Air from beehives comforts patients in Turkey

At his farm tucked away in an idyllic valley near the Aegean Sea, beekeeper Huseyin Ceylan helps people recover from ailments by having them inhale air from hives.

Ceylan says people come regularly in late spring to Karaburun, in Turkey's Aegean coastal province of Izmir, mainly to supplement conventional treatment with traditional "apitherapy," a term derived from the Greek for bees.

Guests tend to stay several days in cabins in lush greenery, inhaling air from beehives for up to three hours a day, which Ceylan says helps with issues from allergies to migraines.

The government does not officially recognise the therapy though it is practiced by many other beekeepers round Turkey as well as in other countries including Germany and Russia.

Ceylan, who comes from a family of beekeepers and studied agriculture, started his bee farm in Karaburun 30 years ago. He has lobbied for years for the sector to be accepted, conducting research and presenting findings to officials.

"We are not against what we call Western medicine. After all, it is also very important too," he said, adding that his method goes hand-in-hand with conventional treatment.

"I have been doing this for fifteen years, trying to bring this into medicine."

CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA

Ulku Ozman, 69, decided to try the therapy method after a friend suggested it when several surgeries and frequent use of medicines weakened her immune system.

In her nearly week-long visit, Ozman and others enter a cabin where ventilators connected to beehives deliver air.

Each session lasts 45 minutes, with participants moving every 15 minutes to breathe from three different beehives, each with a different smell. Guests pay around 5,000 lira ($128) per day for the treatment plus accommodation and food.

Seated across from the beehives with ventilators on their faces, the guests take deep breaths.

Senay Ilham, 68, has breast cancer that metastasized to her spine but is in remission after receiving conventional treatment.

"This smell seems familiar. It's like it is (coming) from my childhood," she said, recalling being stung by bees while playing outside as children with beekeepers working nearby.

"(The beehive air) always brings me a breeze from these things. It relaxes me both psychologically and physically."