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 […]
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Travel
Reality dawns on the Turkish pipe-dream?
Registering a mobile phone in Turkey
I read a few articles on the subject of mobile phone registration in Turkey. Most of them suggested this needs to be done within 60 days or your phone gets locked. One Turkish friend advised that it’s now a 120 day limit (2018). I didn’t want to take the chance of losing my “lifeline” so […]
Adalar – The Princes’ Islands
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 […]
Western Black Sea – independent travel?
It came as something of a surprise when so many Turkish friends, mostly from Istanbul, warned me off travels to this area. “It’s not safe, you’ll end up at the bottom of the Black Sea!” Luckily, I love a challenge. And I’ve also learned (eventually!) to follow my own gut instincts in life. In this […]
Culture
Turkish Residency (Ikamet) – lessons learned
Many years as a professional project manager drilled into me the discipline of sharing with others your lessons learned at the end of any project. And this was SOME project! So here it is, the story of my path to Turkish residency. Hope it helps. Why am I here? That’s a long story. In a […]
Tavla and Okey – not just for the kids
If you want to make new Turkish friends, learning to play Tavla (backgammon) and Okey is a great idea. Board games can be seen everywhere in Turkey – in cafes, tea-houses, restaurants, in the parks and gardens, at the markets. How nice to see not just kids, but also teens and adults sitting around in […]
Food & Drink
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 […]
Kısır – quick, healthy, delicious
Kısır is a Turkish staple side dish made from fine bulgur. The brand I’ve been using is called Durum and the type of bulgur is called Koftelik Bulgur (kısırlik) which I assume means the finer grade of bulgur used for making kısır. It’s so easy to make and tastes great, a bit like cous cous, […]