There are still some cultures that are not a familiar territory to me and Turkey was one of them. I know that from history, this country has been mentioned extensively along with other Middle Eastern countries as one of the cradles of civilization but I don't know anything about the country, the people and its culture. This is a good eye opener to me.
The last time I remember about Turkey was when we were in Southern Greece, we were contemplating on heading over the island of Rhodes then head over to Turkey. We just decided to stay in Crete and went back to Italy. Also, the press made a big deal that JFK Jr. and his wife chose Turkey to spend their honeymoon. I guess they find it too exotic. Another time was an episode of Amazing Race where a contestant were riding on a polished metro and was astonished to realize that Istanbul is such a cosmopolitan city.
Follow me through my journey to an AHA! moment:
FOOD
You have to be there to savor all the smell of meat on the grill. Oh, its heavenly! Sorry vegans, its true!
The lines on the food stalls are sooo long, I was waiting for my turn for more than half an hour under the blazing sun. People are buying in bulk, the demand is more than they can grill. I hope they can be more organized next time.
The meat gets rolled out with the veggies and spices. Yum!
A thing of beauty...sigh!
Every culture has there version of dumplings.
Those were so crunchy, tasted like almonds with honey and sesame seeds.
CULTURE
Hookah (Nargiles) for sale.
We left a couple of hours earlier, I am eager to go somewhere cooler. On the brochure, there is something that I missed and regretted it. Turkish Oil Wrestling.
* photo credit: NYC (heart) NYC
How can I miss this? Well built guys slathered in olive oil and wrestling. I wont miss this for the world next time.
If given a chance to see Turkey, I am hopping on the first plane out. I promise!
The last time I remember about Turkey was when we were in Southern Greece, we were contemplating on heading over the island of Rhodes then head over to Turkey. We just decided to stay in Crete and went back to Italy. Also, the press made a big deal that JFK Jr. and his wife chose Turkey to spend their honeymoon. I guess they find it too exotic. Another time was an episode of Amazing Race where a contestant were riding on a polished metro and was astonished to realize that Istanbul is such a cosmopolitan city.
Follow me through my journey to an AHA! moment:
FOOD
You have to be there to savor all the smell of meat on the grill. Oh, its heavenly! Sorry vegans, its true!
The lines on the food stalls are sooo long, I was waiting for my turn for more than half an hour under the blazing sun. People are buying in bulk, the demand is more than they can grill. I hope they can be more organized next time.
The meat gets rolled out with the veggies and spices. Yum! A thing of beauty...sigh! Every culture has there version of dumplings.
Or pizza, they warned me that its very spicy.
Those were so crunchy, tasted like almonds with honey and sesame seeds.
CULTURE
Even on the hottest day, I still insisted on drinking coffee. I was curious to taste one since the preparation is so painstaking. The coffee is boiled on that copper cup and the lady takes a teaspoon to transfer the coffee to the cup, one teaspoon at a time from the top. I guess its an equivalent of having coffee from a french press, avoding the grounded particles.
Look at the small cups, she then puts cream and sugar. It was surprisingly good. It helped that she gave me some gelatinous sweets that compliment the drink.
Hookah (Nargiles) for sale.
We left a couple of hours earlier, I am eager to go somewhere cooler. On the brochure, there is something that I missed and regretted it. Turkish Oil Wrestling.
* photo credit: NYC (heart) NYCHow can I miss this? Well built guys slathered in olive oil and wrestling. I wont miss this for the world next time.
If given a chance to see Turkey, I am hopping on the first plane out. I promise!
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