Exploring the culture, history, and cuisine of Turkey through the eyes of not-just-another-tourist
People are always asking me what I miss from the States while I am living in Ankara. My answers are always the same. Family. Friends. Food. This week, I realized there are other things. I really miss the greenery everywhere. In Ankara, we have beautiful parks. And we can drive outside of the city to... Continue Reading →
Recently, one of my faithful readers told me she is planning a trip to Pennsylvania and wants to know what she should see. So I am planning on responding with a few blog posts, starting with Philadelphia. Click on the links for more information. I hope you will all join me by adding to the... Continue Reading →
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 →
. . . and still I am not done! April 15th is Tax Day in the U.S. The day of reckoning. This year that fell on the weekend, so it should have been pushed to Monday. But thanks to some never-heard-of holiday in D.C., it was moved to the 17th. And let's not forget it... Continue Reading →
Easter is coming. In addition to thinking about how I will spend the day (or days) and what I will cook, today I began to think about how I used to celebrate the death and rising again of Christ. During the weeks leading up to Easter in my early school days, we would go to... Continue Reading →
One of the hardest things about being an expat is not being there in a time of need. Since I have been in Turkey, many of my friends have lost a parent. My friends may not have felt like they needed me at the time, but I sure needed to be with them. It puts... Continue Reading →
It's an interesting thing that in this land of great history, there is little room for "junking." Junking is a term I recently picked up from my niece. That's her way of describing her love of antiques, or anything else that can be picked up at a flea market or yard sale. I honestly can't... Continue Reading →
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 →
March will be two years for me in Ankara, and I have yet to see a mailman, although I am certain they exist. Every once in a while I get mail from my undergrad university, or from the PA Bar Association. Even the IRS seems to get their mail through to me! Yikes! But most... 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 →
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 →
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 