Exploring the culture, history, and cuisine of Turkey through the eyes of not-just-another-tourist
Bahçelievler means houses with gardens. What a lovely name for a neighborhood. I never really visited it much when I lived in Ankara other than visits to the hospital, an antique store, and visits to Anitkabir (the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk). According to Wikipedia, Bahcelievler was known in the 1970s as a battleground for... Continue Reading →
A big congratulations to our friend Ozlem at Ozlem's Turkish Table. She has published her first cookbook and I can't wait to read it! I just finished ordering my copy. Yes, she ships to the US! Ozlem's blog has been my go-to for Turkish cooking. Why just this past weekend I paid her blog a... Continue Reading →
I haven't yet read the book, Turkey Street: Jack and Liam move to Bodrum," but I am really looking forward to it! Congrats Jack! You are an inspiration for me as a fellow blogger, and for gay men and women everywhere! Here's a blurb about the book: Six months into their Turkish affair, Jack and... Continue Reading →
Ankara boasts a rather large antique bazaar. It travels around the city and lands in my neighborhood, Asagi Ayranci, on the first Sunday of every month. I mentioned it briefly in an earlier post, "Junking," where I claimed it's "not that big." Well, I am not sure if my perception has changed or the pazar... Continue Reading →
UPDATE: Bookish has closed. Homer Kitabevi, Bestekar Sok. 35 (between Tunali and Tunus) is a quaint little bookstore with a big English selection - especially for kids. D&R is a bigger chain store with a location on Tunali and also in many malls.) A couple of weeks ago, I was strolling home from Gaziosmanpaşa (GOP)... Continue Reading →
Day 2 of our trip to Çanakkale started with a trip from Bursa to Troy. Although I had read that Troy wasn't much to see, I was really looking forward to it. I tried hard to remember which high school teacher had forced me to read Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey to no avail. On this... Continue Reading →
I would like to introduce to you a new friend, Alan Fenn. Alan is a "virtual friend." One of those to whom I referred on a previous blog - one I have never met but highly revere. In my mind, Alan is many things; an author, a blogger, a political virtuoso, lover of flora... 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 →
This is a photo I took on a recent trip to Kaş. It was taken from a moving vehicle and through a very dusty window. On our daily adventures we often traveled by minibus. We saw goats everywhere walking along the hillsides. There were several large groups of goats. Once our vehicle had to stop while... Continue Reading →
. . . I have been trying out some new gadgets and different types of posts on my blog. For instance, there is a new "Goodreads" widget on the right side of the blog. That connects you, my readers, with books I have read. If you click on it, you will see what I am currently... Continue Reading →
You may remember a little while back that I wrote about my new friend, Jack Scott, author of the blog, Perking the Pansies. He had written a book by the same name. Jack was kind enough to share a copy with me. I am only about half way through it - but I have decided... Continue Reading →
Just imagine the absurdity of two openly gay, recently ‘married’ middle aged, middle class men escaping the liberal sanctuary of anonymous London to relocate to a Muslim country. Jack and Liam, fed up with kiss-my-arse bosses and nose-to-nipple commutes, quit their jobs and move to a small town in Turkey. Join the culture-curious gay couple... 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 