Blog Archives

Politics of the Middle Bees: Tomatoes, Wild Bees, and No Fly Zones


Blue, Red, Yellow, White! Beehives of all colors visit the Kars region.

Beekeeping in Turkey is politically apolitical about politics. What?

I studied politics in undergrad, I moved to Turkey to study political elections in 2008, and I quit my job working in Washington D.C., the city of US politicians just last May. One would say that by now, I have had my fill of politics. When I moved to the Northeast this past summer, I thought to myself, ah, this summer in Turkey will just be about bees, the most apolitical creature around. Without even getting into the politics of the queen bee (will save that for a later post), I have learned that no matter where you go, the political world is just beyond the riverbed. I think living and working on five borders also doesn’t help. (more…)

Posted on | Image

From the East! to the West! Why bees die as pests?


Another reason why I feel like a cheater? Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers. Their beautiful patterns, their stunning colors, their sense of community. Just have to remember, don't blame the flower, blame it on the a-aaa-aalgecides.

In Kars, I try to travel like a bee. Staying close to my home base, but leaving to feast on the diverse scents, exotic colors, and daily changes of my surroundings. I glide over the familiar rolling steppes that have become my home, noticing when budding flowers open after the rain and when old ones are withered. I feel the new season that is every couple hundred meters on these ancient steppes, and the untamed wild of 2,000 flowers calms my heart to a happy buzz…

That’s why I feel like a cheater when I jump in a plane, and the next thing I know I am standing at the farthest western corner of Turkey. My warm fleeces, my cozy socks, my heavy sleeping bag are snug in Kars and I am a world away on a whole other set of borders in Trakya. Hugging Bulgaria and Greece, the new landscape is hot, sunny, European, and crowded. (more…)

Posted on | Image

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,173 other followers

%d bloggers like this: