Thursday, 7 November
Alsancak, İzmİr — Turkey
Most of my last week with the family is over. Come Monday, I’ll be winging my way to İstanbul to join Mui. But no sense in rushing these last few days in İzmir.
Before I get to the topic of this post … a few quick words about the past three days … because I know I am going to look back someday and wonder what I did to occupy myself on those days!
Monday … Aylin’s mother- and sister-in-law — Melek Hanım and Özen — took us three ladies out to lunch. Their restaurant of choice was Café La Cigale, a lovely little place on the grounds of the French Cultural Center. I believe everyone was pleased with what they ordered; I know that my Perch Schnitzel was really good. And we all enjoyed splitting the Chocolate Volcano we ordered — and then ordered again, because it was just that good ;-)
Tuesday and Wednesday … nothing earth shattering; spent the day doing chores at home.
A shy Syrian Woodpecker at KültürPark.
On to today … Aylin and I left early to go to the exhibit hall in Kültürpark [kültür = culture] to check out the traveling version of the Human Body Exhibit. We arrived just as the doors were opening — and so did two busloads of school kids, with another one pulling into the parking lot. No can do.
Rethinking our plans, we decided to go to three smaller exhibits — two in the park; and one on Kordon, the waterfront promenade. I’ll just let the images do the talking …
Marble Sculptures — from the International Marble Fair …
The works of Turkish and international artists line both sides of the reflecting pool leading to the Museum of Art and History, near Kültürpark’s Lozan Gate. No admission charged.
 |  |
 |  |
Resim ve Heykel Müzesi [Art and Sculpture Museum] …
Has been exhibiting paintings, pottery, and sculptures — primarily the works of Turkish artists — since 1950. Near Kültürpark’s Lozan Gate; no admission charged. The name of the artist is listed in the caption of each of the images.
Fİlİz Pelİt
[collage of the painting and detail shots]
Yıldanur Ketencİ — İskelede (At the Pier)
 |  |
Oktay Değİrmencİ | Nuray Tümer |
Peruze Yİğİt
 |  |
Gülümser Aydemİr | Mehmet BoztaŞ |
Enİs AktaŞ
Ferİha Dağli
Arkas Sanat Merkezi [Arkas Art Center] …
Is in the building that’s been serving as the French Honorary Consulate since 1875. Located on Kordon, the waterfront promenade. The building was assigned to Arkas Holding by the French Government for a period of 20 years to be used for cultural and artistic purposes. No admission charged; but you must ring the doorbell for access, and must present a photo ID to the security guard.
In service as the French Honorary Consulate since 1875,
the building currently houses the Arkas Art Center.
[Courtesy of the center’s website]
The particular exhibit we went to see was a collection of photographs, gravures, maps, and documents about 18th and 19th century İzmir through the eyes of the west. The center’s website describes the exhibit …
With the help of the narratives of Western travelers who visited İzmir in the 18th and 19th centuries, this exhibition presents an opportunity to see the city—which used to be one of the most important centers of trade, diplomacy and culture of the Ottoman Empire—from another perspective.
With its deeply rooted history, the vividness and the richness created by the coming together of different cultures, İzmir has attracted the attention of many travelers on their journeys to the east and has thus become the subject of many works. The exhibition presents the viewers with a journey of İzmir from the perspectives of travelers, who, in 18th and 19th centuries set off from Marseille—the most important port of the Western Mediterranean—and reached İzmir via the sea. It provides a reflection of İzmir of the past, in the light of travel books, photographs, etchings, paintings in addition to documents about trade, population and social life from the era.
The bad news is that photography wasn’t allowed, so you’ll just have to take my word that it was very interesting. Of course, I’ll admit to some bias since I grew up in the city ;-) If you’re interested, you can take a 3-D tour of the exhibit by clicking here.
[collage from brochure photos]
We wrapped up our outing with lunch at Ayşa — but this time Aylin took me to the eatery in Alsancak. Designed as a quick in-and-out place where people working in the 
Sharing a table with a couple sitting at a four-top, we ordered kurufasülye, a traditional Turkish dish made with dry white beans — sort of a stew that can be made with or without chunks of beef, and served sometimes over rice. Personally, I like mom’s recipe best — she adds a few rings of sweet green peppers to enhance the taste — but there are many others available on the net. Click the photo for one such recipe — I picked this one because the name of the blog — A hungry Bear Won’t Dance — is a direct translation of a Turkish saying … aç ayı oynamaz … meaning you’ve got to feed the beast if you want it to perform. Applies to humans as well :-))
A variety of desserts were available at Ayşa, but we opted to skip a sweet treat. Instead, from the bakery down the street, we picked up some goodies and returned home to have afternoon tea with mom on her terrace.
