It’s All About Food

Monday, 15 August 2016
Alsancak, İzmİr  — Turkey
Temps: Hi 92F (33C) / Lo 72F (22C)

It’s been two weeks since I left Mui in Eskişehir with his mom and sister, and returned to İzmir to spend time with my mom and sister.

Truth be told, we haven’t done much outside the house.  With the temps ranging from 96F to 102F (36C to 39C) it’s been much too hot to spend time outdoors.  That changed a bit this weekend … a cold(ish) front came through, dropping the temps down a bit.  Not for long, I’m sure, but we’re delighted to get a respite from the overwhelming heat.

Looking back on what we did do, however, everything revolved around food in one form or another.  Make sure you’ve already eaten before you proceed with browsing through this post :-)

We wrap up lunch at B’ready with a yummy double-chocolate brownie and uniquely presented, refreshing sour cherry iced tea.

Breakfast in Turkey is like no other anywhere else in the world.  It’s a feast that consists of a selection of small dishes shared family-style.  These breakfasts are known as serpme, a word that essentially means “sprinkled” … an appropriate description for the way the tapas-like dishes are sprinkled around the table.  Add to these dishes things like cream and honey, cooked-to-order eggs, sucuk [Turkish sausage], fresh breads and pastries, and gözleme [a type of flatbread filled with various savory toppings] … well you can understand why I describe breakfasts in Turkey as a feast.

Breakfast at Turkuaz Café in Ildır on a lovely Saturday morning.

An outing to Urla this past Saturday held a surprise in store for us — a harvest festival.  The town square was filled with kiosks where locals were selling goods ranging from handcrafted items and throw rugs to fresh-from-the-field produce.  After wandering around and buying some produce to take home with us, we wrapped up our outing with lunch at a small eatery that serves food cooked home-style.

Meatballs in a tangy broth at Ömre Bedel Yemekler [roughly “Food Worth Your Life”].

One last meal worthy of a mention in this post … an early dinner at Veli Usta Balık Pişiricisi [fish restaurant].  While we all enjoy the fish dishes on offer at this restaurant, we tend to order a variety of meze [Turkish tapas] instead … that’s what happened again this time.

Left: Murat’s plate with [clockwise from the left] sun-dried mackerel; purslane and
yogurt salad; octopus; roasted eggplant dip; a typical Cretan dip made with cheese, pine
nuts, olive oil, and garlic; marinated perch; and shredded carrots.  All yum-yum good.

Right: grilled calamari rings … much tastier (not to mention healthier) than deep fried.

I think I made your mouth water enough, don’t you think ;-)

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

İğne Oyası

Ildir — İzmİr, Turkey (October 2012)

[iğne oyası (needle lace) is a type of crochet work used to make doilies and
decorative trims for kerchiefs, amongst other things.]

Ildır & Çeşme … Coastal Towns

Sunday, 7 October

Another beautiful fall day … plenty of sunshine and blue skies … which we took advantage of by going on a day trip.  After breakfast on mom’s terrace — she made dollar pancakes — we headed west.  First stop was Ildır … to wander around and pick up a loaf or two of farm-style bread; and then to Çeşme … to wander around and have afternoon tea.

A 120-mile (193 km) round trip drive takes us to coastal towns on the Aegean.

Can’t resist checking out a roadside stand for fresh produce … and melons.

Of the two towns we visited, Ildır (aka Ildırı) was a first for me — at least as an adult; if I went there as a child, I don’t remember it.  Overlooking a bay by the same name, it’s a small town that is relatively unspoiled by tourism.  After parking the car, we wandered along the main drag, checking out the stalls set up by the locals; stopping frequently to smell the colorful flowers, we strolled some of the narrow, meandering roads leading to the waterfront; and we briefly explored a nearby city of antiquity.

The only flower I remember the name of is the bougainvillea (left).

Murat catches the photographer eyeing some ...

... marigolds in tin cans, ready to be taken home and planted in a garden.

Locals have set up sidewalk stalls where they sell olive oil, homemade jams, crafts, etc.
[you can see a detail shot of one of the popular crafts in my viewfinder blog]

"Arkadaṣ" (friend) is in need of some tender loving care.

“Erythrai” is one of several ancient Ionian cities in the area.
The theater was built in the first half of the 3rd Century BC.
Excavation work resumed in 2006; there’s a lot of work to be done.

From Ildır, we followed the coastal road to a small hilltop café to check out the scenery and have some refreshments.

Murat and his swim teammates practice their strokes in these waters.

While we all split a "gözleme" ( a traditional Turkish savoury), Murat’s beverage
of choice is a cup of strong Turkish coffee.

Turkish coffee lends itself well to the art of “kahve falı,” a form of fortune telling
using the coffee grounds left in the bottom of the cup.  The coin placed on the
Upended cup is said to help cool the grounds faster and also dispel any bad omens.

En route to Çeşme, we drove along the public beach in Ilıca.  Having spent many of my summer weekends as a child here, I couldn’t pass up a few photo ops.

Palm trees, blue skies, turquoise waters, and white sand = a beautiful beach.

Doesn’t look like a fall day at all!

The sailboats are preparing for a regatta.

those umbrellas sure would provide welcome shade on a hot summer day.

Finally, we arrived in the town of Çeşme.  Instead of doing what we usually do — wander in town and visit the fortress (last year’s post covers just that), we drove to an estate across the bay that has become quite the tourist attraction.

A saltwater aquarium “wall” attracts visitors from all over;
unfortunately there is too much glare to get a good picture.

The aquarium is filled with local fish, as well as a couple of eels and octopi.

Left: Sure am glad that’s only my reflection the octopus is clinging to!
Right: some of the landscaping around the estate.

Left: I’m charmed by the old wagon wheels embedded in the retaining wall.
Right: Nice view of the town from the grounds of the estate.

A closer look at the view reveals the new cruise ship pier and marina,
and the walls of the old fortress beyond.

We wrapped up our day by having tea at a small seaside café in town … and then it was back to İzmir for a quiet evening at home.