Just rediscovered some photos of the day of sacrificed chickens and awkward photos among the beehives of this sweet family in Azerbaijan. These little boys are what Cat and I would call “puppies”. One day they will grow up to be great beekeepers, but right now they’re total puppies.
Arzu is one badass beekeeper.
(Kars, Turkey)
A woman greets us on the road to Macahel. Can you spot me?
Just got out of a radio interview with Boyd Matson at Nat Geo about filming bees in Turkey and working with Cat Jaffee :) Airs next weekend (if I did okay)! Here is my proof via the cheesiest photo in the world. Gotta love the lean. (at National Geographic Society)
http://www.cornucopia.net/blog/mellified-living/
I published an article in the Cornucopia Magazine blog yesterday about my jittery one-day whirlwind tour of Kars’ honey and cheese shops. Check it out here!
Confused by our funny language, giant backpacks, and determined strides as we hike through her small village far from the “beaten path”, she looks at us earnestly asks, are you terrorists?
This is Kars on the day before Kurban Bayram - a religious holiday where families sacrifice animals, feast together, and share meat with the poor. In a big open dirt field behind our house, hundreds of shepherds and herders brought out their best in preparation for the giant slaughter.
As the sun set on the month of September we drove toward it. Exhausted from a full weekend of work, we nearly passed out in the car. Then, on the other side of the road, emerging from the glowing orb in the sky we saw a flock of sheep, filling up the entire lane. Dur! dur! Stop the car! We jumped out and asked the Azeri shepherd if we could help him. Confused and intrigued, he obliged. We walked with the sheeps and goats all the way back to the shepherd’s house, conveniently acquiring a box of apple-filled chocolates from an amused spectator on a passing bus along the way (which Cat promptly converted into a sheep-butt-tapping device). When we reached the shepherd’s home, we helped put the animals in their cage and had tea and fruit with his family (#ohthatAzerihospitality…)
A woman takes a moment to rest while making traditional bread in a village in Kars. She is my age, actually.
