All posts filed under: Turkey

edirne

Weekend Break in Edirne: Food, Horses and Arda Winery

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Hubby and I visited Edirne over the Easter weekend and came home with enough wine and cheese. It was a breeze to drive there from Canakkale and I’ve found some foodie secrets. But before food, let’s get over and done with the much-talked-about sight, Selimiye Mosque. There are three mosques surrounding the main square including Üç Şerefeli(three balconies) Mosque with three minarets in a unique Seljuk style. Selimiye Mosque… commissioned by Selim the Drunkard, is the magnificent masterpiece of Mimar Sinan. Yes, it was grand and different in style, the most distinctive feature being the 8 pillars, instead of the usual 4, supporting the gigantic dome, which surpassed that of Hagia Sophia in the diameter. Sadly, my food lens failed to take it all in. One of many myths about the mosque is the reversed tulip carved on one of the marble stands, and if you’re curious, look for it while admiring the intricate paintings and motifs. Another myth is that when you first arrive in the city from the Istanbul direction, you can only see two minarets(towers) and all four become visible as you …

Antakya Food Trip – I love Antakya!

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Here you go the second part of my Antakya food trip, where I got deeper into the town and food, but no luck with museums and churches. We got up the next day to find out that the archeological museum was closed along with all other museums… Yes, usually museums are closed on Mondays in Turkey and I knew that part, however, I was sure that I’d read ‘Closed on Sundays’ on the museum site. Was I dreaming? So disappointed at the finding and so annoyed by the cold weather, I lost my appetite for food. Take a deep breath…..calm down… Only the fact that the museum was under refurbishment in a new location and currently only half of the site is available to the public made me feel a little better. Alright, then, let’s just eat whatever we come across. I definitely needed food to cheer me up. The cheese bread just outside the hotel was so so good, reminding us a bit of Georgian cheese bread. You must try it when you’re in …

kunefe

Antakya(Hatay) Food Trip – Künefe Secret

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I’m writing this while munching on za’atar chips I made using the spices I brought from Antakya in Hatay province in the south of Turkey near the Syrian border. Mr.O and I were not sure where we were going right up to the moment we landed at Hatay airport, me going “I wanted to go to Antakya, not Hatay, because there’s no food except Kunefe in Hatay!” and Mr.O going “You booked the ticket, not me, well, we are here now, so….” We totally sound like two naive tourists, don’t we? In our defense, the name of the city is quite confusing as is the history of this city, which is better known as ‘Antioch‘ by many, especially Christian pilgrims. There is even a Korean protestant church there, which was founded in 2000, and Mr.O said, “Let’s visit and say hi to practice my Korean!”, but we didn’t go. All I want was food. I couldn’t shake off the guilt for having convinced Mr.O to come with me by saying that the weather forecast said …

safranbolu

Safranbolu, Amasra..and Beautiful Autumn colours

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I know there are hundreds of photos of the traditional Ottoman houses but I’ll still add mine because one never gets tired of looking at these timeless houses with unique characteristics. Mr.O took me around to secret spots where he sat drinking coffee and reading books. He knew this village like the back of his hand, having come here on weekends during the compulsory military service while other soldiers went to the new town for more fun. Nowadays, Korean tourists seem to be everywhere, leaving their traces here and there, a hand-written sign board or message in Korean inviting tourists to certain shops and restaurants for example. Words travel fast in Turkey and when we were going to Sanfranbolu, Mr.O’s ex-commander’s daughter joined us with her friend, who was a huge fan of Korean TV and culture. They study at the local university and I happened to be there. They took us to their favourite cafe, Kuru Kahveci, for the best Turkish coffee as they claimed, but it was closed so we went to Sade …

Autumn Spirits in Safranbolu

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I couldn’t think of the best way to break the two-month long silence on my blog… I am sure that all of you had assumed that something might have happened or I’d been busy. Yes, both. I concentrated on finishing the book and there was an overseas trip to Korea for 3 weeks, regarding work as well as my love life; a Turkish man goes to meet a Korean family for the first time. I’ll try to share some of the most interesting stories in the next posts to come. Now the book’s been handed in but the anxiety is still there; I thought I was not going to make it to the deadline. So after all the past stress, I will try to relax till the end of the year, instead of cooking and taking photos crazily, to stay focused on what is the most important. Nature, natural, neutral…. Had I known earlier that Turkey has this kind of landscape to offer… Last week, right after Mr.O and I came back from Korea, we …