Phillip and Rebecca Mefford

Nisan April This April we've been singing along with Johnny Cash, "I've been everywhere man!" Big thanks to all the friends who have hosted us from Bellingham to Dallas. Hudson took his first airplane rides, sleeping heartily through them. At nearly 4 months he is so aware of the world and starting to reach for toys!  Lincoln continues to be as rambunctious as ever. He still adores trains, helicopters, and rocket ships. He enjoys playing with rocks and sticks, running, swimming, singing, and being silly.

Zz Zeytin , Z ü caciye Ending with the letter z brings us to two more prevalent aspects of Turkey’s landscape: zeytin, olives, and z ü caciye, little kitchen shops . As you would imagine in a Mediterranean atmosphere, zeytin, or olives, are everywhere. Groves of olive trees line the landscape. Green, black, and purple we eat them for breakfast, tea-time, infused in breads… Like olive trees in the country, the z ü caciye dots the cityscape, providing convenient shopping for housewives galore. It is a type of home store that sells everything from toilet brushes to those beautiful little pitchers you can put olive oil in. What this means for us: - Since living in Turkey we have kind of become olive snobs. Those canned varieties you find on the Thanksgiving table just won’t cut it anymore. - Like the American strip-mall, little stores like the bakkal and z ü caciye create easy-access errand-running. The best thing about the Turkish variety, they are so prolific you

Yy Ya ğlı Güreş, Yöresel One of our favorite hobbies is discovering y ö resel, or local, foods and traditions. Many of you have heard Phillip’s encounter with hamsi ekme ğ i, anchovy bread—but don’t be scared, not all local food is that adventurous. Our neighbors introduced us to tarhana ç orbas ı which tastes similar to tomato soup but a little chalkier thanks to the stirred-in curds and flour. As we have raved before, Gaziantep food is by far the best, with spicy meatballs, nutty salads, and of course the best baklava. But outside of the gastronomic realm, what other y ö resel traditions are worth seeing? There is the bagpipe music and dancing of the hills of the Black Sea, the exotic deve g ü re ş , camel wresting, in the Aegean region of Turkey, and ya ğ l ı güreş , oil wrestling, throughout Thrace and Western Anatolia. Ya ğlı güreş is an epic sport where contestants lather themselves in olive oil before skirmishing with one another. Though not an Olympic sport, it

Vv Vak ı f, Vakit  Particularly around holiday times you see charitable foundations, vak ı f , advertised. As within our own culture, religiously rooted holidays are times when giving is encouraged. Turkish Muslims see this as an act of sevap , good deeds which will be rewarded by God. Not all vak ı f are religious, some being medical research foundations or education focused. They are avenues through which people sacrifice their resources and—one of the most important of all resources—time, vakit , to better themselves and their country. In the end, whether religiously motivated or spurred on by national pride, Turkey has the impetus to do good for their own people as well as those abroad. What this means for us: - Although we have a different sense of what sevap means, we appreciate the goodwill that our Turkish neighbors show. - Let’s always remember that it doesn’t have to be holiday time to give a little extra resources and time for those who need it.

Üü Ülker, Ünlü Self-proclaimed as one of the best loved brand names in Turkey, Ülker offers “happy moments” in its bite-able chocolaty biscuits, gum, candy, ice cream, cold and hot drinks, and the list goes on. You see ülker ’s name in the grocery store snack food aisle, you see them sponsoring one of İ stanbul’s biggest futbol teams, Fenerbah çe . What other ünlü, famous, names in the Turkish economy are worth noting? We’ve noticed T ürk Hava Yolları , Turkish Airlines, becoming a major player, being voted Europe’s best airline in 2012 and landing a deal to sponsor two of Europe’s most prestigious soccer teams, Manchester United and FC Barcelona. Others worth mentioning? One can’t be in there long without being confronted by the names Ko ç and Sabancı , Turkey ’s two largest industrial conglomerates. Birthed out of two entrepreneurial families, both Ko ç and Sabancı’s influence range from automobiles to the arts. A meager sampling of Turkey’s famous name