After 9 months of teaching in Ankara my time has come to an end and its been a fantastic experience.
I met some amazing people during my time there, students, colleagues and complete strangers. Turkish people are so welcoming and are willing to help you, whatever the problem. I had a few laughs with the problems with trying to learn the language, and unfortunately after my time there it didn't really improve as much as I had hoped, so during my time in the UK, I will study my Turkish language book ready for my return to Turkey in September.
I look back on my time here and I consider myself to be very lucky to be able to travel and meet so many wonderful people. I received such a welcome in Ankara, and made some good friends, who I am sure will remain friends for some time to come.
Something that struck me while I was in Ankara was how people stick together, and I saw evidence of that during some of the recent problems. One of my last classes I taught we talked about pride, and one of the students said 'I'm proud of my country, the people, the food and my football team.' I have to agree with the first three, but I'm not convinced by the fourth. Turkish people are very proud of their country and rightly so. Its a stunning country, and I am proud to have called it home for the last nine months. This isn't the end of my time here, as I plan to return to Turkey again in September, but I say goodbye to Ankara.
I will miss all my friends, thank you all for the welcome you gave me.
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Fish and Raki
I am always asked if I have tried certain food or drink in Turkey, and one comes up every time. 'Do you like Raki?'. My answer was always the same, 'No I don't like it.' The strong aniseed flavour is too much for me, and I remember the only time I drank it and I felt quite ill the morning after.
I was told by students I was drinking it all wrong, and I should drink it slowly (and don't drink any other alcohol with it) and its best with fish. I still wasn't convinced, so when I was asked to go for fish and Raki I was still a little unsure, but I was willing to give it a go and be proved wrong!
We went to a fantastic restaurant in the Tunali area of Ankara (http://www.marmarisbalikcisi.com/) and our Turkish friends ordered the food (and Raki).
We started off with some cheese, and the Raki was poured, it had to be mixed with just the right amount of water (and no ice), and you drink it slowly, with the food.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so have no photos of the Raki, but one of my friends took some photos of the meal.
The fish that had been ordered was Lagos (grouper), and was cooked in salt, it was brought to the table and set alight. Then the salt was chipped away before being served.
The fish tasted amazing and accompanied with salad and vegetables, it was a stunning meal, and yes I agree fish and Raki go well together.
We then had various fruit at the end of the meal which again was good with Raki, and then we finished the night with a Turkish coffee.
And the following morning?? I didn't feel like I had done previously when drinking Raki! I felt great!
I was told by students I was drinking it all wrong, and I should drink it slowly (and don't drink any other alcohol with it) and its best with fish. I still wasn't convinced, so when I was asked to go for fish and Raki I was still a little unsure, but I was willing to give it a go and be proved wrong!
We went to a fantastic restaurant in the Tunali area of Ankara (http://www.marmarisbalikcisi.com/) and our Turkish friends ordered the food (and Raki).
We started off with some cheese, and the Raki was poured, it had to be mixed with just the right amount of water (and no ice), and you drink it slowly, with the food.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so have no photos of the Raki, but one of my friends took some photos of the meal.
The fish that had been ordered was Lagos (grouper), and was cooked in salt, it was brought to the table and set alight. Then the salt was chipped away before being served.
The fish tasted amazing and accompanied with salad and vegetables, it was a stunning meal, and yes I agree fish and Raki go well together.
We then had various fruit at the end of the meal which again was good with Raki, and then we finished the night with a Turkish coffee.
And the following morning?? I didn't feel like I had done previously when drinking Raki! I felt great!
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Delicious food in Goreme
While we were in Cappadocia we visited the Old Cappadocia Restaurant in Goreme for an evening meal. We were tired after a long day and we came across the restaurant on the main street. The menu looked inviting.
I had heard about the wine from the Cappadocia region, so of course I had to give it a go, so I ordered a glass of white, and it was delicious, probably the best wine I have tasted during all of my visits to Turkey.
I ordered the Testi Kebab or Pottery Kebab, as this was a local dish I had seen and wanted to give it a try.
The waiter brought us some local 'flat' bread, and a small dish of oil and one of black pepper, and told us to dip the bread into the oil and then the pepper. It was really good.
Then the Testi Kebab arrived, it was served in a clay pot and arrived at the table on fire.
And if that wasn't dramatic enough the waiter brought a hammer, and broke open the pot. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of this as the fire, hammer and flying pottery was making me a little bit nervous, but once the top of the pot had been removed it revealed this:
Once the flames had died down, I was able to taste the meal, the taste lived up to the drama. It was a delicious casserole of chicken with vegetables in a tasty sauce, served with rice.
After another glass of wine we headed back to the hotel.
I had heard about the wine from the Cappadocia region, so of course I had to give it a go, so I ordered a glass of white, and it was delicious, probably the best wine I have tasted during all of my visits to Turkey.
I ordered the Testi Kebab or Pottery Kebab, as this was a local dish I had seen and wanted to give it a try.
The waiter brought us some local 'flat' bread, and a small dish of oil and one of black pepper, and told us to dip the bread into the oil and then the pepper. It was really good.
Then the Testi Kebab arrived, it was served in a clay pot and arrived at the table on fire.
And if that wasn't dramatic enough the waiter brought a hammer, and broke open the pot. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of this as the fire, hammer and flying pottery was making me a little bit nervous, but once the top of the pot had been removed it revealed this:
Once the flames had died down, I was able to taste the meal, the taste lived up to the drama. It was a delicious casserole of chicken with vegetables in a tasty sauce, served with rice.
After another glass of wine we headed back to the hotel.
Thursday, 17 April 2014
At the Market
One of the many great things about Turkey is the fresh fruit and vegetables, and its always an adventure to visit the local market every Friday for my supplies for the week, something I look forward to.
The stallholders are always welcoming, and try to teach me a little Turkish on each visit, and we always somehow manage to have a laugh and joke, usually because we can't understand each other!
The stalls always look colourful with all the different fruit and vegetables, sometimes when I don't know what something is they offer a piece for me to try, and see if I know what it is. Usually it doesn't help me much, but its always nice to try something new.
The stallholders are always welcoming, and try to teach me a little Turkish on each visit, and we always somehow manage to have a laugh and joke, usually because we can't understand each other!
The stalls always look colourful with all the different fruit and vegetables, sometimes when I don't know what something is they offer a piece for me to try, and see if I know what it is. Usually it doesn't help me much, but its always nice to try something new.
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| Always ready with a smile |
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| Always ready with a smile |
Monday, 7 April 2014
Cappadocia
As it gets closer to the end of my time here in Ankara, there are still a few places I want to visit, and Cappadocia was at the top of my list! I was lucky enough to visit there last week and it truly is a stunning place. I was very surprised to hear from the guide that there are not many visitors there from the UK!
Cappadocia is about 4 hours away from Ankara on the bus, and we took the bus to the town of Goreme at 1.30 am, which meant we arrived at 5.30am in time for the sunrise. The area was busy even at that time of the morning, as there are many hot air balloon companies which take tourists to see sunrise. Unfortunately this was too expensive for us teachers, so we watched the balloons from a nearby vantage point.
It was a fantastic sight, and obviously big business for the companies in Cappadocia. The busy tourist season is April, May and September, October. The summer is too hot for tourists to explore the area. We then walked down to our hotel to see if we could check in, and we were in luck. We checked into our cave room at www.http://cappadociaufukpension.com/ which was clean and comfortable, and went in the search for some breakfast.
We were all starting to run out of steam, as we had travelled overnight straight after work, so a strong coffee was in order, along with menemen (scrambled eggs with tomato and green pepper). After breakfast we went on a search for a tour and found one that was leaving at 9.30am that was visiting Derinkuyu underground city (which is the deepest of the 36 underground cities in Cappadocia), Ihlara Valley and Selime Monastery, along with a couple of other photo opportunity stops. I am not a fan of tours, I prefer to find my own way around and go to places I want to go to, so I found the day very restrictive, but we met some interesting people and got to see some great places.
The evening was spent having a relaxing meal, and drink Cappadocia wine, which was probably the nicest wine I have found so far in Turkey, but the meal will be a separate blog!
After our night in the cave room, we had a typical Turkish breakfast in the hotel, and walked up to the Goreme Open Air Museum.
Soon after it was time to say goodbye to Cappadocia, and I hope to visit again. There is so much to see and do and two days are definitely not enough!
Cappadocia is about 4 hours away from Ankara on the bus, and we took the bus to the town of Goreme at 1.30 am, which meant we arrived at 5.30am in time for the sunrise. The area was busy even at that time of the morning, as there are many hot air balloon companies which take tourists to see sunrise. Unfortunately this was too expensive for us teachers, so we watched the balloons from a nearby vantage point.
It was a fantastic sight, and obviously big business for the companies in Cappadocia. The busy tourist season is April, May and September, October. The summer is too hot for tourists to explore the area. We then walked down to our hotel to see if we could check in, and we were in luck. We checked into our cave room at www.http://cappadociaufukpension.com/ which was clean and comfortable, and went in the search for some breakfast.
We were all starting to run out of steam, as we had travelled overnight straight after work, so a strong coffee was in order, along with menemen (scrambled eggs with tomato and green pepper). After breakfast we went on a search for a tour and found one that was leaving at 9.30am that was visiting Derinkuyu underground city (which is the deepest of the 36 underground cities in Cappadocia), Ihlara Valley and Selime Monastery, along with a couple of other photo opportunity stops. I am not a fan of tours, I prefer to find my own way around and go to places I want to go to, so I found the day very restrictive, but we met some interesting people and got to see some great places.
The evening was spent having a relaxing meal, and drink Cappadocia wine, which was probably the nicest wine I have found so far in Turkey, but the meal will be a separate blog!
After our night in the cave room, we had a typical Turkish breakfast in the hotel, and walked up to the Goreme Open Air Museum.
Soon after it was time to say goodbye to Cappadocia, and I hope to visit again. There is so much to see and do and two days are definitely not enough!
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Turkish Food - Cig Kofte
I was asked the other week by a student if I had tried cig kofte, and I said I hadn't. It was something she had told me that I must try when I first arrived in Turkey, so I think she was disappointed in me.
My lesson continued, and a little bit later there was a knock on the door, and it was a delivery of cig kofte from the takeaway a few doors away from the school. During their break the students had been and ordered some for me so I could finally try it.
Cig kofte is traditionally made from raw meat, but due to hygiene regulations the local takeaways are no longer allowed to use the raw meat and the cig kofte is now meatless unless you make it yourself at home. It is now made from Bulgar wheat, nuts and spices.
The students know I enjoy spicy food, and its a good job, because this was very spicy, and so much flavour. It is a popular street food and there are many places that you can get it. As a street food it is common to eat it wrapped in a durum wrap and it only costs a couple of lira. Another way to eat cig kofte is wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
I have tried both ways and I have to say I prefer it in a durum, with lettuce and pomegranate sauce, with some pickles on the side. I think I am hooked!
My lesson continued, and a little bit later there was a knock on the door, and it was a delivery of cig kofte from the takeaway a few doors away from the school. During their break the students had been and ordered some for me so I could finally try it.
Cig kofte is traditionally made from raw meat, but due to hygiene regulations the local takeaways are no longer allowed to use the raw meat and the cig kofte is now meatless unless you make it yourself at home. It is now made from Bulgar wheat, nuts and spices.
The students know I enjoy spicy food, and its a good job, because this was very spicy, and so much flavour. It is a popular street food and there are many places that you can get it. As a street food it is common to eat it wrapped in a durum wrap and it only costs a couple of lira. Another way to eat cig kofte is wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
I have tried both ways and I have to say I prefer it in a durum, with lettuce and pomegranate sauce, with some pickles on the side. I think I am hooked!
Saturday, 1 March 2014
St David's Day
As I am currently living in Turkey, I usually write about living in Turkey. But I am a Welshy and today is St David's Day, so my thoughts go back to my homeland.
I am from North Wales, which is a beautiful part of the world. I often look through my photographs of the homeland, so I thought I would share some photographs of the place I call home.
Happy St David's Day to you all.
I am from North Wales, which is a beautiful part of the world. I often look through my photographs of the homeland, so I thought I would share some photographs of the place I call home.
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| Colwyn Bay pier - A big part of Colwyn Bay history in danger of being lost forever as it looks like it will be taken down |
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| Conwy and the castle |
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| Snowdonia |
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| Abersoch |
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| Aberdaron |
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| Llandudno |
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| Betws y Coed |
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