Chiiz Volume 7 :Fashion Photography

use of Turkish tobacco. The location of the
Hatay province on Turkey’s Mediterranean
coast is particularly suited to favour the
growth of this crop. Interestingly, Hatay
was historically a part of Syria; but with
European interference (in the form of
French colonialism and the failing League of
Nations), the native Turks in Hatay initiated
reforms to unite with Turkey as part of an
elaborate anti-Hitler alliance in 1939.
On a more health-conscious note, the Turkish
fare of tobacco is significantly milder than
other varieties and consequently, contains
less nicotine and fewer carcinogens. Most
cigarettes now are primarily blended, but
all of them incorporate the use of Turkish
tobacco in some way or another.
Harvesting tobacco in Hatay has been honed
for generations. The process is laborious at
best and downright torturous at worst. The
men and women painstakingly pick, cut and
cure the crop to meet the standards their
produce is known for. Tobacco harvesting,
like tea, requires a lot of patience and a lot
of attention to detail; and maybe that is why
much of it isn’t automated or mechanicallyassisted,
because machinery cannot possibly
emulate the skill and dexterity of these
farmers, at least not at this point in history.
Incidentally, in Hatay, there are two ways to
go about harvesting their prized crop. The
first, aptly named “priming”, as it entails
selectively picking individual leaves as they
come into their prime. About five to six
pickings are harvested during five to tenday
intervals. The leaves are then carefully
strung on specifically designed sticks or
handled loosely in bulks and is then taken
for curing. This method of harvesting
results in a higher total yield than the other
method, and thus it is primarily used in the
production of flue- cured tobacco, shadegrown
cigar wrappers and several other
cigar-specific tobacco types.
The other method of harvesting, stalkcutting,
is done by, well, cutting the stalk at
the base. The tobacco farmers skilfully split
the stalks in half to hasten the process of
drying and to facilitate their placement on
wooden stands for curing.
For those who aren’t well versed in the jargon
of the tobacco industry, which again is
admittedly, most of us, curing is the process
of drying, chlorophyll decomposition and
other natural chemical changes in the
composition of the tobacco that produces
the desired flavour. Curing is integral to
tobacco production and is often the sole
determinant when it comes to identifying
the quality of the produce.
Turkish tobacco is famously air- cured. The
farmers in Yayladagi cure their produce
for four to eight weeks before they are
shipped to manufacturers. This type of
curing incorporates the use of sunlight as
the primary catalyst in the early stages. This
results in a lighter colour and an overall
milder tobacco.
Sometimes it is difficult to come to terms
with the fact that most of the work that is
done around the world, no matter how
glorified (or vilified), ultimately amounts to
nothing in the grand scheme of things. And
this can be exemplified by all the week’s and
month’s worth of hard work that goes into
something that eventually goes up in flames.
All that remains of the tobacco farmer’s hard
work is the cigarette butt discarded without
a second thought and the occasional
cough or wheeze by a passer-by. There is,
however, an important takeaway from this:
the tobacco farmer labours on tirelessly
expecting not to be credited or even thought
of when consuming something he or she
helped make. Everyone that is a part of
civilization has a role to play in it, it may
not be significant, or large or both, but it
is a role nonetheless. And for the people of
Yayladagi, it is sustaining the dregs of the
20th century’s last great addiction.
Shreeja Chatterjee
shreeja@chiiz.com
Shreeja Chatterjee is currently an
undergraduate student of English
Literature. She sees herself as an intrepid
Ad mogul, akin to Don Draper, in the near
future. Decidedly a pop culture addict, she
has to watch two movies a day to get her
bearings.
Laying DeathBed
NIKON D610 85mm F/8 1/400s ISO-160
Honest Efforts
NIKON D610 85mm F/2.2 1/2000s ISO-100
Not Just Cabbages
NIKON D610 85mm F/2.2 1/1000s ISO100