We recently were in Turkey and in alot of areas like Cappadochia (Sp?) when we were hiking we saw areas that were planted with small trees(?) that were very low to the ground and dark. What kind of trees/bushes are these. I thought maybe they were olive trees, but I am not sure. Does anyone know what kind of crop this is?

That's not a lot to go on--did you take any photos? Olive trees are gnarled and have silvery leaves.

This was very gnarled and low to the ground and this is in late April and they had no leaves. They were only about a foot high and very spread out branches. Everywhere we hiked people had planted little plots of them. I am at work and do not have a picture available. Maybe they were grapes, but I think those are usually on a trellis.

Cappadocia is major wine country. Olives are not grown there. Grapes do not necessarily need trellises. When they shoot up, they will be about two feet or more in hight. They will bear fruit in september-october, and then pruned again later in the year to the size that you saw or possibly up to double that.

newly planted olives will be about three feet in height and not spread out. Nor will they lose their leaves in any season. They will also be planted quite a bit further away from each other.

Thanks Otherchelebi. That makes sense.
I read a post of yours while we were in Turkey about going to the beach and how the you wished the noisy kids would clear out that was very humorous. We finally got to take our trip and spent 3 days in Istanbul, 2 days in Capadoccia, 1 day in Selcuk, 2 days in Fethiye, 1 day in Kas, 1 day in Cirali and 1 day in Antalya. We had a great time. We did not make any reservations except in Istanbul and Cappadoccia and had no problem getting rooms. I had read about how treacherous the driving was, but I did not find that to be the case. The roads were good and the drivers seemed skilled. I read alot of your posts in planning the trip and thank you for your knowledgable information.

James, i am glad that you had a good trip and that my posts were useful. You did rush and rthe weather was not the best, but being able to enjoy a trip under even those conditions is what is great about being a traveler.

Come back again. (is that a possibility since i read that you had checked on the THY deal for this fall?)

It is possible that we were around fethiye at about the same time, then. If that is the case you probably missed us on the highways because you were not scared off the road by a maniac driving a blue-gray Passat SW, daring the cops who seemed to be lining up , but a bit late, to face the challenge.

Otherchelebi
Turkey is a beautiful country with very friendly people and I would definitely visit there again. This year I have to rest my wallet for awhile.