesbos.