Faces from Cuba

Last night Hubby was out of town and it was my fish menu night. As he hates the smell of the cooking fish at home, I prefer to make it for myself when he is out.

It was a beautiful night. I had my fish, green salad and couple glasses of wine. Candles were lit at the veranda, Cesaria Evora was playing on the background, her beautiful voice was mixing with the sounds of the waves. A perfect scene for one of my habits.

After dinner I made myself a thick, black Turkish coffee and smoked a Cuban cigar. I have never smoked in my life, but in a Cuban trip I made 6 years ago, I somehow acquired the habit of smoking cigars.  I found out that after a good dinner, in a pleasant night, there is nothing better than the rich and strong taste of a cigar to end the feast.

I am extremely selective for my cigar dates. It has to be a Cohiba and the setting should be perfect and I only smoke 8-10 per year. While I was enjoying my coffee and cigar, I realized that I have never posted about Cuba on my blog. I have to say that, so far I have travelled to many different countries but Cuba and couple other places will always have a very special place on my heart.

Last night it was also the wedding night of my dear friend Erdem. As of today he and his wife Sema are flying to Tibet for their honeymoon. I am wishing them a wonderful trip and a great life together from here.

I already posted some excellent photos of  Erdem's trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar  on Turquoise Diaries, and today for the first post of my Cuban series, let me start with some of his photos. So here are some faces from Cuba from the eyes of Erdem Kütükoğlu:

Next post : Places from Cuba

Olives

Its the time of the year where olives are everywhere in our little peninsula.....

 Its definitely the golden liquid where you could find it in every house. Probably for the last 10 years olive oil is the only oil, I let my body to consume. A typical snack or a breakfast  in our house includes olive oil, home made bread and some herbs..

The good thing about living here is that we do not buy our oils from the market or from the shops. We directly buy from the farmers. If you travel thru the peninsula by car you could see hundreds of houses selling olive oils in water or coke bottles.

After tasting many, for the last couple years we have settled with the product of Mrs Nergis (Nergis means daffodil; isnt it a nice name?) I like strong olive taste and some aroma in my oil, and that's what exactly Mrs. Daffodil's oils are offering...Below you are seeing my Mom and Mrs Daffodil, at the beginning of summer, bargaining for our first purchase of the season: 50 litres...As whoever taste it, always orders some for us, probably we are purchasing close to 100 litres every year. A nice way to make friends and family happy..

Falling Leaves or Blooming Flowers

As we all know that falling leaves with their beautiful colors are the perfect sign of autumn. However in this small Mediterranean town, its the blooming lilies that announce the arrival of autumn..

 They tend to grow at the beach during this time of the year. While their latin name is pancratium maritum, they are known as sea daffodils or sand lily at the Mediterranean shores.. We used to collect them in big bunches to enjoy their beauty as well as their strong and exotic smell in the house. However for the last 10 years these delicate flowers are in the endangered species list in Turkey. So for the time being they are only to look for....



However if you are not very happy with this sign of the season, we also have some classical ones...

Wish you a wonderful weekend...

Men and Women of Allah

I have got badly hit by another round of summer flu...While there is a beautiful day and a lake like Mediterranean waiting and calling me outside, I am trying to gain my health...So far my days are passing with taking lots of liquid, pills, sleeping and reading..

So while surfing on the net I came across with the latest collection of the young Turkish fashion designer Erkan Coruh.. With the rising of the İslamic forces in my country, the name of his collection 'The Men & Women Of Allah' was quite eye catching...

The concept of his collection is based on the idea of ''hybridization'' between classic and radical by creating diologue on differences.

With this collection he is questioning the role of women and men in the paradoxical reality of Islamic way of life in the modern world..

I kind of like what he is trying to do and definitely love some of the pieces but hope never forced to wear some other pieces. For the rest of his collection please check  http://www.erkancoruh.com/

Silence of September

There are still some boats at the main harbour of Datca. However the small docks at the bays are totally empty except couple local fish boats. Larger ones maybe preferring safer places because of the unexpected winds of the season.

I took this photo from the tip of the Datca peninsula where the antic city of Knidos located. Crowded with boats and people just couple weeks ago but now enjoying the silence of the September.

Jealous Dog

We all know that Hera was a jealous goddess but so far our little Hera was not showing any sign of it. Well, not until my 8 months old nephew came to visit us. She has never been a lap dog, not even when she was a tiny puppy. It is always a big struggle to take her on your lap. You could hold her still only couple seconds before she starts to leave a good doze of scratches on your arms and legs.. But look at what a small siblings rivalry did to her.

and this new habit of her gave me the chance to take some decent photo of her and hubby..

Have a GREAT weekend with your loved ones.. 

The night

It was a beautiful September night. When the last rays of the sun dissappearing, we found ourselves a table to dine over the harbour. Pasta and wine was at the menu..

As we are planning to spend a good part of autumn here, we made plans for İstanbul, for winter...
- finish the final year of archeology course
-take a photography course
-maybe a trip to Mongolia
-several short trips to nearby places
-lots of movie, museum,and art gallery visits
-hit the gym more often
-attemp to start writing a novel
-etc etc etc

It was surprising to find out how I much I miss my life in İstanbul in a perfect Mediterranean night..