This issue's cover depicts a scene of urban agriculture in Istanbul. Against the backdrop of the city's ancient walls, several garden plots can be seen. In the foreground, several diked garden beds await planting (this technique, of surrounding planting beds with earthen dikes to hold in water, is well-known to arid lands cultures around the globe). In the middle part of the scene, a gardener is working the ground while a large hose delivers water to his plot. Three people standing on the wall above watch the scene, perhaps waiting for a command to turn off the water.

The slide from which this image was scanned was taken by Paul Kaldjian. More images, and a preliminary report on his research concerning urban agriculture in Istanbul, are to be found in Paul's article for this issue of the Arid Lands Newsletter.