Northern Xanthi, the growing area of Xanthi Yaka

[istanbulin]

I found these photos of Northern Xanthi, the old Turkish name of Xanthi (Greek: Ξάνθη) is İskeçe (originally Eskice which means "oldish" in English).


Villages of Xanthi.

Tobacco growing areas are generally located on the mountain slopes. That's why it's called "Yaka", yaka is a Turkish word means "slope". Especially in rural areas, Muslim minorities, mainly Turks and Pomaks are generally the farmers of Xanthi Yaka.


Aerial view of a village in the region.


This is the general view of a village where tobacco growing is the major daily bread. Terracing the slope of the hills is the only solution.




Ploughing the tobacco field with a horse powered plough.




Pest control of the plants.




A general view of the country folk.




Sun curing the leaves.




Bailing and storage.




A garland of golden colored Xanthi Yaka.




And this is the traditional stone mill for grinding grains (in this photo this man is making corn flour). This type of mills were very common in the past, but they are not anymore.

 

[Knucklehead]

That is some beautiful country. I love the old town on the hill, it seems to be frozen in time. I really want to sun cure my Turkish varieties this year, where can I find the best information on this method? I want to cure the way they've cured these tobaccos in the countries where they originated.
My cousin has a grist mill that he made. He even made his own water wheel. The stones were taken from an abandoned mill from the 1800's owned by a family we've always known. I will have to take a picture and post it. I like the old ways.

 

[istanbulin]

... I really want to sun cure my Turkish varieties this year, where can I find the best information on this method?...

Most of the detailed informations are in foreign languages for you and are not available on the internet. You'll find the information on sun curing long before your harvest time, here in this forum I'll post a very detailed thread on this method.

 

[indianjoe]

Istanbulin,
are the Xanthi yaka leaves generally the size shown in the above pics?

 

[johnlee1933]

Any idea how the grain mill is powered? My grandfather had a water powered mill, my aunt an electric. -- John

 

[istanbulin]

Istanbulin,
are the Xanthi yaka leaves generally the size shown in the above pics?

Yes, this is the common size of the the Xanthi Yaka. (I can say that those leaves may be a little bit bigger ) As a basma type tobacco, Xanthi Yaka leaves' common sizes are 3 to 6.5 cm (1.2"-2.6") in lenght and 2.5 to 5.5 cm (1"-2.2") in width.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Thanks! I'll be growing this strain next season its good to know the size cause other wise I'd be wondering if I did something wrong

 

[istanbulin]

Thanks! I'll be growing this strain next season its good to know the size cause other wise I'd be wondering if I did something wrong

These are the sizes of a original grown Xanthi Yaka. Yours may be bigger, no problem, but try to make them not bigger than 6"-7" (green leaves). The smaller the better.

 

[deluxestogie]

When I planted Xanthi Yaka in 2011 with 2.5 sq. ft. per plant, the leaves averaged 8"x14". When I planted them in 2012 at 1 sq. ft. per plant (closer to traditional planting density) they averaged 7"x10", with many smaller leaves. These are the measurements of green leaf. After color cure, they are smaller. Those planted at the higher density (smaller leaves) were more typical of the traditional product in flavor and aroma, although the larger version was still quite nice, and more flavorful than my Smyrna #9 and Izmir Ozbas.

Bob

EDIT:

Xanthi Yaka 18a from 2012 crop.

 

[istanbulin]

Xanthi Yaka is a really good tobacco strain. It's more fragnant and sweeter than most of the Izmir varieties. But both of them have the same disadvantage of low combustibility. Actually this is not a problem for home growers, but it is for the cigarette companies.
Yours seem like air cured rather than sun-cured ?

 

[deluxestogie]

...low combustibility. Yours seem like air cured rather than sun-cured ?

The low combustibility of my Xanthi Yaka simply requires that it be blended. (My Izmir Ozbas burned adequately.) And yes, I air cure my Turkish varieties. The Xanthi Yaka will also (eventually) be kilned, which makes it thinner and somewhat oily. It retains its very light brown color. After that, I allow it to age in a humidor for at least a year. I use it almost exclusively as a ~10-20% component in pipe tobacco. The Xanthi aroma is noticeable at only 10%.

Bob

EDIT: You have a good eye, istanbulin!

 

[istanbulin]

Another photo : a tobacco field in front of a hut, on the background mountains of Xanthi.

I know that Xanthi Yaka's flowers are pinkish. But within the initial stage of seed formation, petals start to wilt. With the strongh sunlight in the summer they generally lost their color and seem whitish. When you look the petals at close range, you may some pinkish hues. But if you look at the whole field, it's not easy to differentiate that hues. As I know, this state is same with most of the tobacco strains. For example, in the middle of the harvest time, petals of the Izmir tobacco seem pure white (from a distance).


Another photo of a village in this region.

 

[leverhead]

Very rugged terrain! I can see where animals would have an advantage over tractors for cultivation. What's the weather like? Do they grow other crops on the same land or do they grow tobacco season after season?

 

[istanbulin]

...
EDIT: You have a good eye, istanbulin!

Yes, when I wear my glasses

 

[istanbulin]

Very rugged terrain! I can see where animals would have an advantage over tractors for cultivation. What's the weather like? Do they grow other crops on the same land or do they grow tobacco season after season?

I've never been in rural regions of Xanthi, but IMO the climate should be moderate. Again IMO, there should be fields near a watercourse where they can grow other crops like corn and some vegetables, growing wheat may be hard. These are my estimations according to my experiences because we have some regions like this. Hereby, tobacco fields and other crop fields are probably located in different areas.

 

[ne3go]

I've never travel to Xanthi too, so don't know exactly.I have friends who live in the city, so i know that the winter is very cold in the mountains (-20o C) with a lot of snow, and hot summers.

 

[istanbulin]

I've never travel to Xanthi too, so don't know exactly.I have friends who live in the city, so i know that the winter is very cold in the mountains (-20o C) with a lot of snow, and hot summers.

- 20 C, really ! This may be the lowest temp. in the middle of the winter. I think, I overlooked the altitude of that region

 

[ne3go]

The -20 C might be the lowest as you said, i know that that temperature is below zero a lot of time during the winter.

 

[istanbulin]

Photos in the first page disappeared. The site where I got URLs is now out of service, I wish I saved those photos. I'll try to find similar or same photos.

 

[POGreen]

Love your pics istanbulin !