In the middle of December, on a rainy weekend in the southern city of Adana, fruit clung abundantly from countless citrus trees and purple flowers remained in full blossom. Palm trees stood tall and proud against the dismal gray sky and pattering rain. In the heart of Turkey's most fertile lands and home to an enviable cultural legacy, Adana is a city of resistance, when it comes to its nature and its people.
As such, it should be no surprise that a famed festival based around drinking raki, Turkey's alcoholic beverage of choice, continues to be celebrated in spirit by the city's rowdy, kind-hearted residents even though the governor has banned the event the past two years.
