"I found my thrill… On Blueberry Hill… The moon stood still… On Blueberry Hill… And lingered until… My dream came true."

Care for some sweet scoops of blueberry delight and wine?

It's raining. It's blueberry season. The white, pink and violet bell-shaped blueberry flowers are in full bloom now. Some of the green berries are beginning to ripen and it's a fine time to go picking blueberries. The harvest season is here. Come away to a place where wild blueberries grow in abundance. Here in Asia, some of the best blueberries are found in Turkey. The Turkish call it yaban mersini.

While the country is known for high-quality fruit production, its northern part is known for some of the best blueberries in the world. Caucasian whortleberry, bog whortleberry, bog blueberry, bilberry and bog bilberry grow naturally in this region. This well forested region, including Istanbul, is blessed with rainy weather and naturally acidic soils suitable for blueberry clutivation. The country's blueberry production is estimated at 5000 tonnes.

The fruit is processed into jelly and jam by the Turkish farmers in small-scale for local consumption. Despite its humble production compared to other berries like strawberry and mulberry, in view of its unique and rich variety that is found in this region alone, the country started Its commercial production in the year 2000.

Today, blueberry from Turkey is gaining popularity worldwide. The exotic variety of blueberry grown here are a must have while you are in this splendid city of the old charm and rich culture. Go feasting blueberry. Try the different cuisines prepared with a dash of blueberry, the sauce and the beautifully crushed wine.

Visit the fruit farms and berry orchards in vast acres of wild land. Osman Nuri Yildiz is said to have set up the first commercial blueberry orchard under the supervision of Dr Huseyn Celik, the founder of Turkish blueberry cultivation.

Try your hand at picking and crushing the berries to make jam or wine. Spoil yourself to the delight of eating fresh berries. And, you can bring home some.