A recent fact-finding trip to Antalya was inspired by the words of a close friend who once advised me that if I ever found the courage to follow my heart to Turkey, Antalya would be the area she’d recommend for me to live. I guess her rationale was that the milder, sunny weather (2,640 hours […]
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Travel
Antalya – A first glimpse
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 […]
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 […]
Green Bursa – a very Turkish experience
One week is such a short time to explore a new city. This was the challenging assignment as I stepped off the Kamil Koc bus from Istanbul. Bursa had been recommended to me as a classically Turkish city with less of the Western influence and attitudes which I’d encountered in Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya. An […]
Culture
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 […]
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 […]
Food & Drink
Yaprak Sarma – It’s all in the roll!
There is something particularly evocative about sharing a plate of freshly made yaprak sarma with friends. It’s as much about the preparation and the appearance as it is about the taste. If I want to “feel Turkish” I make sarma. I can recall strolling through the gardens of a National Trust property back in […]
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, […]