Exploring the culture, history, and cuisine of Turkey through the eyes of not-just-another-tourist
Have you ever stopped and wondered where your things have been or where they have gone? Many years ago, I stumbled upon an antiuque chest of drawers with mirror attached. I believed it was from the 1920's. I had to have that chest. I saw it at a one-day flea market, and I returned to... Continue Reading →
"All time" is a little loose. I am coming up on my 2-year anniversary of the blog in April. So today I sat down at took a look at my stats. There have been almost 53,000 views of my blog since its inception. Wow. I know that some of them may include automatic spammers, but most are... Continue Reading →
Many of my readers know that I spent both Christmas and the New Year back in my homeland, the States. After weeks away, I have now adjusted to being back in my new home of Ankara. It's been a week and I was delighted to return to some new things in Ankara. For one, while strolling through... Continue Reading →
As the new year approaches, it seems the world is looking back at the past year and seeing nothing but bad. Yes, it was a difficult year in so many ways. But because of that, I have decided to look back and find and remember the good. Click on the links to read more. In... Continue Reading →
It's been an excellent trip back home to the States. And as always, it's been bittersweet. Three weeks is never enough time to get everything done. This visit was awesome, but also difficult, especially with the holidays. There were lights to hang on the house, the tree to decorate, cookies to bake, dinners to make, visiting... Continue Reading →
29 December 2011 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL The following is the full article as posted in today's paper: Questions abound over airstrike that killed 36 in Southeast The deaths of 36 people, who may have been locals smuggling in goods from northern Iraq, killed in an overnight airstrike by Turkish warplanes in southeastern Turkey have... Continue Reading →
Thanksgiving has come and gone and the Christmas season is approaching quickly. I don't usually decorate this early. I like to have a fresh, brand new tree on Christmas day. Growing up, we didn't decorate our tree until Christmas Eve. I loved that. It was a lot of work for us on the night before... Continue Reading →
Last year I wrote a post about the meaning of Thanksgiving to me, and about those things for which I am thankful. After that, I tremendously enjoyed cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for my friends here in Ankara, and wrote about that too! This year, I am really missing Thanksgiving at home. Since it is not... Continue Reading →
No, I'm not gay. Although I do have a former neighbor who might argue that point. Lot's of my friends are black, I mean gay. I have to laugh here. I have heard so many times over the years, upon an acquaintance discovering I am part African-America, the same sentence, "Lots of my friends are... Continue Reading →
Today is the eve of Kurban Bayram (Eid al-Adha), another Turkish holiday. It begins on Sunday and ends Wednesday. It's another one of the Muslim "biggies". The date of the holiday changes from year to year according to the Islamic calendar. I have mixed feelings about this holiday. The good side is that everyone has a... Continue Reading →
Last week, I was checking out a friend on facebook and noticed her profile pic (a small icon) was all black. When I clicked on it, I found a black picture, with a white flower and a red ladybug. Being the nosy-body that I am, I let her know that she needed to adjust her... Continue Reading →
Money. The root of all evil. It separates the haves from the have nots. It's never been either of those things to me. I was born and raised without money. My parents had nothing. And with that nothing, they purchased their first and only home in the early 70's. Having already raised most of their... Continue Reading →
On September 20th, a bomb went off in the neighborhood of Kizilay, about a 10-15 minute walk from my home. I was walking down a street in my neighborhood at the time. I saw the big cloud of smoke, and thought nothing of it. I didn't hear anything. Moments later, a good friend called to... 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 