Weekend Love

We are so lucky, almost every weekend we have close friends visiting us. But that makes weekends real tough and me need another weekend to rest, sleep, to be a normal human being again. Well I am off to Izmir next weekend for the Xmas break. Do not wanna leave my beautiful city but missed the family, the home town and my mom's dishes horribly.. Although friends cook here incredible Turkish dishes - as today thank you thank you thank you T- my mom's dishes are the best :)

My Sister's Pilates Classes in Urla

I am such a proud sister! My sister is giving pilates classes in Urla. Kaan made her website so quickly I was just amazed. They made a great team. Well done guys.

You can get private classes from Ezgi as well.  You are very lucky if you can get your training from her because she is such an amazing instructor... . Here is her website and here is her pilates blog. Ah and the location... location is pure bliss!

In the photo: Ezgi the sister

Weekend Love

The photos are from Karaburun and Urla. We are still in our long weekend and I am in a cafe waiting the sun to be a little bit milder. I do not want to go on and on about the heat, you know it already, I still cannot bare it.. 

In Karaburun, we have been swimming, diving, jumping, eating, chillin'... And in Urla the weekend was so much fun with the grape harvesting festival and slow food competition and street festival... I think I want to move back here..

Beatiful Lands

Urla- Agean Sea - Me swimming

Photo Credit-The Sister :)

Sometimes I feel like I am born into the most wonderful piece of land in the world. It's one of these weeks despite all the odds, -heat, stress, weird traffic- I feel so grateful about where I am. I love love love my hometown. I am glad my parents chose to live here. 

Projects.. projects...

How could I not want to go here(photo)  and walk... I am like a minute away from this beautiful landscape. But I feel so tired. I do not feel like doing anything but lying down, drinking hot tea and eat many many chocolates. Yup moon days :) No Yoga.... Lot's of feeling down. If I were doing very heavy sports everyday or twice a day like I used to do then I would not emotionally be a wreck at least. 

One of my projects is finishing. Re-knitting of a cardigan. I was gonna knit a pullover. But my mom suggested a re-knitting project which I liked. Photos will be coming soon.. 

I am not studying and I am beginning to feel the panic. I read only two pages in 10 days. My neurons do not want to jump, and make me smart and oh so smart...  I am really panicking. About the studies, about finding a house, about my body, about my exercises.  I am not in peace with my hormones.. 

"Cuisine" and Slow Food

Photo credit: Gokcen Cabadan

This is our "cuisine" or as some people call it: " my mother's magical drawer :)" The food never ends in this magical drawer and it is insanely delicious. 

There is a Slow Food Urla organization. My parents go to the meetings. We stopped by today with my sister. They are really doing some cool and authentic stuff. I totally support them. Will reveal the website here as soon as they load the content. 

Fishing

This photo was taken in December, before the New Year’s Eve. These two guys looked really beautiful, in the peaceful gulf. I asked them if I could take a picture of them. They smiled and said " Of course" The Father then said, "Get a better focus of my son, he is really handsome". They were funny :)

And here, after an hour or so, they were visible from the café I was studying at. It's far away from the first point I saw them.

I do not like fishing much, except spear fishing. But they stayed there for hours as I studied. Would not mind being in their place for some time… 

I miss mein Freund. Counting down from 10days :). I am not a great fan of cooking but when I cook with him  it becomes such a pleasure. Aaaah I miss mein Freund. 

From here via Leigh

I consider myself not-oh-so-this-is-so-cute! person. OK, I had a pink phase for a while.. But come on this is just adorable. 


I have been practicing intensely for the last days. My legs are shaky, muscles of shoulders are rebuilding. I am quite tired. Glad tomorrow is full moon- which means a Yoga-Free day.  


Happy during my practices. Did a full primary series yesterday. Added couple of vinyasas between the asanas. But reluctant and lazy today. A short practiced happened... 


We went for a walk in the afternoon. All of us were so lazy. We hardly pulled our selves from all day sat around cuisine and from our cozy warm kitchen. I would have liked to say it energized me, but no :) I am just as lazy as the minute I woke up. But we have this beautiful photo now. Photo credit: My mother.. In it: Me and my sister..

Walking after the breakfast...

My mother, father and me, we are going for a walk everyday after the breakfast. It's a new habit that ends  for me today, since I am flying to cold snowy Berlin this evening... In Urla it's so warm, colorful and sunny...But I am also looking forward to see a bit of snow!

My photo was taken to send it to my dear friend who lives in far far away. My mansoon boots are my xmas present :) I really like them, they are so cheerful :)

Now I will be packing..

So close to finish...

That was my view from the café. Urla-Iskele, in the afternoon.

Today I intend to finish my foreword. Yay!

It's the last day of the year, if the time is linear. I did not make many resolutions for the new year. Accepting who we are automatically leads to a change. So I am still working on that one. Of course there is moderation and grace... I need moderation in grace too. Do not want to overdo the grace :)

Rosehip tea with the Quadrature of the Parabola by Archimedes.

I am up early this morning. It's a lovely, sunny day.
I am glad Yoga is in my life. It gives a certain quality in life. You learn to pause and observe.
Observing yourself without interfering is so hard. Sometimes you do not want to accept what is there and trick yourself into thinking that it's not you anyway. Or the moment you see something you do not like you might want to change it immediately. It's hard do stay there and just observe.

It's also important to remember that you are not supposed to use the power you gained by the practice. Yoga gives the ability to control so easily. You need to let that go. And that is really hard...

Now I will visit Yoga for a while...

Happy life everybody...

Picking up Olives

That's my father's hands, picking up olives.

These olives are picked for oil making.

Black olives for breakfast are also picked up from the ground.

Green ones are picked from the the tree

Each two weeks, approximately, we pick the olives.

Then new olives fall.

We have 20 trees in our farm.

Hmm it takes 2-3 hours to finish picking with only my father and me.

It's the most fun when you are crowded.

But my sister was in Barcelona for the last pickings and my mother's neck was hurting.

So it was only my father and me.

Last week was the last picking.
Olive season is over and I am in Istanbul drinking my coffee and watching the Bosphorus.
We will have delicious olive oil.
We give the oils to the factory and factory give you 1/6 percent oil free.
You can pick the oil you like, it does not have to be from your own olives.
We like the oil with a low PH. 3 or sth like that. Taste, smell and get it..Yummyy