Turkish Delight and Tulips

Turkish Delight and Tulips. Don't they just attack the senses. The former visually, but mainly by smell and taste, the latter by their visual 'stampede', whether as just a single bloom, or en masse.

It's no secret within this family that I adore Turkish delight, sometimes with pistachio, but absolutely ALWAYS rose and lemon. It must be soft but not runny or too firm, slightly elastic, sweet, and exquisitely perfumed. I can eat this delicious sweetmeat within moments of acquiring it. Needless to say that I am never short at Christmas or shortly afterwards on my birthday.

Tulips on the other hand, are not exactly a favourite flower of mine, although like most plants that I dislike, they do have a place whether I like it or not. In their thousands they are just a block of colour, but there is no doubting the beauty and perfection in an individual bloom. In a few months they shall be rearing their gaudy little heads once more.

Originally from Kazakhstan, the Turkish sultans soon took a very strong liking to these flowers that were being shown to them from their traders coming from the far east.

They became more valuable than gold, and were soon used to display wealth and power to visiting nobles and dignitaries. In the palaces throughout Turkey, and most importantly Topkapi, they were used in their hundreds, an extravagance in terms of money that only Sultans could even dream of. In later years, when the Dutch started to get their hands on them, a single bulbs could be worth more than an entire house! To expand the visual effect in the sultans palaces, mirrors and candlelight were used, something that we ourselves use sometimes today.

A while ago we stayed in the old part of Istanbul, a stones throw from Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, and a short walk from the magnificent Suleymaniye Mosque. The people, and their faith were extraordinary. I was very fortunate to be offered a chance to help the gardeners clear flower beds of existing plants, including tulips, and plant back up with summer bedding such as the begonias in the picture. I felt very lucky indeed as an outsider, clearly wearing a Christian symbol of faith, to be included in such a task in the present political climate. Everyone was so gracious.

My favourite? (yeah, I do like some individuals, nobody is perfect!).......it's got to be 'West Point'

Now.....where the heck is my Turkish Delight??????