Ducks

It was not until 1967 that we discovered the paradise of duck hunting in Turkey. To encourage tourism, Turkey used to allow foreigners to hunt, bring in their shotgun and 500 shells per person. It did not get me too long to head to that hunter's paradise !

	Picture taken on the road from Lattakia (Syria) to Antakya (Turkey) in the Kassab Forest region (1969).
The only way to reach the village on the outskirts of the marsh, where we planned our duck hunting ! That was the safest road for the tractor to avoid being bogged-in !
	Raymond Najjar in his narrow embarcation, moving to his favourite hunting spot !
Jomaa (Friday) my man and rower helping me to show some of the bagged ducks. The others hanging on the trailer in the background.
	Our record day: George, Tony and myself, three guns, 254 ducks bagged in a single day !
Friday with a bunch of ducks and a Red-Crested Pochard, wings deployed.
	1972. Another big day. Ducks seen hanging on the trailer. 2 guns, 167 ducks bagged in one single day !
Raymond Najjar and Tony Allam my two inseparable hunting companions and best friends. 145 ducks bagged.

Every trip used to bring joy and excitement to that remote village in Turkey. It was like having a big event happening. All the villagers used to gather to welcome us and to say farewell to us on our departure. The nicest people we ever met !

For those interested in Ducks and Ornithology, here is the listing of the ducks we used to find with their names in English, French and arabic.