Exploring the culture, history, and cuisine of Turkey through the eyes of not-just-another-tourist
Today is Memorial Day, a U.S. holiday devoted to celebrating those men and women who fought for our country and lost their lives in doing so. My Dad's "Uncle Pete", Private First Class Walter J. Archer, was one of them. He fought in WWII and was killed in action on November 13, 1944 in Italy. He was... Continue Reading →
Most of us have at least one good friend. Many of us have lots of friends. Some we are close with and some we don't know well. Some come and go and some last a life time. But do you remember ever wanting to have a pen pal? A friend who you would likely never... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, as part of a day full of various "events" in a smallish group setting, I heard a female Imam speak. It followed prayers, as last evening was a Muslim holy day. I couldn't see her directly, and eventually left the room since I couldn't understand what she was saying. She appeared to be very... Continue Reading →
As Spring turns to Summer, we bloggers sometimes have trouble keeping our pages full and our readers engaged. It's not that there is less to write about in Summer. Quite the opposite, we find our days absorbed with fun-filled activity and sometimes, with pure sun-filled laziness. I don't want to bore and lose my readers... Continue Reading →
May 19th is an official holiday in Turkey. No, they don't celebrate Malcolm X's birthday! The date is officially dubbed, "Youth and Sports Day." More importantly, May 19th is the day that Mustafa Kemal (a.k.a. Atatürk, founding father of modern Turkey) landed at Samsun, which is regarded as the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence. This year's celebration... Continue Reading →
Who would have thought that one could find a place like this in the middle of Ankara, a city with a population of over 4 million? So green! Filled with flora and fauna! A perfect place to take a nice quiet stroll in the evening. Can you guess where it is?
Two weeks have passed since our big adventure. I have finally come down from the high of a fantastic weekend. And so we bring this series to a close with photos of our trek with Bougainville Travel, across the Lycian Way at Patara. You can read more about the history of the Lycian Way -... Continue Reading →
Adventures in Ankara welcomes guest blogger, Emma Stone. Emma is a travel ‘fundi’ who spent a year back-packing in Nepal. She is based in London and writes about finding budget holidays in unusual places. Ankara is an exciting city to visit if you’re interested in Turkey’s ancient history. It has many examples of traditional architecture, completed... Continue Reading →
You know, I've been writing the series about my weekend adventure. Last night, as I was contemplating how I would end the story with one day left to go, Warren Zevon popped into my head. Excitable Girl, they all said, excitable girl. It's true. I'm easily excited. I love taking in life. When I went... Continue Reading →
Our story continues from our day of kayaking. You will recall that our group had piled into the minivan, worn and tired and happy from our day on the sea. The van gently rocked us into deep reflection as we nodded off to sleep. Suddenly, the van stopped abruptly and I saw a police car... Continue Reading →
For those of you who have been following Terry & Baris' Big Weekend Adventure in Kaş, you will remember that we left you with a bit of a cliffhanger: Lunch was the perfect end to a perfect afternoon. On the ride back, the group was happy, calm, and tired. I couldn’t wait to get back to... Continue Reading →
Recently, my husband and I decided to get a quick and cheap dinner in our neighborhood. We chose a restaurant that specialized in home cooking. Our decision was based on two facts: it was a new place we hadn't tried and it had lots of side dishes on the menu. I was craving vegetables. The... Continue Reading →
Since I was 6 years old, I have always lived on streets where folks must parallel park their vehicles. My father was a truck driver and two brothers followed in that line of work. So when it came time to learn to drive, believe me, I knew I had better learn to parallel park or... Continue Reading →
Musings of a Philadelphia lawyer - who married a Turk, quit her day job, and set out for adventure!
-by Terry Henson Kaymak
Adventures in Ankara 