Lale Season

There are some words in Turkish that I'll never again use the English for - "lale" is so much more delicate and like the real thing than "tulip " which sounds so harh in comparsion; nar" is so much easier and more solid than "pomegranate," and "tamam" just sounds more decisive and rhythmic than "okay".

Lale season is in full swing and every little bank along the Bosphorus features lales of different colors. Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal and there's something to be admired about the insistence of these buds to bloom - imposing in the best way possible their colors and quantity...