Exploring the culture, history, and cuisine of Turkey through the eyes of not-just-another-tourist
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 →
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 →
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 →
I have never actually sat down to write my "to do" list, that is the things I want to do and see before I die. But from time to time, things have crossed my mind. 1- Visit the Herr's Potato Chip Factory. It's really stupid that I haven't done that. It's not far from my... Continue Reading →
Although the huge city of Istanbul often steals the headlines, Ankara is finally starting to raise its own head above the parapet and make a name for itself as a first class destination for tourists and seasoned travellers to visit – especially those interested in ancient history and those who love the hustle and bustle... Continue Reading →
Ten years ago it seemed rare for many expats to move to Turkey, especially Ankara! But a new trend has seen more and more foreign nationals flocking to Turkey in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. Turkey has become somewhat of a hot spot for tourism in the last few years, continually... Continue Reading →
The Music Industry and the world has lost another beautiful talent at a young age. Whitney Houston passed away yesterday at the age of 48. The goddaughter of Aretha Franklin, she left behind a legacy of songs and films that moved the world. When I think of Whitney, I always picture her with Kevin Costner... 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 →
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 →
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 →
If you are Catholic and practiced at one time, it is hard to forget St. Paul's letters to the Ephesians. You may forget the text, you may even forget who wrote them, but that name, "the Ephesians," is somehow stamped on our brains. Most likely, it was because we heard the term "Ephesian" so many... Continue Reading →
Gümüşlük is a seaside village and fishing port on the Bodrum Peninsula. It was built above the remains of the ancient city of Myndos. Some remains of Myndos can still be found in the waters that lead to Rabbit Island. We walked through these waters, however, Rabbit Island is currently closed for excavation. Gümüşlük has... Continue Reading →
Recently, my husband and I spent two weeks on the Bodrum Peninsula. We were based in a small village called Gümüşlük. We visited the towns of Turgutreis, Yalakavak, Ephesus, Selcuk, Kuşadası, and of course, Bodrum. On the way there, we even stopped in Afyon which is known for a yummy candy called Kaymak Şekeri and spent... 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 