Things Cypriot People Like

KEO brand products. It started as a beer company, but since Carlsberg (made in Cyprus) is still the most popular brew on the island, KEO has ventured into all things hard: red and white wine, commanderia, ouzo, brandy. They've also made their beer more noticeable, by putting it in 630ml bottles - an absurdly large size. Their branded glasses are strangely small 10oz mugs, which only accentuate the bottle's enormity. Take that 500ml Carlsbergs! (Note: this is South Cyprus specific. In Northern Cyprus, Efes beer from Turkey was the beverage du jour).
Lunch Trucks. Especially down in Limassol, the lunch truck acted as workplace cafeteria and drive-through window. Specializing in sandwiches, burgers and sausages, they most often had a big bowl of relish and a condiment dispenser out on their counter. Some smaller trucks served only iced coffee and frappes.
This kind of lock. New and old buildings as well as countless bathroom stalls had the slide-the-pole-through-a-loop method. Probably not something that would be super noticeable to the average person, but I have a strange inability to get doors opened and closed handily. These posed a challenge.
Glyko. The Greek word 'glyko' literally translates into 'sweet,' but in Cyprus it means something altogether more specific. It's a sweet pickling of fruits and nuts which completely transforms them into a candylike treat. For example, the black glyko on the plate above is walnut - shell and all. Next to it is a clementine, complete with peel. Unique and delicious.
The Greek flag. It should go without saying that this is also a Southern Cyprus specific thing. In Northern Cyprus, you'd see the Turkish flag now and then, but mostly the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' flag flapped away in the sky. In Southern Greece, though, you rarely even saw the Republic of Cyprus flag - only the Greek one. This was surprising because the Republic of Cyprus is not and has never been part of Greece (though there have been many historic efforts on both sides to make that the case). Still, there was ole blue and white and nary a Cypriot flag in sight.
Dried gourds. We saw a few hanging from porches in Northern Cyprus, bleaching in the sun and drying. Why? We couldn't tell. Then, in Southern Cyprus, we began to see the finished product. Traditionally, they were used to serve wine, but nowadays are more decorative.

Things Turkish People Like

The Turkish Flag and Atatürk. Every country likes their flag and their most revered leader. But, in Turkey, it's easy to spot. The bright red flag flew everywhere. This one, pictured, was stenciled onto a car. Mustafa Kemel's photo hung on walls in establishments. He is the father of Modern Turkey, "Atatürk," and devotion to him is so strong that it is actually illegal to say anything negative about the man.
Branded Wet Naps. For most businesses in Turkey, giving customers wet naps isn't just a service - it's promotional. These branded packages, filled with napkins doused in lemony cleaner, are given before and after a meal. Sometimes, yet again, on the way out. We have quite a collection.
Nuts, Seeds and Chickpeas. Here, at a meyhane, men drank tea and Efes beer and snacked on pumpkin seeds. The click click click of shelling is heard all over the place. Beer is always accompanied by a bowl of nuts, sometimes salted peanuts, sometimes small, soft, tasty Turkish pistachios. My favorite is the "Koktyl" mix of almonds, peanuts, pistachios and dried, crunchy chickpeas.Gravestones with Hats. On the Gelibolu Peninsula, these markers were designed to look like they were wearing helmets. In Istanbul, we stumbled upon an old cemetery with gravestones topped with turbans and fezes fashioned out of the stone.Male Hair Salons. Since women traditionally keep their hair covered it's up to men to keep the art of hair sculpture alive. And boy do they. There's a salon on every block and they do not lack for business. Teenagers go for mohawk-type hairdos with fancy designs shaved into the side. They gel their hair up in the front, down in the back, to one side or another. Older men go for a less ostentatious, neat styling - usually some version of a short cropped bowl cut meticulously blown out.

Simits. These wildly popular snacks are available all over the place. Having taste-tested, we've decided that the one sold by men who balance a stack on their head are the best. The ones sold in stores or cafes are the worst. All are covered in fragrant, roasted sesame seeds - sometimes applied with a delicately sweet egg white wash. They taste a lot like a bagel and it's become popular in Istanbul to eat them sliced with cream cheese.
These Shoe-Shine Stands. There were a lot of shoe-shines and they all used these stands. Really cool.
Bargaining and Touting. I know I've mentioned this in a lot of other posts, but touting and bargaining are a real part of day to day life. What's nice about both practices here is the congeniality with which they're done. It is simply how business runs and you never get the sense that anyone's really trying to rip anyone else off.

Things Armenian People Like

Lavash. The word literally means good ("lav") food ("ash") in Armenian. It's a delicious, difficult to make wonder that is a true staple in the country. As we saw at the Yerevan food market, lavash is bought in encyclopedic folded wads. The so-thin-you-can-see-light-through it and so-chewy-it-is-elastic flatbread is about as close to a flour tortilla as a Dunkin Donuts bagel is to a real kettle boiled one. The baking process reflects its uniqueness.
We got to witness a lavash making troop of women in Goris and were mesmerized by the choreography. Woman A made balls out of the dough. Woman B rolled one out, stretching it by the corners and throwing it in the air like a pizza until it was less than 1/16 of an inch thick. Then, she threw it like a frisbee over to Woman C who was kneeling down by the in-groundtonir. Woman C stretched it onto a bata, a half pillow half board thing that reminded me of American Gladiators equipment. WHOMP! She'd quickly and forcefully smack the pillow onto the side of the oven so that the dough would stick right on, flat. After less than a second, Woman D swooped a long hook in and removed the dough, transformed into lightly blistered lavash. What's not to like?
Dried Fruit. The sheer variety available is staggering. Some market tables literally looked like a color scale: pear, fig, apricot, peach, papaya, persimmon, cherry, date, prune. It was extraordinary. Dried apricots were added to pilafs and rice dishes and raisins would find their way into vegetarian stuffed cabbage and chicken plates. It was the best fried fruit we've ever had - particularly the apricots - so it's no wonder they like it so much.
Pomegranate Imagery. Speaking of fruit, Armenians have really claimed the pomegranate as a sort of national symbol. It's odd, because the apricot or cherry would be more appropriate. I think it comes down to the fact that pomegranates are prettier. We saw the fruit incorporated into an old fence at Tatev Monastery, proving that this isn't a recent thing. However, there seems to have been a decision made on its marketability - because every souvenir shop is brimming with things shaped like the odd red fruit. Magnets, keychains, earrings, liquor bottlesand figurines.

Using Tissues as Napkins and, as a result, Branded Kleenex Boxes. In Armenia, a box of tissues is placed on every table to use as napkins. I have to say, tissues do not work particularly well in most eating scenarios. They tend to fly off a lap if placed there and stick to your fingers if you've eaten barbecue - which you almost always will have at an Armenian table. What made this affinity for tissues more interesting was the fact that almost every business had branded ones! Hotels, restaurants, cafes all had specially designed boxes made by a company in Yerevan. Right there, next to the bar code on the bottom, the product was listed as "dinner napkins." So, maybe I should say that Armenian people like dinner napkins that strongly resemble tissues?

Prayer Cloths. There may be another name for this. I know that in Celtic areas, they are called "clooties," but that simply means "strip of cloth." They say that tying a strip of fabric to a tree makes your prayer more likely to be answered. Some people do this near bodies of water as part of a prayer for healing. Armenia is a religious, Christian country and signs of the faithful can be seen everywhere. The most abundant and, I think beautiful, marks are definitely these prayer cloths. When we encountered them in Xinaliq, Azerbaijan, we weren't exactly sure what they were. Having traveled through Armenia, we now know for sure.

Things Azeri People Like

Tea. "Like," is an understatement. "Love," would be an understatement. "Subsist on," gets a little closer to the heart of it, but focuses too much on the consumption. Having tea in Azerbaijan is a social activity, a integral part of life. Mothers "decanting" tea to cool it off, pouring it into the saucer and holding it up for their children to sip, is the equivalent of a bed time story. Or a hug. It's all very ritualistic. Sugar cubes go in the mouth, not the cup. Candies are plopped in the cup, never the mouth. Jam can be added to tea or eaten with a spoon alongside it. As soon as one kettle is done, another is brought to a boil. We have never consumed so much tea in our entire lives. Azeris seemed to consume no liquid aside from it.
Bread. Sure, everyone likes bread. (Sorry, celiacs). But does everybody place it out in the yard for birds and animals to peck away at because it's too holy to put in the garbage with everything else? I didn't think so. Here, a man prepared long, flat loaves to replace the ones he'd just taken out of the oven at a restaurant. As soon as those were in, he would go about making more. And more. And more. Diners kept a piece of bread in their left hand as they ate with their right, using it to nudge food onto their forks or, topped with a small mound of something, making it into a separate utensil. Soups and stews were doubled in size with the addition of bread. Pieces would be ripped and dropped into the bowl until all liquid was soaked up. Then, the bready mash would be eaten. Of course, along with some more bread.
Outdoor Sinks. The omnipresence of this outdoor sinks were the result of another thing Azeri People like- washing their hands. A sink was placed outside the front door of every restaurant or tucked away behind a curtain right when you walked in. No one sat down without cleaning their hands first and we were beseeched by every host to make use of the sink upon arrival. In fact, we always made sure someone actually saw us wash our hands. That way, we wouldn't have to do it over again.
Statues. Sure, everyone likes statues. But Azeri people had a knack for them and really liked sprinkling them around public spaces. In almost every instance, the statues would depict regular people. In Baku, midriff baring women hailed a cab and baseball cap wearing men talked on cell phones. In Lankaran, two men laughed on a bench while another, stooped over with his hands clasped behind his back, consulted an information board. Behind this statue in Sheki you can see Heydar Aliyev waving from a billboard. Which brings me to my next point...
Pictures of Heydar Aliyev/Heydar Aliyev Museums/Heydar Aliyev. Former President Heydar Aliyev's picture is everywhere in Azerbaijan. Billboards show him in front of the flag or candidly laughing. Businesses hung enormous portraits of him shaking their CEO's hand. One cell phone company simply put up a banner with Heydar Aliyev, you guessed it, talking on a cell phone. Every town had a Heydar Aliyev Museum and at least one bust of the man. Anything that can be named after him is. You can tell his son, the current president, doesn't feel too competitive with his deceased old man.

Honorable Mentions

Cayxanas (Tea Rooms). I know I already said "tea," but this deserves its own honorable mention. Behind almost every door in any Azeri town is a cayxana. Most have no sign at all, just a rumble emanating from inside and the shadow of a dozen black caps in the foggy window. Men sitting in tea houses, sharing kettles of tea and nary a drop of alcohol, become rowdy and congenial. Tea houses are their bars, diners, elks lodges, pool halls all rolled into one. They seemed to spend their entire day here and grew silent and wary any time I entered their realm. Tea houses are like secret clubs and they are fervently male only.

Private Dining Rooms. Speaking of rooms, if an establishment served more than tea, they always had at least one private room in addition to the main dining space. This is where, most often, the police would go - some of the only people who eat out regularly. Sometimes, we were hidden away in one if there was a big party going on. In one restaurant, our private room was a mini picnic table in an faux beer barrel. Very cozy.

Having Their Pictures Taken. Exhibit A. Exhibit B. Exhibit C.

Things Portuguese People Like

Sweets. Saying they "like" sweets may be an understatement. Portuguese people really, really like their baked goods. From morning until night, people gather at the counters of pastelerias, sipping coffee and eating something fresh, dense and almost invariably yellow. Pastries are delectably eggy, from tiny creme brulee custard cups to something as simple as honey sweetened egg bread. The thing is, Portuguese people happen to have some incredible baked goods at their disposal at all times. So, it's pretty easy to see why they have such a sweet tooth.
Serving Platters. Tables in Portugal are pretty uniform - white paper place mat or table covering, simple white plates, simple silver utensils, a stubby wine glass for water and a thinner one for wine. But the final items, that never ever fail to appear on your table, are serving platters. Anything ordered, comes in a separate dish, most often an oval tray, which is set beside your empty plate with some serving spoons. It may make tables more crowded and necessitate more washing, but there's something nice about transferring a portion of steaming hot food to your dish. Serving yourself makes you feel a little more at home, I think. Plus, the portions are always so humongous that it's nice not to have it all in front of you at once.
Football. Like port wine, you can thank the English for this dominant presence in Portuguese culture. The sport gained popularity in the 19th century, when students "brought it back from England." Nowadays, their star player is Cristiano Rinaldo. Ever heard of him? Here are some kids playing soccer with a plastic bag after their first ball, a plastic bottle, rolled under a dining couple's table. This was in Guimarães, where the night sky was lit up with soccer on tv.
Little Beers. A French study in 1999 ranked the Portuguese as the world's biggest drinkers. So, maybe it's an attempt to scale back? Super Bock, the Portuguese beer, is available in these "mini" bottles. Beer glasses at bars are the size of a New Jersey diner juice glass. You can order a larger one, but the assumption, if you don't specify, will be that you want the little beer or mini beer bottle. Locals say it's so that the drink is colder. Makes sense, but still gives bartenders a whole lotta extra work.
Balconies. When we first arrived in Portugal, in Guimarães, our hotel receptionist said that the main squares were "full of beautiful balconies." For some reason, we figured he actually meant terraces, for dining and such. From that night forward, throughout our two weeks, we saw more balconies than we could count. I'd say it's a dominant architectural feature. And Portuguese people don't just have balconies, they use them. Hanging out their laundry, showing national and football club pride through draped flags and banners, sitting outside for a smoke, having a potted garden or decorating with old mannequins, statues, etc - they really make balconies an extension of their home.
Fado. This type of music is widely believed to be a Portuguese invention. The word comes from "fate," and it is a mournful, soulful style of singing that speaks of tragedy and loss. Originally, sailors were the main fadistas. Soon, though, singers such as Amália Rodrigues ("The Queen of Fado") put the music on the national and international map. Rodrigues' house is a big attraction in Lisbon and the Fado Museum (seen above) makes a lovely trip. Mostly, though, you encounter fado through the radios playing everywhere and at restaurants that offer live performances.
This shade of yellow. And what a pretty shade it is. When buildings weren't white, they were almost always this color. Bright but warm, it looks beautiful at dawn, dusk and all the hours in between. It really is a sort of uniform shade and... come to think of it.... matches their egg pastries! Mystery solved.

Things Liechtensteinische People Like

Corvettes. In a country filled with classic automobiles, Corvettes stood out as a favorite. Especially since we were there in the last days of summer (a.k.a. convertible weather), the wheeled trophies were out and about. Porsche speedsters, Jaguars, Ferraris, Thunderbirds all made appearances on the road- but the Corvette was king. In close second - Land Rovers.
Summerstages. The number of concerts and parties had a lot to do with the fact that each town in Liechtenstein has a meeting hall and a small square. Even still, stages were erected all over for even more entertainment venue options. Every place we went, a crew was either putting up a stage or taking one down.
Blue Protective Netting. When we saw fields of blue rolling down hills in the distance, we thought that maybe they were lavender or a type of flower. It was a brilliant sight against the vibrant green backdrops and robin's egg sky. Then, Merlin realized that it was actually netting used to protect vineyards from birds. Plastic or not, it's a beautiful addition to the scenery.
Little Shingles. A number of houses were sided with these tiny, scalloped, wooden shingles. They reminded me of fish scales or the hair on Lionel Richie's clay head in the music video for "Hello" - but mainly fish scales.

Calling Things "Princely." Mövenpick ice cream was advertised as "Princely Chocolates," the tourist brochure was called "Princely Moments," and so on and so forth. I like to think that the prince didn't actually mandate this. They also really like using crowns and crown imagery, hence the photo of this piece of Liechtenstein chocolate.

Things Slovenian People Like

Serving food on wooden boards. When we ate out, we were inevitably served something if not everything on a wooden board. It looked pretty, made for great pictures and took away any potential for that awful sound your utensils make when grinding against a plate. They seemed especially logical when serving a slab of meat - a cutting board and a plate in one! I've seen this before, but never so much as in Slovenia.
Viticulture. Wine making has been going on longer in Slovenia than Germany, Spain or - gasp! - France. It's true. It actually predates any Roman influence. There are about 28,000 vineyards in this small country and they are very, very proud of their product. This photo was taken at a tourist office in Vipava, which had an adjacent wine shop and tasting room that was sleeker and more stylized than anything else we saw outside of Ljubljana. Our visit ended with a short informational/promotional video, which had some pretty groovy computer graphics. The wines are generally very good, mostly white and can't really be found outside of Slovenia, the countries directly surrounding and the United States, as less than 10% of it is exported. Driving through Primorska, Podravje and Posavje, vineyards are everywhere.
Outdoor activities. Well, this makes sense. The country is a veritable playground for paragliders, rafters, climbers and any other sort of outdoor sports enthusiast. The World Rowing Championship is happening on Lake Bled right about now. We saw t-bar lifts set up on hillsides in small towns and marked hiking trails just about everywhere.
Country kitsch. To be fair, we were most often in the country and the objects were rarely mass-produced. Still, outside of Ljubljana, seldom did we walk into an eatery without a sentimental bend toward traditional, folky aesthetic - without farm equipment or handicrafts strung up on the walls. It never felt disingenuous or gimmicky and was always quite pretty and comfortable, but you know. That hen above is filled with warm bread; brown under the right wing and white under the left. Beneath her are our napkins and utensils. I was hoping for a painted egg.
Hayracks. Whether they are simple drying racks like this or toplarji, the double-racked structure with storage spaces above that look like barn skeletons, hayracks are everywhere. Slovenians considered them a national icon and you'll spot small wooden models in souvenir shops.
Cockta. It's a Slovenian soft drink made out of all sorts of herbs, but mostly rose hip. I'd say it tastes sort of like a really lemon-y, sorta flat Dr. Pepper, but that's stretch. It definitely has its own flavor, which was the point back in the 1950s when it was developed to compete in the international soft drink market. You see a lot of younger people drink it, but it ostensibly holds a bigger place in the heart of older countrymen who remember it as one of the very first products to be marketed and advertised in a big way: posters, bottle design through market research, the work of Slovene Drapers and Olsons. It doesn't have caffeine or orthophosphoric acid. You know how they say you can remove rust or clean your car engine with cola? Well, that's the stuff that does it. So Cockta's probably a much safe ingestion choice.
Harmonika, which is actually Slovenian for Accordion. That confused us at first. We saw accordion shops all over the place and vintage ones decorating the halls of inns and restaurants. I can't tell you what the special significance is, I just know that they definitely seem to like them a lot.

Things Croatian People Like

Tourism. It's an enormous part of the economy, accounting for 20% of their GDP. So, naturally, people are much more welcoming and accommodating than a lot of other overrun destinations. Still, hearing more German, from locals and tourists alike, than Serbo-Croatian was initially unsettling and I thought, "How am I going to know what Croatian people like if they're always catering to foreigners?"

Seeing old photos like these at the Tourism Museum in Opatija (which was, ironically, free) made me see it a different way. I realized that tourism has been such a huge part of their culture for such a long time that it's unfair to consider it artificial or inauthentic.
Tourist Brochures. I add this separately because we found it really amusing. We have never ever received a welcome packet at a border crossing before. It outlined various laws and cultural highlights in a full color, multi-page mock gossip rag. Very creative. At each campsite, guest apartment, museum, we were handed a glossy pile of paper. Wasteful, yes. Endearing, totally. Proof that they have a big tourism budget, absolutely.
Family-Style Meals. For the record: most of the meals didn't look like this one. I just figured you all might be sick of fins and gills. Croatians love to put a big plate of food in the center of the table for the diners to share, listing many "plates for two." When a lamb was done roasting on a spit, people that didn't even know each other when they sat down would dig in, all at once, to take a hunk of meat from the serving platter, piled high.

Konzum Supermarket Billboards. Konzum is Croatia's largest supermarket chain and billboards for the company are absolutely everywhere. Sometimes they said witty things like "Konzum. Croatian word for Grocery" other times they were accompanied by cardboard cut outs of farmers dotting roadside fields to emphasize the farm-to-store aspect of their K Plus brand. This banner, strung up on the side of a cliff on the way to Krk Island was the most impressive.
Squid. I've never seen so many people eating squid in my life. If three things were offered at a casual eatery, squid was one of them. When there was a large menu, about a third of all diners would still order squid. Most often, they were grilled, but stuffed and fried were other options.
Perma-Pong Tables. Croatian people seem to really like ping pong tables - and not the type that you can fold away when you're not feeling particularly pongy. I can't say that they like ping pong itself all that much - just these permanent tables. We never saw a single person play it, instead opting for badminton and a soccer/tennis hybrid.

Honorable Mentions

Water Shoes and Yoga Mats. After a day on most any Croatian beach, you'll really like these things, too. Both make it a lot more comfortable to walk around and lay on pebbled and/or concrete beaches. The water shoes have the extra bonus of protecting your feet from spiky sea urchins and pointy rocks on the water's bottom.

Naturism. There are more naturist (read: nudist) beaches and campsites here than anywhere either of us have been. It's hard to tell if this is something Croatians like or a market they've excelled in because Germans (their biggest tourism clients) really, really like being naked. Either way, in Croatia, clothing is pretty much optional. (Naturist sites do not require full nudity).

Ice. It's sold at gas stations, offered in bowls at restaurants, there was even an ice machine at our Cres Island campsite.

Multi-Lingual Welcome Signs. At the start of every new town, there would be a sign that read "Dobrodošli! Benvenuti! Willkommen! Welcome!" Part of the reason is that the speed limit changes when you enter a residential area and part is the tourist infrastructure. Still, they really really liked it.