A short ferry ride from the major Istanbul ports are the lovely Princes’ Islands. From where I was staying in Kadıköy it was easy enough to find the ferry which takes you across the Sea of Marmara, stopping first at Kinaliada (“Henna Island”), then Heybeliada (“Saddlebag Island”) and then to my destination, Büyükada (“Big Island”). The Tur […]
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Travel
Adalar – The Princes’ Islands
Safranbolu – Ottoman Black Sea magic
A trip to Safranbolu is a trip back in time to the grandeur of the Ottoman Empire. This tiny UNESCO preserved Ottoman town nestled in the hills of Karabuk Province, offers a magical glimpse of Turkish Black Sea life as it was during Ottoman times. It’s peaceful, hilly streets, lined with glorious 200 – 300 […]
Arriving in Izmir – Getting to Basmane
The process for exiting Izmir’s Adnan Menderes (ADB) airport and finding your way to the central Basmane railway station is fairly straightforward. On exiting the airport building go straight across the road and follow the signs for the Izban railway station. A descending escalator will take you to the Izban platforms and ticket booth where […]
Turkish village – paradise or ‘pipe-dream’?
For years I’ve quietly harboured a simple, secret dream – to find a small, peaceful village somewhere in the milder, sunnier southern regions of Turkey where I might live a healthy, outdoors life, planting and growing green things in the earth. A simple life, surrounded by nature and the warmth and camaraderie of friendly, warm-hearted […]
Culture
Reality dawns on the Turkish pipe-dream?
Dream: When I’d planned my move to Turkey, I’d always dreamed of living somewhere green and rustic, close to the earth, immersed in structures of rough-hewn wood and cosy kilim furnishings. A romantic notion fuelled by memories of wide-eyed travels through amazing rural places such as Safranbolu, Sirince and Cumalikizik, amongst many others. Reality: So […]
Being a teacher in Turkey
What does it mean to be a teacher in Turkey? Is it the same experience as teaching in Western countries like England or Australia? Having spent my teenage years in Australia, in a fairly tough suburban Government school, I vowed never to become a school teacher. It was an era of cultural change in the […]
Food & Drink
Lockdown Yoghurt
Lockdown Yoghurt Since returning to Melbourne in somewhat dramatic fashion earlier this year, the feeling is like being stuck a time warp. On one hand my life in Turkey seems like a distant dream that never really happened. Yet on the other hand my new reality, a life of virtual Covid-19 seclusion in a small […]
İçli Köfte – how Turkish are you?
I could see from the body language of my Turkish hosts that this meal was something special – içli köfte. Clearly, hours had been spent in the kitchen preparing this mountain of meatballs ready for my visit. I was proudly lead into the kitchen by my hosts to witness the final preparations. A boiling cauldron […]