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As the chickens come home to roost just across the South Eastern borders of Turkey, life in the South West goes on as normal. You'd have to look very hard here to find clues that a "war" is raging at the other end of the country. A small protest in central Bodrum demanding Turkish intervention in Kobane wasn't even reported in the local papers.
Here it is olive picking time again; at least it's time to collect the green ones, there are still a couple of months left to collect the black ones. We were a bit late with ours and many of the green olives were turning colour, which meant that my thumbs were an even darker shade of brown after an afternoon cutting each olive three times.
These will be soaked for a couple of weeks in water, refreshed on a daily basis and bottled in salt water. Who knows what the Iraqi/Syrian/Kurdish/Turkish situation will be when we get to taste the new harvest in a month or two.
For those of you interested in the political situation, please take a few minutes to read The Senior Dogs' latest post from Istanbul which really brings it home to me how lucky I am to be living in this particular corner of Turkey.
. . it never ceases to amaze me how resilient people are even in the midst of war zones - how, despite everything, they try to maintain some semblance of normality. As an old soldier who once took part in the wars of empire for resources how I long for the abolition of armies and politicians.
ReplyDeleteIf only!
DeleteUh-oh, B to B. Since most people believe that ignoring the political situation is the way to keep their spirits up, I wouldn't blame them if they decided to pass on the senior dogs. But thanks for the plug, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think most people bypass the political stuff because it is too confusing, but your posts are clear, concise and absorbable. I hope they do click.
DeleteEnjoy your olives. They are not picking many here yet, they have not even picked the cotton.
ReplyDeleteIt is quiet here too, though people talk. We tend to hear more about strictly-local politics. Here in Selcuk we have one of the few AKP Mayors in Ege... Newly elected (and formerly tried to be selected by the CHP).
Our loves seem very early this year. Even the black ones were being picked today.
DeleteOhhh..I would love to come help with your olive harvest!
ReplyDeleteI am saddened to hear the daily news from Turkey! Even American comedian Jon Stewart was slamming and making fun of Turkey and the Kobane situation the other night. :-( It doesn't make sense!
Well we have a guest house if you ever have chance to fly down in October!
DeleteFar be it for me to wade into the Turkish/Kurdish issue as it's being played out in Kobane. Now that I've left Turkey, I feel less entitled to comment. But (here comes the but), I do hope that Erdogan's nasty brand of divisive politics will unravel in the end just as it did for Thatcher here in Britain.
ReplyDeleteFor once I have to agree with RTE, going in alone at the call of the US and UK would not be a good option.
DeleteI wondered how you would be affected...and how much was being reported locally.
ReplyDeleteLove the olives. I thought all my trees had failed to produce this year, but I discovered one great big one, full to bursting , just yesterday. Unfortunately as I'm heading back to the UK this week, mine will just have to drop this year. Jx
What a shame. Hope you have a neighbour who is willing to pick and prep and will hand over a few kilos for your martinis next year.
DeleteI wished I could give you a hand with the olives Ann, really do, enjoy them and Bodrum. Southeast border is a big concern, especially thinking the innocent people who has nothing to do with all..hope peace for all soon.
ReplyDeleteWe are almost as far away from the Eastern border as we are from Surrey, so we are mercifully spared, but I get angry and upset at the needless suffering endured by 100s of thousands of innocents.
DeleteThe olive harvest is crap in our region this year (Hérault, South of France). I won't get to see my 89 and 83 year-old neighbours sifting through their crop. I'm off to read SDA's blog entry now - it will be good to get an insider's view of the situation rather than the media's version. Maybe I've been reading too much Orwell, but I say it's good to vary the input...
ReplyDeleteSenior Dogs tell it how it is.
DeleteI was in Turkey earlier this month (visited Bodrum btw) and was intrigued by the olive harvest. Street trees hung heavy with fruit and suddenly two or three women would select one and strip it like locusts. I couldn't understand why they chose that tree and not those standing close by and all seemingly as plentiful!
ReplyDeleteOften one tree is picked green and the next is left until the olives are black. Serious picking only really gets underway in late October or November . Next time you visit Bodrum, let me know while you are here.
DeleteSue and Will's Italian crop of olives also failed this year - the young olives trees having been damaged by storms earlier in the year. We had thought about helping with the harvest this year - maybe next year! Will follow your olive story with interest.
ReplyDeleteWe will try and prune our trees this year to get a better crop for next. We only prepare enough olives to see us through about 6 months. We should do better.
DeleteI love olives, How great to have your own trees. Thanks for the link to SDA's post. It's hard to get clear information on the situation from the media.
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