Turkish delights

Having left London on a monochrome morning in late June that looked like this ...

to find ourselves here by the time the sun (yes, the sun!) was setting over the south west of Turkey
was almost too much pleasure to bear ...

A full week of Turkish delights followed, in themes of heat, turquoise sea and intense colours 

Colours of Turkey: gardens in Dalyan, textile and ceramic arts, the Aegean sea around Fetiyeh

as our pasty-white northern selves transformed into altogether healthier and golden versions 

from swimming, cooking and eating 

in a villa surrounded by groves of pomegranate trees ... in this culture a symbol of love, fertility and prosperity, said to grow in the gardens of paradise.

I think our Turkish neighbours' adorable dog thought she might have arrived in paradise when she came over squeaking with pleasure every night to be fed, photographed, held and fussed over.

 As did we when other neighbours kindly brought us fresh hot bread every morning and delicious pastries. An added 50 tons of weight, or so it feels, is the price I've paid for my slice of Turkish paradise. But oh how worth it, especially considering the adventures that followed ...