Back from the Land of Half-Moon

The last two summer weeks we usually spent in Turkey, on so called Turkish Riviera on the coast of Mediterranean Sea .This year in Kemer , which was formerly small town, now seaside resort .One of the major attractions of Kemer is it´s natural beauty.
The clean sea, forests and the Taurus mountains combine here in harmony.But more, the area around is full of ancient cities and archeologicals points of interests. So, you can imagine, there was no time for boring on my holiday.


As a very favourite part of my holiday is a tasting of turkish cuisine. I must admit, there is no meal you could not give thumbs up . Gözleme is a savory Turkish pastry made by rolling dough with a thin roller and repeatedly folding it. It is filled, and browned in a pan.

Next pictures are from sunken city of Kekova, an ancient town, which was destroyed by an earthquake during the second century A.D. You can see see parts of houses through glass bottoms of boats . Very impressive !

Next town I visited, Myra, was one of the six most important cities of ancient Lycia and eventually was made the capital of the Roman province of Lycia. As a result of Arab raids, earthquakes, and the flooding of the Myrros stream, the city became largely abandoned.The ruins of Myra consist of an impressive necropolis and adjacent well preserved Roman theatre and are located at about 1.5 km north of present day Kale - Demre. The Roman theatre is large with 35 consecutive rows of seats. The facade of the amphitheatre was richly decorated with theatrical masks and mythological scenes. To the west of the theatre the steep cliff is honeycombed with closely packed tombs, most of them of the Lycian house-type.
In early Christian times, Myra was the metropolis of Lycia. The town is traditionally associated with Saint Paul, who changed ships in its harbor. Saint Nicholas of Myra was a bishop of Myra in the 4th century, he had a reputation for secret gift-giving, but is now commonly known as Santa Claus. The earliest church of St. Nicholas at Myra was built in the 6th century.

In 1863 Czar Alexander II of Russia bought the building and started to have it restored, but the work was never finished. In 1963 the eastern and southern sides of the church was excavated, in 1968 the former burial of St. Nicholas was roofed over. The floor of the church is made of opus sectile, a mosaic of coloured marble, and there are some remains of wall-paintings. A Greek marble sarcophagus had been reused to bury the Saint, but his bones were stolen in 1087 by merchants from Bari, and now held in the cathedral of that city.

Karpuzkaldiran Waterfall , is approx. 40 meters high and the water gushes down onto the massive rocks with great force.This waterfall is located in Antalya, near Lara.Don´t worry, there was still plenty of time for sea and sun, and for some drawings, too. Despite of bomb attacks in near Antalya and annoying Russian tourists in hotel, it was fun-tastic time again.

EDM#76 : Fresh flowers

Today we spent a day at parents of my friend and right there , on the sunny backyard of their house I found a plant-pot with blooming pomegranate (Punica granatum ). I was suprised how many blossoms was on this small tree. Did you know that pomegranate is native to southwest Asia (mostly Iran) and alongside the grape and the fig has a position of importance ? It is mentioned in Bible, by the Prophet Muhammad and in Greek mythology. Pomegranates are a symbol of fertility because of their many seeds, yet of death because of the vivid blood red of the pulp.In the development of European iconography, the pomegranate developed into the Orb that a monarch holds at coronation.
One pomegranate delivers 40% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement. It is also a rich source of folic acid and of antioxidants.In several human clinical trials, the juice of the pomegranate has been found effective in reducing several heart risk factors, to reduce systolic blood pressure and juice has also been shown to be effective against certain cancers such as prostate cancer.The juice can also be used as an antiseptic when applied to cuts. Be aware , pomegranate juice stains clothing permanently unless washed with bleach ,therefore is used for natural dyeing of non-synthetic fabrics. The pomegranate also gave its name to the hand grenade from its shape and size (and the resemblance of a pomegranate's seeds to a grenade's fragments).More interesting you can read here or here.

So , my first picture is done with watercolor pencils and waterbrush pen only, the second one is done with markers.


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This orchid is example that you don´t need a special conditions for culture orchids. You only need "the green fingers " of my friend´s mother :-)

On this plant is 21 flowers , no greenhouse , common window in common bedroom.

Holiday in Telč

Last weekend I spent in lovely town Telč , in Czech republic.This town in the South of the Českomoravská Vrchovina (Bohemian-Moravian Highlands) contains a castle and a long urban triangular plaza with well-conserved Renaissance houses with gables and arcades. The town’s origins date back to 1099, since 1992 has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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The plaza has so distinctive atmosphere (as you can see) for painting and drawing , unfortunately most of the time was bad weather , was raining cats and dogs.





Holidays in Telč is a summer 14-day music festival and presentation of music groups supplemented with theater and movie performances. Strong evidence of growing popularity is the fact that the festival enters its 22th year of existence and is attended by approximately 20.000 visitors every year. And despite falling water from the sky there was plenty of people willing to see theater performance and (fortunately in shielded space of cellar ) concert of folk group KOA - that was a highlight of the evening for me !
















How I said , most of the time was rainy , so I made only quick sketches in my daily sketchblock. Sketching in concert was opposite , more- less (more more than less ) blind contour :-) No, not really , but imagine...drawing in full crowded semi dark room .

EDM#74 : Clouds

View from 10 km elevation . These clouds was like hills of cotton candy.