The perfect çay

I think this picture speaks for itself.

Tea. If I didn't love it before, I do now. With sugar and served in tulip glasses as displayed above.

Thanks to Turkey, I am addicted to çay (pronounced 'chai'). Delicious black tea from the hills of this beautiful country.

 What better way to begin this blog than with a tribute to tea?

In Greg Mortensen's book, 'Three Cups of Tea,' he speaks to the importance of sharing tea with people. Drinking tea with strangers breaks the ice, creates connections and sometimes leads to lifetime bonds.

It's no different in Turkey, where I have been invited into many peoples' homes and shops to drink tea. Even restaurants have invited me in for tea without accepting my payment. Often, we speak little. A word or two of Turkish, a word of two of English. But I have always felt welcome and left with a smile.

In a perfect world, drinking tea is not a vice. It's a cultural phenomenon.

Oh, the picture? Pomegranate and çay below the pass of Mount Olympos. Turkish hippies have taken up a part time residence in a little shack and offer tea to passing hikers.

Pure bliss...