Everyone dreams about a nice long holiday near one of the sourthern seashore cities now in Istanbul in the hottest of these summer days. I will try to introduce you my favorite holiday resort in Turkey and in which hotel we stayed there. Marmaris, a mirror of paradise on Earth. The unique feature of Marmaris is that it has everything together like a gift from nature. A beautiful and very clean turquoise sea of Aegean mixing with the forests nearby.

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For an average Earth-citizen who ever heard a few words about Turkey; the first things they would imagine most probably would be fanatic Muslim women with black turbans strolling around in groups on the Ottoman style cities. It is the image which was usually drawn by the mainstream documentaries of the West. Unfortunately, to some degree such negative broadcasts (intentionally or not) still continues. I was shocked seeing a new trailer about Turkey in popular UK Travel Channel which totally ignored the modern side of Turkey and Turkish people. I am sure it is not broadcasting to Turkey because many modern people would be really annoyed. I have met this trailer in Russian Travel Channel. This is what I call stereotype and want to invite such producers think a bit freely.

My new Travel Channel documentary episode proposal is about Turkish Rock Metal music scene and about the youth who enjoy not only listening but also producing highly qualified music. Forget about Sultanahmet, Topkapi, Sish kebap, Turkish bath, Turkish food a bit and look carefully on the streets of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Eskisehir etc. You will also see educated university students who read a lot, know many wise things about life and express themselves with rock music. Actually, Istanbul is home to an army of loyal followers of old & new progressive rock scene including Pink Floyd, Yes, Camel, Dream Theater, Riverside etc.

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That’s nice to see that Amazon sells products of two well known Turkish delight companies of Turkey. Hazer Baba and Galil. Hazer Baba Turkish Delight with Rose is an excellent choice to try traditional Turkish delight (also known as Lokum). 4 packs price is quite affordable at Amazon. Another choice is Galil Rose Mint Lemon mixture pack. Mint is also widely used in making delights in Turkey. These two lokum companies produce according to traditional receipts and do not use preservatives. All is natural. I especially suggest serving Turkish Delight with traditionally prepared Turkish coffee. I will write another article about how to prepare traditional Turkish coffee and where to buy the quality Turkish coffee later.

Turkey is a country of opposites and different colors. This is the result of being the center of many civilizations throughout the history. If you simply book an hotel in a popular destination like (let’s say in Marmaris) and stay there only; you will miss many great places to visit. Have you ever thought about exploring beautiful Turkey by car hire? If so, I can suggest a superb car route which will give you more than your expectations.

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Buy Mesir Paste at Amazon.com

There is a traditional festival which is held in Turkish city Manisa, where spicy minded people live. Imagine a paste made from 41 different spices and herbs. Mesir Paste also known as Sultan’s Paste is an Ottoman Empire invention which began in 1522 and they are thrown to the people for free because the mother of padisah Suleyman the Magnificent had recovered from an heavy disease with this receipt.

Small packets of this paste are thrown from a central mosque to the people (99.9% men) and they try to catch them even using their umbrellas upside down. Everyone will tell you these small packets of energy and hormone boosters are just for health. Are you kidding? Do not believe that! My people will not run for health as much as they run for their hidden night fantasies. And, just because it is free, they will do everything to grab. That’s the second reason. I have never eaten in my life but will try surely next time I go to Istanbul, it is quite imaginable what awaits the person who gets a big piece. Here is the list of herbs used in this traditional receipt with English, Turkish and Latin names. I say Oh My great Thor!

• Allspice (Yeni bahar) (Pimenta dioica)
• Alpina officinarum root (Havlican koku) (Alpina officinarium)
• Anise (Anason) (Anisum vulgare)
• Black cumin (Corek otu) (Nigella sativa)
• Black myrobalan (Kara halile) (Terminalia nigra)
• Black pepper (Karabiber) (Piper nigrum)
• Buckthorn (Topalak or Akdiken) (Nerprun alaterne)
• Cardamon (Kakule) (Elettaria cardamomum)
• Cassia (Hiyarsenbe) (Cassia)
• Chebulic myrobalan (Kara halile) (Terminalia chebula)
• China root (Cop-i cini) (Smilax china)
• Cinnamon (Tarcin) (Cinnamomum verum)
• Cloves (Karanfil) (Syzygium aromaticum)
• Coconut (Hindistan cevizi) (Cocos nucifera)
• Coriander (Kisnis) (Coriandum sativum)
• Cubeb (Kebabe) (Cubebae fructus)
• Cumin (Kimyon) (Cuminum cyminum)
• Dried orange blossom (Portakal cicegi)
• Fennel (Rezene) (Foeniculum vulgare)
• Galingale (Havlican) (Alpinia officinarum)
• Ginger (Zencefil) (Zingibar officinalis)
• Iksir sugar (Iksir sekeri)
• India blossom (Hindistan cicegi)
• Java pepper (Kuyruklu biber) (Piper cubeba)
• Licorice extract (Meyan bali) (Glycyrrhiza uralensis fisch)
• Licorice root (Meyan koku) (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
• Mastic (Cam sakizi) (Mastichum)
• Millet (Hintdarisi) (Pennisetum glaucum)
• Myrrh (Murrusafi) (Commiphora Molmol)
• Muskroot (Sumbul) (Adoxa moschatellina)
• Mustard seed (Hardal tohumu) (Brassica nigra)
• Orange peel (Portakal kabugu)
• Rhubarb (Ravend) (Rheum Palmatum)
• Saffron (Safran) (Crocus Orientalis)
• Citric acid (Limon tuzu)
• Senna (Sinameki) (Cassia senna)
• Turmeric (Zerdecal) (Curcuma domestica)
• Udulkahr (Udulkahir)
• Vanilla (Vanilya) (Vanilla planifolia)
• Woad (Civit) (Isatis)
• Yellow myrobalan (Sari halile) (Fructus myrobalani)

And a possible dialog with a tourist about Mesir Macunu.

Hey dear resort-rose Elisabeth, this is Turkish Mesir Paste.
-What is that?
It’s just an aphrodisiac. (Inner Translation : I wanna sleep with you, this is just a foxy hint to achieve my summer goal)
-Uhhh, I see and? Are you using it a lot?
……………

I am amazed to see that Amazon sells them as well.

Merkez Mesir Macunu (Sultan’s Paste) Natural Herbal Energy Supplement 2 Pack