According to Mehmet Reis, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Reis Foodstuffs, who inaugurated the “No to Obesity”, Turkey is fast becoming the most obese country in Europe because the table culture is abandoned and inactive, unhealthy generations are being raised.

During his childhood, Mehmet Reis lived at Inebolu, Kastamonu, having his meals a the table set on the floor, enjoying the aromatic tarhana (Chickpea, yogurt and tomato) soup with red dog-wood, pilaf made of bulgur and dried beans prepared by his mother. 

As the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the leader in pulses, Reis Agricultural Products Industry and Commerce Inc., Mehmet Reis stated a prominent campaign in Turkey entitled “Healthy and Balanced Nutrition against Obesity” based on this diet.

Complaining that Turks have lost their taste for traditional dishes, Reis claims that he can no longer experience the old taste of yoghurt, pickles, chickpeas and lentil meatballs. He is also upset about such a vast change in traditions, table culture and family life from years gone by.

He welcomes us at his office with the tea he has made himself behind his desk… He gets up now and again to feed some pigeons at the window with rice and lentils. I ask him whether the campaign enhanced sales of pulses and he laughs…saying  “yes but this was not my objective.”

“Well, the sofra (low wooden table) set on the ground may be replaced by modern tables, and wooden spoons may have been replaced by steel ones, but I don’t want to witness the degeneration of our culinary history and culture and lose the taste for our traditional foods. I don’t expect anyone to eat dried beans every day! Vegetables should also be cooked at home.”

He continues, “Once a week, while dried beans are being cooked, vegetables such as spinach and fresh beans must also be on the menu. In fact, I would like to have our children and grandchildren enjoy days for which I have such fond memories and for which we increasingly yearn as we grow older.”

“Because, it seems that with the passage of time we are losing both our physical and psychological health.”  According to Mehmet Reis, some modern housewives consider home-cooking a hard task and the children can taste dried beans only at their grandmother’s house.

The cause of obesity, spreading throughout the world from the USA, is though inactive life and unhealthy nourishment. Reis explains why he has started such a campaign by saying, “I want to offer support. Nourishment in Turkey has become a serious issue and certain steps should be taken at once.” Mehmet Reis says that coordination must be achieved among the sellers of pulses, the government, the Ministry of Health, Schools and families because both our health and our funds are threatened…

Are our habits of nourishment altered?
Research was carried out in 13 cities during July 2009. The questionnaire was directed mainly towards women 45% of who did not know how to cook dried beans, chickpeas or bulgur. The youngsters were not familiar with dishes prepared with black-eyed beans, peas, kidney or borlotti beans or broad beans.

What is your suggestion to alter this?
We are guided by the slogan “Traditional Taste, Healthy Generations”. We want health institutions, NGOs and the media to work hand-in-hand to increase community consciousness and inform the parents though education. This is because a healthy life is founded on the understanding of what is a balanced and nourishing diet that must also form part of a healthy life-style.

What is the rate of consumption of pulses in Turkey? Is it true that Turkey was alike a granary?
Unfortunately the term ‘granary’ is becoming a thing of the past… For many products we are almost totally dependent on imports from abroad. What is even worse is the fact that we are exploited by some foreign investors, who are only interested in the Turkish agricultural sector as a way to increase their own commercial ventures, which are ultimately to our disadvantage.

They are taking the seeds growing in our country and developing them in their own country for profit. The most significant examples of this are the green lentil in Canada and beans and chickpeas in Argentina and the USA. Here seeds exported from Turkey are cultivated and then sold back to us. Nowadays, all the hills and mountains are visited throughout our country only to collect samples of our plants.

Honestly, when was the last time I came across a piece of good news? Suicides, arrests, bloody and a bloodless murder, resistance, fights; in the end all our eyes notice is a black sky instead of a bright blue one. No, it is useless, no sleep for me tonight. It is almost daylight. It is best to get some fresh air.

As soon as I opened the balcony door, he slipped in with multi-coloured flowers in his hand. Seeing him so early in the morning, I felt exhilarated. We hugged each other. “It’s been such a long time,” I said, yearningly. “I thought you were never coming.”

He smiled, “Don’t,” he said. “You mean you still don’t know me after so many years? Have you ever seen me break my promise?” He was right. I had never seen him go back on his word. Neither the endless rains, nor the long, freezing winter nights, nor storms, nothing prevented him from coming.

“He” always knocked on my door with sparkling eyes, holding multi-coloured flowers and to the sound of chirping birds, making me feel ashamed that from time to time I lost hope and worried “what if he never came…” “Once again you caught me unawares,” I said hastily. “The house is a little messy, I am sorry.”

He smiled with his usual tenderness. “Messy?” he said. “Never mind. Today, tomorrow or the day after or next week you can tidy up. I am not here just to look in and go…” Then he winked at me. “You tell me about your heart,” he said. “Is your heart in a mess?”

This time he really trapped me.  “Well, actually I…I…” All of a sudden, I started stammering. “I know I should have welcomed you more joyously. But, believe me, I have spent numerous sleepless nights. I close my eyes but not my heart. My heart is rebelling constantly and does not permit me to keep my eyes closed.”

He was surprised. “But why?” he asked. He took my hand and took me to the window. “Look,” he said. “Look how your roses have bloomed beautifully. The sky is deep blue… And you, instead of enjoying this moment, you still keep thinking of long winter nights and storms…”
I bowed my head. “I know,” I said. “Actually you are right. But… My heart is too weary to go after a cloud. Even the smell from those beautiful flowers seemed false. Disappointments, lack of love and security enveloped us. It has been a hard winter…I was scared that my heart would freeze…I closed all my doors tightly.

Still I could not help feeling cold and shivery. At certain instances I could hardly breathe. When I learned about the youngster who committed suicide because he was deeply distressed when his mother was arrested because she could not pay the cost of his courses, how could I sleep peacefully in my bed?

As we are headed towards an uncertain direction at full speed, when values of humanism are replaced with self-seeking, the moment we wish to talk about ‘rights and justice’, the crows start cawing to suppress our voices; all these wore me out.”

He came closer and put his arm around my shoulders with compassion. “You are right,” he said. “Everything is in a mess! A thorough spring cleaning is essential. Come on, pull up your sleeves and let’s start at once.”

Before I was aware, “He” had started dusting my heart. As he worked, he kept muttering. “Take a look at this! ‘Hope, which should be preserved most carefully, is buried deep in dust. No wonder that your heart is pressed.”

As he moved towards the deepest corners of my hears, he was saying, “You must learn to get rid of your disillusions in the past, as well.” “Don’t, stop it!” I wanted to say. “I may need them again…”
Raising an eyebrow, he threw me a significant glance…”Look,” he said. “See? All of them are irrelevant now.”

“From now on they are of no use and can only make your heart ache. I know: it is difficult to give up the past. But reminiscing and reliving are two different things. I have no objection to your recalling from time to time but please stop living with memories. Don’t forget that you cannot bring back the past. If you think you can rewind life like a film and alter the scenario, changing the end of the story, you are mistaken. Yesterday is left behind. Yet you can start a new story today and prepare a new “finale”.

No matter how his words jolted me, I knew he was right.
We worked ceaselessly all through the day. Ignoring my “buts and ifs”, he removed everything about the past which caused my heartaches.   How peculiar! After all this work, instead of feeling exhausted, I felt as light as a bird. My hopes started budding once again.

Meanwhile “He” took one last look to see whether there remained anything in a corner, which could hurt me. After throwing away the padlocks I used to lock up my feelings he said, “Now your heart is free.” “Don’t let storms and tornadoes scare you. Remember, you need rainfall to see the rainbow afterwards. Most important, don’t ever let the young shoot of hope in your heart fade away.”

Wearily but hopefully, I said, “This time I did not give you a proper welcome, but I promise to meet you much more enthusiastically in the future.” Then I wrapped my arms around him and whispered into his ear:
“Welcome, spring!”

Allergy is present everywhere in our life! It occurs at home, on the street, in the office, on holidays. Allergic complaints are increasing in all social circles. It is more evident in developed communities. Almost one in every five persons is allergic in one way or another. This may be due to food., environment or a pet. It is common knowledge that variations in life-style plays a major role in this increase. As we interfere with nature and upset its balance, nature counteracts in many ways. Allergy is one of them.
It is known that during the spring months, the sneezes and running noses are caused by pollens. Scientists claim that with the global warm-up, the season of pollens also prolongs and altered climatic conditions and air pollution threaten humanity with allergies throughout the year. Experts warn that at present 20 people out of every hundred fall victim to allergies and this figure increases in time.
Dr. Gülden Paşaoğlu Karakış, Specialist at Chest Disorders and Allergies  of the Acıbadem Kadıköy Hospital,  pointed out that allergic rhinitis disease popularly called “hay fever” has serious effects on the quality of life. Dr. Karakış said that numerous people refrained from consulting a doctor which results in an increase in patients suffering from asthma.

- If the parents are allergic, can the individual become allergic also?
-Yes,. if a person has allergic parents,  there is a highly probable that he too will suffer from allergy. Furthermore, since stress affects the immune system, it may trigger allergies.

-Are pollens the main culprits for spring allergy?
-Turkey has an extreme abundance of plants. In these spring days when weather is warming up after winter, the number of pollens keep increasing. Needless to day, it is not possible to blame the pollens only. Pollens do not cause the disease. The body considers the pollen as a foreign matter and tries to get rid of it. For his purpose the body secretes a matter called histamine. The respiration system, the eyes and the membranes of the nose get infected. We may cite pollens of the grass,  red oak, olive and even hazelnut trees and the flowers as causes. This is popularly called hay fever but is known as allergic rhinitis in medical language. Unfortunately, if the patient is not kept under control with a suitable treatment, this ailment lasts a life time.

-You say that pollens are present throughout the year. Can people suffer from allergy in the summer as well?
-Of course. First of all, the pollens of the grass growing in all seasons except winter are the main reason. Besides them, we can cite trees and herbaceous plants. The pollens named graminea of the grass are not innocent at all. Remember, they start growing in March and last until October. Similarly, the pollens of trees are activated in this season and may continue throughout summer months. In addition, many herbs such as stinging nettle, sheep’s sorrel  also cause allergies.

-Does the temperature of the air play a role?
If the weather is cold, the pollen season shortens. In regions with warmer weather, they may have an early start and last longer. In areas with polluted air, pollens and allergies due to them are more frequent. The warm-up in the atmosphere unfortunately enhances the existence of pollens.

Oak in March,. Singing nettle in October
MARCH-APRIL: Pollens of red oak. hazelnut, olive, birch and poplar trees, maple, elm, ash tree, chestnut, and hornbeam
APRIL-MAY-JUNE: Pollens of herbs like grass… British grass, meadow grass, Car’s tail.
JUNE-AUGUST: Pollens of grains such as wheat, rye, corn and rice.
AUGUST-OCTOBER: Pollens of wormwood, white goosefoot, sheep’s sorrel, ribwort plantain, wheat grass, stinging nettle, foxtail grass, cock’s foot, phillagatis, cheat.

Allergy test through skin
It is naturally mot important to discover what the people are allergic to. While listening to the case history, various tests can be applied to determine the cause of the allergy. We have a chance to do this by making blood and skin tests. Results can be achieved by a skin test of 20 minutes and in 24-48 hours by blood tests.

Two shots are effective
-First method is the classical one, on a long term basis with a high probability of a cure.
-The second method is the one applied just before the season starts and continued for seven weeks which must be repeated every year. With this method, the patient will havew a quite comfortable spring season.

DRUGS GIVE TEMPORARY RELIEF
Patients are advised to keep away from whatever causes their allergies. There are some drugs and inoculations that keep the allergy under control, such as anti-allergic nose sprays containing cortisone…While in common colds anti-allergic drugs and nose sprays are used, in cases of asthma, mouth sprays are used to enlarge the respiratory pipes  and to keep the disease under control.

            According to a mythological story related by Suidas,  a historian of the Antique Period, probably based on the records of another historian before his time; At the time the Trojan War broke out, Lycian God Apollon fell in love with the daughter of Antenor, who opened up his house to Odyseus and Menelaos. Because the girl was retiring and bashful, he turned himself into a small and cute puppy. As the girl got used to him, he revealed his true identity and they made love. In a little while, they had a son who they named  Telmessos. A city was founded in the name of the child on the Lycian border and Apollon assigned his son to this city as a prophet. One of the reasons Heredotus, the ancient historian, refers to Telmessos as “the city of prophets” and “centre of prophecy” is based on this legendary foundation. When Alexander the Great had a dream during his siege of Halicarnassos and asked the prophets of Telmessos to interpret it for him,  the city became even more famous. However, some historians claim that the prophets who interpreted Alexander’s dream lived in a city near Bodrum called Telmissus which is reminiscent of the name Telmessos.

            The name Telmessos does not come from ancient Greek. There is no record of its establishment or  being colonized by the Greeks. Therefore, as it is the case of cities in various parts of Anatolia which are not of Greek origin, it is believed that the above legend was dreamt up. Some believe that to challenge the antique city of Delos in Greece and the predictions about the future of its prophets, Telmessos was assigned the task of being a centre of prophecies.

            Further archaeological research is required to achieve definite details and discoveries to appease our curiosity on whether or not Telmessos was a city of prophecies in the past. However, certain social-communal events sustained since the Lycian times to our day shed some light on the subject same as archaeological researches. A very good sample of this is the traditional fortune telling by coffee grounds and by throwing broad beans in many villages of Fethiye.

            As for me,. I think that if Telmessos had nothing to do with prophecies in the past, the villagers of Fethiye would not have been so keen onfortune telling. There is only a tiny question in my mind. Why is it that the present day fortune tellers do not display the same success as the famous prophets of  the past who motivated the historical leaders with their predictions? In fact, we have not heard of any prophecies about the troubles we have faced so far from our prophets….