SUPPLEMENT TO THE OKLAHOMAN
MARCH 28, 2012
VANTAGE
3 Sugar blues Should high fructose corn syrup and other forms of sugar be regulated like alcohol and tobacco?
5 New clot buster A breakthrough procedure for destroying blood clots in the brain is showing promise in clinical trials.
7 Local market meets highend cuisine Edmond’s new Uptown Grocery offers an full-service shopping experience.
8 Writing off cursive For centuries, people have put hand to paper to communicate their thoughts with the bold loops and gentle swirls that comprise the cursive alphabet. Is cursive handwriting going the way of the pocket watch and the ink well?
10 Divorce boomer style One in every four divorces is now a boomer couple untying the knot. And a majority of those “gray divorces” — 66 percent — are instigated by women.
12 Seascapes and history Crystalline seas and Byzantine mosaics make Istanbul and Aegean coast a splendid vacation spot.
14 Wine and vine Find unexpected treasures of taste and experience with a tour of central Oklahoma’s wine country.
OPUBCO Communications Group VANTAGE EDITOR Melissa Howell
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SUGAR: A BITTERSWEET TREAT
By Mary McReynolds | For The Oklahoman Indulging in a candy bar, cookie, tart, cake, pie or soda pop exposes you to a barrage of dangerous chemicals called crystalline carbohydrates. These aren’t artificial additives. They’re the stuff of sugar. They usually come from pretty plants — sugar cane or sugar beets — and go by several harmless sounding names. But they’re anything but harmless, according to researchers at the University of California-San Francisco, who cite sugar as a prime culprit in global disease and mortality. Granulated sugar evokes families gathered at mealtime. Powdered sugar brings to mind light, airy desserts. Brown sugar is often considered healthier than its white cousin. Corn syrups marshall pictures of fields of yellow ears. “Dextrose” and “fructose” put on fancy scientific airs, while “raw sugar” reeks of the risque. Then there’s turbinado sugar with images of turbines energizing the human anatomy. By any other name, the researchers say, sugar would be just as sweet and every bit as toxic, a substance with a vast potential for abuse because of its addictive qualities, a dietary staple long popular in the West and increasingly so elsewhere. The UCSF team — Robert Lustig, M.D., Laura Schmidt, Ph.D. and Claire Brindis, D.P.H. — wrote of sugar’s effect on health in the February issue of “Nature.” They analyzed new evidence claiming that crystalline carbohydrates kill millions of people every year. Non-communicable diseases now pose greater threats than infectious diseases. Sugar is Robert Lustig, M.D. cited as a major contributor to incidences of diabetes, heart disease and cancer in what experts term a global obesity pandemic killing some 35 million people each year. These statistics underscore how Lustig described sugar, as being “toxic beyond its calories.” Consumed at levels abused by most Americans, sugar changes metabolism, raises blood pressure, alters hormonal signals, and damages the liver. In addition, chronic fructose exposure can cause hypertension, myocardial infarction, dyslipdermia, Laura Schmidt, Ph.D. pancreatitis, obesity, malnutrition, hepatic dysfunction and addiction. Finding issue with these comments, the Sugar Association, Inc., Washington, D.C., countered that the UCSF research is based on flawed data and fear inducing estimates, which render the studies biased and inconclusive. “We consider it irresponsible when health professionals use their platforms to instill fear by using words like diabe- Claire Brindis, D.P.H. Sugar, continued on page 4
Sugar, continued from page 3
tes, cancer, and even death, without so much as one disclaimer” that the references are incomplete, a response on the Sugar Association’s website said. The Sugar Association agreed that there is a national and inter-national obesity problem but it should not be blamed on one cause but rather a combination of over-consumption of all foods and lack of exercise. Still, sugar can be highly addictive, according to Cuyler Caldwell, M.D., a board certified family practice doctor at Mercy Clinic Edmond Signal Ridge. Caldwell points out that sugar can be a highly addictive carbohydrate sought for its “sugar crash” sensation, entering the blood stream and spiking the blood sugar as fast as it leaves. This hit-and-run offensive sets up the sugarseeking cycle that leads to abuse. “High carbohydrate diets actually decrease the HDL (good) cholesterol,” Caldwell says, “while increasing blood concentration of triglycerides, glucose and insulin. This can contribute to the development of a metabolic profile called insulin resistance syndrome, often a precursor to coronary heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.” The UCSF study echoes sentiments and science expressed in William Dufty’s sugar blasting book published 26 years ago. In 1986 Americans were consuming 100 pounds of sugar per person per year. Though “Sugar Blues” made many converts and topped the best-seller list with 1.6 million books in print, tastes emerged stronger than ever with worldwide sugar consumption tripling in the last 50 years. Undeterred by sugar proponents, the UCSF team propose that limiting sugar use involves more than educating people about the dangers. Sugar is associated with fun and parties, culture and celebrations, patterns of thought which may prove difficult to change. Still, with 75 percent of U.S. health care dollars spent treating sugar-related diseases, the researchers said they would like to see sweets controlled, like alcohol and tobacco. Schmidt, professor of health policy at UCSF’s Institute for Health Policy Studies and co-chair of its Community Engagement and Health Policy Program, added that there is a wide gap between what science knows and what people practice in real life. The challenge of sugar abuse “needs to be recognized as a fundamental concern at the global level,” she said. The answer may rely on medicine and governments combining efforts to protect sugar addicts from incessant cravings while promoting interventions like those modeled by alcohol and smoking cessation programs. Other ideas might include levying special sales taxes, controlling access and tightening licensing requirements on vending machines and snack bars catering to a sugar-hungry public. The ultimate goal, researchers agree, is to communicate the concept that
even “normal” amounts of sugar are harmful. Schmidt stressed that UCSF is not promoting prohibition or major government intrusion. “We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated dose. What we want is to actually increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get,” Schmidt said. Other problems associated with sugar abuse include intense sleepiness, muscle fatigue, lethargy, pallor, coated tongue, persistent thirst, bad breath, heartburn and sour stomach, excessive gas, flu-like symptoms, feeling run down. “Sugar Blues” claims that sugar is as addictive as nicotine and as poisonous. Science today is leaning toward more serious measures to help people resist sweets as evidence mounts that consumers can do something positive to improve their health.
A partial list of physical conditions caused or worsened by sugar in the diet according to scientists: Overweight
Diabetes
Heart disease (raised blood triclycerides and sticky blood platelets)
Hyperactivity
Duodenal ulcers and increased stomach acidity
Liver enlargement
Weakened immune system
Increased uric acid in blood
PMS
Hypoglycemia
Cancer
Kidney enlargement
Hindered breakdown of dietary protein Cavities in teeth
Yeast overgrowth
STROKE HOPE Intracerebral hemorrhage treatment dissolves clots in most deadly of strokes Mary McReynolds | For The Oklahoman A breakthrough neurological procedure offers hope for victims of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), an often fatal brain condition. The procedure was reported at the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans held Jan. 31Feb 2. Johns Hopkins neurosurgeons working with the surgical review centers at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Chicago announced a minimally invasive surgery with reduced negative side effects. Neurosurgeons worked with 93 patients ages 18 to 80 at more than twenty-four sites in the United States, Canada and Europe employing either standard, supportive treatment or the new procedure using CT-guided catheters to deliver clot shrinking medication. The latter technique is considered safer without compromising brain tissue or removing large portions of the skull. Standard, supportive treatment often occurs in an ICU. About 10 percent of these surgeries involve craniotomy surgery, an invasive and risky procedure which removes portions of the skull and cuts through healthy tissue to remove the clot. With the ICH procedure, neurosurgeons drill a hole the size of a dime in the skull close to the clot site. A CT catheter is ďŹ nessed into the clot to release small amounts of t-PA, a powerful, clot dissolving drug. Up to 20 percent of the clots are shrunk each day for up to two days compared to a 5 percent result via the standard treatment method. Side effects are fewer and less severe. Ninety-three percent of patients in the Johns Hopkins minimally invasive study experienced an increase in their functionality by 10 to 15 percent six months following the new surgical procedure. The study was also found to be as safe as general supportive therapy which includes intense monitoring and control of blood pressure, artiďŹ cial ventilation, drugs to control swelling, and cautious observation waiting for the clot to dissolve on its own. Often the result of uncontrolled high blood pressure, ICH is a pernicious bleed in the brain that causes clots to form and is fatal in 30 to 50 percent of all occurrences. Once termed the most lethal and debilitating form of stroke, it was basically considered untreatable. Most survivors are left with signiďŹ cant motor Clots, continued on page 6
Clots, continued from page 5
and cognitive disability. Although only 15 percent of stroke victims have ICH, this represents 30,000 to 50,000 people, primarily Asians, Hispanics, African-Americans, and the elderly. Study leader Daniel F. Hanley, M.D., professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said “the last untreatable form of stroke may well have a treatment.” He called for larger studies to augment and prove recent findings and said the new procedure will “substantially reduce the burden of strokes for patients and their families by increasing the number of people who can be independent again after suffering a stroke.” Dawn Tartaglione, D.O., INTEGRIS Southwest Neuroscience Institute, said that the new ICH procedure is one with which she is familiar. A Board Certified Osteopathic Neurosurgeon, Tartaglione is also President of the Discipline of Neurosurgery for the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and completed a fellowship with emphasis in specialized skull-based neurosurgery and complex spine surgery. “The catheter delivery of t-PA to shrink clots is a powerful option in selected cases,” Tartaglione said. “The results of this recent study provides even more data on the procedure and outcomes, vital information when considering surgical options.” While shrinking clots with t-PA can be effective at the right time and place, she added that she considers treatment on a case-by-case basis. “I have no hesitation implementing this new procedure when it is warranted,” Tartaglione said. “It all depends on the patient and the clot.”
HEALTH BRIEFS Early Parkinson’s link to vitamin D deficiency A recent study shows patients with early Parkinson’s had a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency but vitamin D did not decline with disease progression, U.S. researchers say. Dr. Marian L. Evatt of Emory University School of Medicine and the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and colleagues examined the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in untreated patients with early Parkinson’s disease diagnosed within five years of entry into the study. The study authors found a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in 157 study participants with early, untreated Parkinson’s disease. At the baseline visit, 69 percent had vitamin D insufficiency and 26 percent had vitamin D deficiency. ThirdAge.com
Clinical trials could offer new opportunities to fight ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer affects an estimated 21,000 women and causes more than 14,000 deaths every year in the U.S., and as many as 125,000 deaths around the world. That makes it the most deadly cancer of the female reproductive system and the fifth-leading cause of cancerrelated death in American women. One of the most challenging aspects of ovarian cancer is that it is most commonly diagnosed when it is already in advanced stages. Because the incidence and mortality rates for ovarian cancer have remained steady over the last decade, new possibilities in treating it are noteworthy. For those who have had surgery and chemotherapy to treat ovarian cancer, upcoming trials in the U.S. will be conducted for a vaccine called DPX-Survivac. Potential participants are screened for their eligibility to participate in the trials, which will test the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, and its ability to bring about an immune response. For more information about these clinical trials visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
FOOD Ludivine chefs are nominees Dave Cathey | The Oklahoman Ludivine Restaurant’s intention from day one was to celebrate the bounty of Oklahoma. Now Oklahoma has a chance to celebrate the achievements of Ludivine. Jonathon Stranger and Russ Johnson are chef/owners at Ludivine, 805 N Hudson Ave. Their farm-to-fork concept has garnered them nominations for The People’s Best New Chef award by the national magazine Food & Wine. The award, in its second year, allows patrons and fans to determine the best new chef from a field of 100 nominees broken down in 10 regions across the country. Winners from each region will be finalists. The chef with the most overall votes will be featured in the July 2012 issue.
Erica Millar eats Roasted Bone Marrow for the first time at Ludivine’s. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Uptown grocery offers upscale shopping experience
Sherri Nelson shops the produce on the opening day of the new Uptown Grocery in Edmond. Photo by David McDaniel, The Oklahoman
Dave Cathey | The Oklahoman EDMOND — Crest has its flagship store in south Oklahoma City, Whole Foods planted its flag near Nichols Hills, and last month the owners of Buy For Less unveiled their crown jewel, the Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W Covell Road. Owners Hank and Susan Binkowski will offer a huge deli and bakery plus a large number of prepared foods, including soup and salad bar, sushi station, artisanal cheese and pizza counter. Takeaway items such as rotisserie chicken, barbecue and a bevy of salads, will be available at the Gourmet Grille, under the direction of
chef Jermiah Duddleston. The north portion of the market also includes a demonstration kitchen for cooking classes, plus a dining area. The prepared foods take up about a quarter of of the building, with the remainder housing a mix of basic to premium groceries, including a butcher shop with dry-aged prime beef plus a multitude of organic and natural ingredients and products. The store also will carry plenty of local products, such as Peach Crest Farms produce. A hub at the front of the store is home to a master florist and event planning and catering services.
The demise of
cursive
Is cursive handwriting going the way of the pocket watch or the ink well? This shift in writing not only signals another step toward a more technological society. It also could result in unintended consequences such as in the development of motor skills, in research, perhaps even in an increased risk of forgery. Annette Price | For The Oklahoman The handwriting may be on the wall for cursive. The connected-letters form of writing dates back in English to before the Norman conquest, but now, after more than a thousand years, the advent of computers, texting and standardized testing may consign cursive to the same fate as its cousin shorthand: an interesting oddity that few put into practice. In the renaissance era, cursive was key: quills were expensive, and lifting them up and putting them down led to more breakage. In an era where nearly everyone carries a computer in his pocket, the cost of quills is less of a concern than it once was. In Oklahoma, perfect penmanship isn’t necessary for a high school diploma, but schoolchildren are still required to mind those curly P’s and Q’s as part of Oklahoma’s PASS skills. Ty Bell, principal of Cleveland Elementary School in Norman, said his students are taught to print up until 2nd grade. As 3rdgraders, they learn the formation of cursive letters and are expected to write their assignments in script until they reach 5th grade. “I don’t think it’s as vital of a skill as it was 20 to 30 years ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not worthy to be taught,” Bell said. In Norman, children don’t work out of penmanship books, as their Kelsi Sanders, a third-grader at Cleve- parents did. For the older grades, land Elementary in Norman, paper with dotted lines are gone too. sentence drills School and manuscript takes a spelling test in cursive. Bell said by age 8 and 9, fine motor skills are already in place. Teachers instead teach letter formation over several months, then incorporate cursive into everyday work. “We don’t necessarily sit around and practice cursive writing. We teach it, and then we practice it in our work, which I think is a much more authentic practice,” said Brook Meiller, language arts curriculum coordinator at Norman Public Schools. More schools are finding ways to combine lessons, as their teaching objectives seem to multiply. For instance, with keyboards and touch screens becoming more common in everyday life, schools are feeling the pressure of teaching keyboarding skills to younger ages. “What’s going to be a better life skill, keyboarding or cursive? I do believe it can be both,” Bell said. “It’s the same old adage you hear in education: It’s one more thing we’re expected to teach, but there’s no extra time to teach it. At some point, something’s going to get
squeezed or shoved or condensed.” A bigger concern to educators is not only keeping up with the technology, but also teaching application of those communication skills. Meiller expects the state will switch entirely to online standardized tests for grades 3-8 starting in the 20142015 school year. This means that students will be required to type all answers, including any essays, through a keyboard. “It’s one thing to teach them where the letters are on the keyboard, but to actually sit and compose on the keyboard is different,” Meiller said. “We’ve already been in a lot of discussion on how that looks for our youngest students, because it’s not something you can just start in 3rd grade. Society and the world is on our side because kids are using keyboards all the time.” Keyboarding may start earlier for Cleveland students, Bell said. “You hate for their hunt and peck to interfere with their fluency of thought, and then not to score well because they were having to hunt and peck letters,” Bell said.
Noah Rivera, a third-grader at Cleveland Elementary School in Norman, writes sentences containing his spelling words.
MAKING A CASE FOR CURSIVE? By Sheila Stogsdill | For The Oklahoman More and more, schools are having to write off studies in penmanship and handwriting in favor of keyboarding. Although it prepares students to function in a technological world, failure to teach children how to write cursive could be setting them up for a life of problems. “Cursive writing is a lost art,” said Brenda Petty, a Duncan-based forensics document specialist. Petty has worked for four years as a forgery expert in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Arkansas. Time Magazine reported in 2009 “people born after 1980 tend to have a distinctive style of handwriting: a little bit sloppy, a little bit childish and almost never in cursive.” “Cursive started to lose its clout back in the 1920s, when educators theorized that because children learned to read by looking at books printed in manuscript rather than cursive, they should learn to write the same way,” according to the article. Cursive writing is generally taught in the second grade but studies show students are not continuing the practice as they go through school. When older students return to college, they frequently use an iPad or a laptop to take down notes while a professor lectures. As cursive handwriting continues to decline we will begin to see more printing and more signatures blotched and the slurring of lines, Petty said. Cursive writing utilizes the subconscious area of the brain, while printing requires only the conscious area of the brain, she said. “The ability to spell is not getting down to the subconscious part of the brain,” Petty said. “We already know texting produces shortcuts which lead to misspelled words and words not correctly used in context.” An example is “K” for OK and “B4” for before and “No” typically misrepresents “know.” “I am so concerned with the future of our children if cursive handwriting is eliminated from their training,” Petty said. According to the website Handwriting Without Tears, handwriting is one of the fastest growing areas of referral to occupational therapy. The international program based in Maryland strives to make legible and fluent handwriting a natural and automatic skill for all children. Many students need help with handwriting and a small number of those students qualify for occupational therapy while other students struggle with handwriting because it isn’t taught effectively in the classroom, said Jan Z Olsen OTR, founder of the program. Cursive writing builds the brain, develops cognitive abilities and improves a child’s fluency, she said. The more fluid and automatic a student’s handwriting is, the more time they will have to concentrate on the content of writing, Olsen said. The program has 12 certified handwriting specialists in the state of Oklahoma, including the communities of Edmond, Norman, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Marietta and Spavinaw. Lauren Cloud learned cursive writing in the second grade. The 19-year-old Grove native attended private school and was home schooled before she was accepted into the prestigious honors program, the Sam Walton
College of Business, at the University of Arkansas. “I was required to do all my school assignments in cursive — homework, quizzes, tests, everything,” Cloud said, referring to her grade school and high school education. From the second grade through the fifth grade Cloud was required to take a penmanship class, she said. “My handwriting is pretty good, although it lacks the ‘pretty’ element that a lot of girls’ handwriting has,” Cloud said. Cloud continues to take most of her class notes in cursive handwriting. “If I’m taking notes non-stop for 50 minutes, I use cursive because it is so much faster.” Cloud said. “If the class is a bit slower paced, I use print, because it is a bit easier to read at a glance.” Cloud said cursive handwriting is a lot “classier and more professional,” but printing ensures legibility. “I’ve actually gotten lots of comments on my writing style,” Cloud said. “People will say ‘I can’t read it — it’s so pretty’ or ‘that looks like it could be on the Declaration of Independence.’” Cloud said she is often asked to re-write something in print because the person can’t read cursive. “I definitely think teaching cursive ve should be a much higher priority in public schools,” Cloud said. When Cloud took her ACT exam there was a section on the test where the student had to copy the statement in cursive handwriting. The students were grumbling about the assignment and supervisor remarked this portion of the test was the hardest but ut that she would give them all the time me they need, she said. “The students were complaining g they didn’t know how or they couldn’t ldn’t remember how to write and I’m thinkhinking, ‘I’ve known how to do this since nce second grade!’” Cloud said.
WHY KEEP CURSIVE? VE? Cursive allows you to be faster and more efficient. Cursive is faster than printing, and greater writing speed allows writers to write better by lessening the burden on working memory. Difficulty with it may mean lower grades. The College Board found that students who wrote in cursive scored slightly higher than those who printed, on the handwritten section that added to the SAT college entrance test in 2005. It can boost your confidence.
Approximately two out of every five teachers indicated that poor handwriting adversely influenced selfconcept. Jobs require it. A recent Monster.com search reveals that positions in security systems, healthcare and engineering, as well as childcare providers, writers and utility workers, require legible handwriting in their job descriptions, underscoring the ongoing value of handwriting in the workplace and the importance of the skill for lifelong success. SOURCE: Handwriting Without Tears
UNTYING THE KNOT After age 50, women are divorcing at double the rate of 20 years ago
T
he kids go off to college, the dog dies and someone, increasingly the wife, wants a divorce. While divorce among older couples was once rare, those over 50 are shedding their spouses at double the rate of two decades ago. One in every four divorces is now a boomer couple untying the knot, according to the National Center for Family and Marriage, up from 1 in 10 in 1990. And a majority of those “gray divorces” 66 percent - are instigated by women, said the authors of a 2004 AARP survey. “More women are in the work place and not as dependent for income as wives who have never been in the workforce,” said Oklahoma City-based marriage and family therapist Charlotte Lankard. “Women who have not worked outside the home, now understand if they have been married 10 years or more that legally half of everything belongs to them - they are not left ‘hoping’ their spouse will be generous.”
Financially buoyed by their own paychecks, many of this first generation of career women are approaching retirement with secret reveries. Can I leave my job and a marriage that feels like a second shift? When people are living longer, does marriage have a sell-by date? “Today’s woman is likely in a full or part time job or very involved in community volunteer work, yet she may be married to a spouse whose mother ‘did everything’ at home,” Lankard said. “Women today want and need a partner who is willing to help with household chores - cooking, laundry, cleaning, childcare etc. If this is not happening, she may begin to see her partner as ‘another child’ to take care of and decide she doesn’t want to live like that.”
Low tolerance for discomfort Previously, people divorced because of infidelity or money issues. With boomers, it’s a different criteria. Divorce, continued on page 11
Divorce, continued from page 10
“Boomers are less likely to stay in a relationship where they are not happy, do not feel appreciated or valued, do not feel respected,” said Lankard, who is a weekly columnist for The Oklahoman. “If they believe they have made a mistake in choosing a partner, they get out. They are much less tolerant of discomfort.” Too, they have grown up in homes where parents fought or were emotionally distant or abusive and they are determined not to live like that, she said.
After a certain age, following a lifetime of nuturing turing others, some women long for an independent life alone, posited Dominique Browning in a New York Times imes essay last month. Unlike men, most have built strong g social support networks of friends and family for when en they want company. “We know that men do not do as well being single, ingle, while women often thrive.” Lankard said. — Barbara Marshall, Cox Newspapers
A new life For many women, their 50s are a time of reinvention, when they’re ready to loosen the ties that bound them to home, children and husbands, said Amy Sherman, a mental health counselor from Lake Worth, Fla. They’re weary of the incessant work of housekeeping, not to mention husband-keeping, especially if the couple has grown apart through the years. “There is any old saying that, ‘Men get divorced to have a new wife; women get divorced to have a new life,’” Lankard said. “A typical scenario in a long-term marriage is a wife will begin to say, ‘We need to get help... go to counseling.’ The husband says, ‘I’m doing fine, you’re the one having problems.’ So the wife goes for help and eventually when nothing she does changes the dynamics at home, she will decide to divorce. When she tells her husband, he says, ‘Let’s go to counseling!’ And it is too late.”
Melissa Howell contributed to this story. 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Divorce rates by 10-year age groups, women only 1990
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
2010
55-64
65+
SOURCE: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS, VITALSTATS, 1990 AND U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, 2010
At left: The fourth century B.C. temple of Apollo at Dydima, now in the middle of the modern Turkish city of Didim on the southern Aegean coast, Turkey. AP Photo by Giovanna Dell’Orto
Istanbul and Aegean coast Seascapes and history GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO For The Associated Press ISTANBUL - The sea of Marmara shimmered to my right, a pod of dolphins played improbably in the ferry-and tankers-choked Bosporus strait, and minarets pierced my jet-lag fog on my first Istanbul evening. Walking down the main road in Istanbul’s old city the next morning, I was pulled out of my reverie when an older, heavily mustachioed man leaned out the window of his rickety car and boomed, “American?” Suddenly aware of my short sleeves and skirt on a trip last summer to a city where many women wear long coats even in hot weather, I smiled sheepishly. “Ah, have a good day!” he yelled in English, breaking a wide grin, to which all I could do was reply “cok iyi,” meaning very good, the Turkish words I had learned on my first day here in an impromptu lesson from a taxi driver. And so the friendliness of Turkish strangers accompanied me for the three weeks I spent in Istanbul and along Coast, continued on page 13 The coastline of the Datca peninsula, near the ruins of Knidos, a seventh-century B.C. Greek town, Turkey. AP Photo by Giovanna Dell’Orto
Coast, continued from page 12
Turkey’s Aegean coast, where I found a wealth of antiquities, architecture and art with few parallels in the Mediterranean, not to mention impossibly blue seas and feasts of small plates known as mezes at non-euro prices. From Istanbul, I made a daylong drive to the stunning northern Aegean village of Assos. Swimming off its pebbly beach into empty green-blue waters, under cliffs studded with olive trees and humming with cicadas, near ruins visited by both Aristotle and St. Paul, was such perfection that I nearly spent the rest of my vacation there. After all, the camel I saw slurping tree leaves off a dusty road seemed happy to stay where he was. But Greco-Roman sites, Byzantine and Islamic art masterpieces, and untouched Mediterranean scenery beckoned, and everywhere, people went out of their way to make this stranger welcome. GRECO-ROMAN SPLENDOR: To grumble, as many tour books do, that there is not much to see at Troy is akin to calling the Eiffel Tower a jumble of iron bars. True, technically, but that is to ignore the breathless feeling of gazing at walls and columns where Homeric heroes lived 3,000 years ago, of looking over the same cultivated plain baking in the midday heat. Ancient Greek civilizations built acropolises a few hours south of Troy, none more “high city” than Pergamon, where the remains of a superb temple and a theater from the third century B.C. are carved atop a barren mountain. Not far off are evocative ruins of three Ionian cities, including the giant theater of Miletus and the elaborately carved columns of the Dydima temple, so tall that you feel Lilliputian. APOLLO’S SWIMMING HOLE: You can dive into that vivid blue in the sea off Oludeniz natural park, where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean. Surrounded by tall mountains covered in fragrant brush and pines, with wisps of clouds perched on their tops, it felt like the swimming hole of the ancient gods. Off a tiny cove in the sadly overdeveloped Bodrum peninsula, a kid engaged me in a freestyle competition through crystalline water as his grandmother, decked out in a turquoise long-sleeved suit, blue Crocs and pink noodle, patiently tried out a few strokes. From my terrace at one of the peninsula’s many luxury hotels, Lavanta, overlooking Yalikavak harbor, I watched the sun set over Greek islands as a muezzin’s call to prayer wafted over the whitewashed village up to the windmills topping the barren hills. If Bodrum has luxe, the Datca peninsula just to the south has solitude. Near the ruins of Knidos, a seventh-century B.C. Greek town, I spent an hour floating in transparent water without seeing a soul. A few hours south of there, in Patara, I found miles of sandy beach popular with sea turtles, past an arch and other ruins of an ancient Lycian city. It’s a tough call, but I might have had the best meal of the trip in Patara, under the grape arbor of St. Nicholas restaurant. Mezes kept flowing, ranging from tangy beyaz peynir cheese (a Turkish version of feta) to grilled fish and lamb to a dazzling variety of dishes made with eggplant (“patlican,” which means eggplant, is essential Turkish vocabulary). And of course, I ended up deep in conversation with the owner’s son, a young man just out of architecture school, who shared his dream of a green development in Patara so that “in five years you might read of me.” “Cok iyi,” I told him, and I hoped that first Istanbul cab driver would have been proud. A dromedary camel outside Assos, Turkey. AP Photo by Giovanna Dell’Orto
Wines and vines Find unexpected treasures of taste and experience with a tour of central Oklahoma’s wine country.
V
ineyards and wineries have sprung up all over Oklahoma due to the favorable weather and soil conditions which produce wonderful grape harvests. Central Oklahoma, in particular, is home to a large number of popular wineries, that can be visited in a one-day tour.
Tres Suenos Vineyard and Winery The first stop on the tour is Tres Suenos Vineyard and Winery in Luther, just northeast of the Oklahoma City metro area. As you pull through the gate and onto the property you are greeted by beautiful vines winding around tightly stretched wire making them appear to float. Nestled in a tall gathering of pine trees directly in front of you is the wine tasting room and gathering hall. Stepping through the front doors you catch a glimpse straight through the back doors and into a picture-perfect setting for a wedding or just a relaxing getaway with friends. Pine trees create a canopy above your head, and the lights that are strung from tree to tree make for a fairytale scene. Sit on the balcony of the tasting room building, picnic under the pines, or enjoy a view over the vineyards on the opposite side of the building. Tres Suenos offers a varied list of wines ranging from dry to sweet and they can accommodate any palate delightfully.
Tidal School Winery From Luther, head northeast to Drumright for a visit to Tidal School Winery. The historic school building that Tidal School Winery calls home is a beautiful red brick building originally built in the early 1920s during Oklahoma’s early oil boom days. The school has been saved from the ravages of time and is now well-loved by the people who visit her. The tasting bar has a nostalgic flair and only makes the wines you sample that much more pleasing. The basement is filled with kegs containing all the white, red and blush varieties of wine made on the premises. The winery features a large Tres Suenos Winery in Luther. The Oklahoman archives. deck that is raised above the grapevines to create a spectacular view at sunset. By calling ahead you can order lunch and have it served to you on the patio while you enjoy a glass of wine. Tidal School frequently hosts special events including live music on the patio and even dinner theatre.
StableRidge Vineyards and Winery StableRidge Vineyards and Winery, on historic Route 66 in Stroud, is the third winery on the tour. The tasting room and gift shop are located inside a quaint wooden structure that was built in 1898 to serve as the town’s Catholic church. Jerimiah’s Red is one of the many wines StableRidge is known for in Oklahoma and on Route 66. Wine tastings are served with cheesecake to bring out the flavor of the wine. Tours of the vineyard and wine-making facility are available with advance notice. StableRidge is truly one of Oklahoma’s best kept secrets.
Territory Cellars Also located in Stroud, just a short hop off Route 66 on Highway 99, is Territory Cellars. The grand room is beautiful with a large stone fireplace.
Tres Suenos Winery in Luther. The Oklahoman archives.
Territory Cellars Chef Raquel is a culinary artist capable of creating food that will make you melt. When you visit Territory Cellars, there are a variety of ways for your inner wine connoisseur to enjoy the experience — sit inside in the cozy grand room or tasting room, kick back on the rear deck, or relax at tables on the covered front deck.
Greenfield Vineyard and Winery The last stop on the tour is at Greenfield Vineyards and Winery in the countryside near Chandler. Greenfield is a winery far from everything except peace and quiet. Visitors will instantly fall in love with Greenfield and its stunning surroundings. Set on a hill overlooking the neatly spaced rows of the vineyard, the large, white winery building is very welcoming. A large pond creates the perfect scenic addition to this little slice of heaven. Greenfield has put a unique twist on the tasting room by locating it on the second floor, with a fabulous balcony. In addition to these establishments, there are many more fantastic wineries in Oklahoma waiting to offer you a tasting and tour, and maybe even a chance to enjoy live music or other events along with your wine. SOURCE: Oklahoma Department of Tourism