Exploring the culture, history, and cuisine of Turkey through the eyes of not-just-another-tourist
"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 →
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 →
I am currently enjoying the holidays in the States. But right before I left Turkey, my husband and I spent a fabulous albeit quick weekend in Izmir. Below are some photos for you to enjoy.
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 →
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 →
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 →
I'm dying here . . . So this past week, I was invited to tour a certain undisclosed location in Ankara. I was very excited about going. I had heard about it many times, but never had the opportunity. It was a grocery store. But not just that. It was an American grocery store. The... Continue Reading →
There's nothing like a good Şeker Bayram to raise one's foul mood. I had been down in the dumps for a few days. Şeker Bayram, the three day holiday to celebrate the end of Ramadan arrived on Tuesday evening. A three day holiday in the middle of the week quickly turned into a 9-day holiday for... Continue Reading →
Just a quick note to keep you updated. Last week we headed out by car seeking another adventure. We made a pit stop in Pamukkale. Absolutely fabulous! I will write more on that later. But you should look it up online when you get a chance. Naturally created travertines formed from the calcium deposits of... Continue Reading →
I have never understood why people complain about birthdays or give the standard, "I don't really celebrate birthdays." It's a bunch of hogwash to me. I love birthdays. The only thing I love more than birthdays is MY birthday! And tomorrow is just that. A few days ago I received an email from my husband wishing... Continue Reading →
I celebrated Mother's Day early this year. Everything was going well, and then I suffered a major faux pas! Let me start at the beginning. My husband's grandmother and aunt were visiting from Aksaray. They had been here a week and were planning to go home yesterday. Late on Friday evening, we received a call... 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 