One gets seduced by olive trees and olive oil. The more you learn, the more inspired you become. As scientists, we have grown fascinated by the molecular structures and physical properties of the oil, especially in the ways in which they contribute to raising the quality of life. We have written about this recently in J. Chem. Ed. As faculty who sincerely believe in the liberal arts we want to know the history, economics, cultural, literary, religious and artistic aspects of the olive tree.
We are lucky enough to know Zeynep Delen, who invited us to Turkey back in the summer of 2010 to participate in a workshop on olive oil – and we have never looked back.
One of the things I liked best about Turkey is that they seem to serve olives with every meal. My kind of country!
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When will you all be leaving for S Africa? Ethan Markham (Emma’s brother) is coming to Turkey and would love your contact info. He arrives 1/2 (Friday). Hope you are all well and have enjoyed the holidays. I REALLY MISS YOU TWO!!!!!!
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We will be in Turkey for just about three more weeks, leaving on January 28th for Capetown, South Africa for the second phase of our Olive Odyssey Sabbatical. Anyone wising to contact us either in Istanbul or South Africa should email – pbohara@amherst.edu.
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