Let us celebrate with Wine

Take a bath and a glass of wine - Know how to enjoy life!

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

First, I would like to begin with saying hi to my parents. Hello mom, I didn't know that you were reading my travel journals! Can't say how proud I am! Yes I love you, and I've missed you, but certainly I would miss you a lot more if you didn't punish me for writing a little sarcastic things about you on the blog!

You see, I've always been a sarcastic little boy since I was born, you always say this. Anyways, yesterday have been a disaster, first I went to Pamukkale, it was certainly the most surreal sight I have ever seen. Everything seemed like a total different magical universe.

But the hot spring waters were disgusting, they were dirty as fuck so I could not swim and as I was trying to hitch-hike back to Izmır, I've got a special call from my parents! They have read my blog and now, they really want their two bottles of wine from Seven Wine!

So, being to dutiful son I am, I went straight back to İzmir to Seven Wine to buy their wines. And there, guess what I have learnt! That they had a fucking contact us page in their website, and I could easily call them and want them to mail the wines to my parent's home!

So now, I am posting the contact us button here in memory of my dying feet: sevensarapcilik May you rest in peace my brain cells. Long story short, I was the biggest retard of yesterday, but not today! Today I will get shit done! I am headed to Ephesus now! Stay tuned!

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey! Last day was great. I can't say that it was the best wine I have ever tasted (come on! I've visited Bordeaux for 5 times) but it was one of the best considering the taste and the price ratio. It was surprisingly economic, in fact maybe a little too economic cause I have ended up wasted from drinking too much wine :embarrassed face: I especially liked its white wine, red wine was okay too though. Whatever.

Today I am visiting the Pamukkale! After staying at the wine house last night today I am full of energy! First I will hitch-hike there and once I've arrived I am planning to take my clothes off as soon as possible and dive into the hot water springs! The owner of the winehouse suggested to go there to me so I don't really know anything yet besides the google search results lol.

But it is in the UNESCO world heritage list, it is something right? Quoting directly from this website "Deriving from springs in a cliff almost 200 m high overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have created at Pamukkale (Cotton Palace) an unreal landscape, made up of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins.

At the end of the 2nd century B.C. the dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, established the thermal spa of Hierapolis. The ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments can be seen at the site.". It is worth seeing right?

I will give you the details, keep in touch! 

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey! I've decided not to break the tradition and now I am visiting a wine house! Utku said that he knew the owner and it was a very selective wine house. There are tours in the vineyard in certain hours as groups but since Utku knows the owner, the owner will take care of me personally and exclusively.

Yeap, I am VIP bitchez. Utku said that the owner, just like my parents, has visited all over the Europe and tasted different wines from each country. He had been to many vineyards too so he knows the different types of grapes and the best climate and the soil for it.

At first he started that as a hobby but after he saw that he was fucking good at it he had decided to make it a business lol. He said that the soil of the vineyard was special and exclusive just like myself because the owner brought it from the best areas. He said that he uses the most suitable soil and the grape for the climate of Izmir and since it is not too industrial the wine tastes like a special home made wine.

Well my expectations are too high already! It is exciting! My parents does not know that I am visiting a wine house yet, I bet that they would want at least 2 bottles for themselves. Well sorry mom, my backpack is heavy enough! Love ya!

PS: sevensarapcilik... this is the website of the wine house, if you have any related questions post me and I'll ask them!

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey! I have eaten the biggest meal of my life. I am so full that I can vomit. Utku said that it was very important in their cultures to treat the guests right to his mother and his sister cooked tons of different food today. I have eaten stuffed  eggplant with olive oil, artichoke, asparagus and many more vegetables cooked with olive oil.

I find it very hard to understand the reason of the different treating in Istanbul and here. In Istanbul, I've felt like every single person (excluding my host) was trying to take money from me as much as they could. Every single salesman was trying to take extra money with thousand of different treats.

But here, they are the kindest people. It is hard to believe that the two is the same country, the same nation and the same people. I guess the most dominant culture of the big cities is the capitalism. It is the same shit all around the world. Also, another point that is difficult to understand is the double standard of the way people treat the tourists and the locals. Today an old woman visited the house and chatted with Utku's mother for a while and than left.

After she left Utku's mother started mumbling like crazy to herself, I've asked what she was saying and Utku said that she was cursing to the lady that has just left. I've asked the reason and Utku said there were no particular reason, she just doesn't like her. I couldn't believe that the sweet lady that treated me so nicely could turn into a merciless witch all of a sudden. Strange creatures the humans are.

This is my last night here, tomorrow, Utku will drive and leave me at the nearest tourist attraction I want! 

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

We are in Utku's family house now and it is one of the best destinations I have ever been. My parents can kill for a life in such an eco village. Everything is one hundred percent natural here, I cannot even believe that I have drunk a milk that has been milked from a cow minutes ago.

If it was in Europe I personally know lots of people who are willing to pay shit loads of money for this milk. Utku, the driver of the car, told me that the industrialisation could not colonize his village yet, but there were many attempts in villages like this.

For example he told me that just last year in a village called Yırca, they cut hundreds of olive trees for building a factory. Luckily the people of the village sued them and cancelled the building but the main income source of the village was long gone so there was nothing to be done. (you can support this beautiful people who fought for their olive trees from here.  

Utku's family is in the agricultural business, they have a farm and they produce tomatoes. His mother is a very funny woman, she is relatively old comparing to my parents I think and she always laughs when we talk, Utku says that it is because she finds English very funny. Utku insisted that I stay at his home today, so it seems like the universe is finding its own way again. I knew that I could trust it:) 

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey! Today I left Istanbul and headed to the south! I will visit the Aegean region because I've heard that the sea and the food is awesome there. There are lots of ancient ruins too, like Ephesus and Pergamon for example.

I am writing this post from a strangers car right now, I was hitch-hiking and on the card that I was holding was only written Aegean region because I don't want to kill the coincidence factor in my travels and the universe always finds a way to make things the best way possible I think. Because of that I try to intervene as little as possible.

Whatever, one car pulled over, a young man was driving. He said that he was an english teacher(so he speaks english and we can chat! that is the universe working!) and he was going to İzmir to visit his family. İzmir is the biggest city of the Aegean region and it is definitely the first one that I wanted to visit! There are tons of sights to see there.

So right now I am headed with a complete stranger to a city that I only now from the web. I wonder what the universe will give me this time. I was really happy with the work it did in Istanbul about my host, so I count on you Universe! Don't disappoint me! 

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey!

I am continuing from the last post. Like I've said the general atmosphere was much more depressed than shocked. They were not even angry. I can't even imagine the consequences of an event like that in Europe.

I am sure everybody would be marching on the streets by now. I've asked what will happen to the military officer who shot the child etc. They said probably nothing, people will forget it in a few days and we will have completely different problems. I don't think that it is healthy for a nation to be this calm in such a dramatic event. I am not yet an anthropologist but I can still observe the group psychology I think? I guess it is a reflex that has been developed after hearing about that much political deaths.

After a certain point it just doesn't matter? I really don't know, and I am completely baffled by that. Remember that I've mentioned the motorcycle right? I've learnt why she didn't want to walk home after 12 am, she is not Cinderella but she still get cat called. Cat-calling is really common as I have observed. Especially if you are a woman walking alone after midnight, men think you are much more easier to woo (well I would use the word rape but I don't want to decide that early for the complex inter-sexual relationships of a nation.) 

I haven't seen much in these 3 days of course, but I can tell that Turkey is surprising. It is not a European country nor a Middle-Eastern country. It has its own unique blend. Stay tuned. 

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey. I've had the chance to observe many things today. First I want to begin from yesterday. We went to a pub called "Kemanci" it was not far from the house so we could walk but she said that we should take her motorcycle because we wouldn't want to walk home after a certain hour. I thought it was more dangerous to take the motorcycle because obviously she would be drunk by the time we decided to go back to the house.

She promised me to not to get too drunk so we went there. Her friends were there too, most of them are interested in social sciences and there were a few artists too. The atmosphere and the relationships between people were much more liberal and radical than I was expecting from a middle eastern country. But at the same time there was this anxiety in the air that you wouldn't normally feel in an European country. For example one second when they were laughing their asses off, one of the girls told them that the military officers killed a 7 years old child in the eastern part of Turkey.

And suddenly they dropped anything and began to talk politics like crazy. There were lots and lots of curses I suppose and one particular man got so angry that he left the bar. But like half an hour later, everything got calmer but somehow much more melancholic. I was still shocked from the news of murder, but they looked more depressed than shocked. My couch said that it was not that uncommon but still saddening in Turkey. I have to go now, my couch says we will go to the Bosphorus. I will write the details tomorrow!

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey! My first day in Istanbul was great. I found a couch in Galata, Beyoglu. She is also a university student and she is studying philosophy so we got along great. Most of the time I am out in the city exploring its backstreets etc. The location of the house is really great because it is right in the middle of the city, just minutes away from the famous Istiklal street.

I can go wherever I want easily from here, most of the tourist attractions are very near, I went to a whirling dervish house (I don't remember the exact name but something like Galata mavlaviihan) by food today for example. The famous Galata Tower can be seen from the window of the room I am staying in. So I guess I could say that I am pretty lucky. I couldn't visit all the places I wanted today because I was really tired, and I think I have jet lag? Not sure but maybe.

The girl that I am staying with offered me to have a night out together tonight so I didn't want to tire myself that much. I still strolled around the Istıklal Street though, it was crowded as fuck and not so fun. There are tons of shops and pubs and it is not so fun if you don't have anyhing to do there. The back streets are pretty cool though, you can unexpected things down there. The girl is calling me now, I think I should go. I will write you the details tomorrow. Stay tuned! 

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

Hey! My name is Marcus and I am a traveller! I am a 23 years old university student currently travelling the middle east and discovering new cultures. I live in Spain and I am studying Anthropology in Madrid University. I have always been very fond of discovering new cultures and traditions. My parents are university professors, mi madré is history and papa is Spanish Literature. They love travelling as well so my whole childhood, I've been travelling the Europe.

 I think I would not be lying if I said that I have seen all the countries in Europe. My parents produce their own home-made wines so especially the famous wine countries are the destinations that we frequently visit. I don't even remember the times that I've visited Bordeaux for example lol. This is my first alone trip and I plan to use hitch-hiking as much as possible. My first destination is Turkey, and right now I am on a plane to Istanbul! I don't have any plans to follow, I will travel wherever I want. Because if there is one thing that I've learnt from my parents, it is that you  should never follow the plan in travels lol.

By the way, I will probably stay via couchings as much as possible and I hope this will help me discover the true spirit of the country. If I cannot find couching, I will stay in my tent! So after now, home is where your backpack is!! Stay tuned for my adventures! 

[lovewinehatebeer-blog]

[judysdotart]

Grapes and wine in pointillism judysdotart

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[lovewinehatebeer-blog]