Turkish Food - Barbunya Pilaki Recipe

In Turkish cuisine there are a group of dishes known as zeytinyağlı (olive oil dishes) and Barbunya Pilaki is one of them. We love olive oil but not too much of it so this recipe doesn't contain nearly as much oil as it should but it still tastes great, especially in the summer months. We're going to a 60th Birthday pool party on Saturday and this is going to be our contribution to the food table. I always make a large amount because it's usually for loads of visitors and it also keeps in the fridge for a couple of days for us to nibble at. You can just halve all the ingredients if you don't want to make so much. 

If it's there, we always order barbunya pilaki from the meze fridges in Turkish restaurants so I was really pleased to find some recipes for it. After a few experiments, this one is based around a recipe from a book that's called Turkish Cookery (the red one that you can buy in the shops of tourist areas) with a couple of little changes that I've made over time.

A Turkish Recipe For Barbunya Pilaki

• First of all, if you're in Turkey, get yourself off to the market and buy a kilo of barbunya. Come home and pod them - it's very therapeutic and my favourite part of making barbunya pilaki. (If you buy the ready podded beans in a bag, you'll only need about half a kilo, and you'll miss out on the joy of podding.) 
• Chop a couple of onions however you like. Some people dice them but I'm into the half-moon slices at the moment.
• Chop 3 or 4 of the long green peppers you see in Turkey into rounds. (If you can't get these, half a small green bell pepper or similar.)
• Peel and slice one or two big carrots. We use two because we love the colour and the flavour the carrot gives to the juices.
• Heat a glug of olive oil in a pan (we probably use a couple of dessert spoonfuls but feel free to use more) and get your carrots going for a few minutes. Then add your onions and peppers and wait till they begin to soften. 
• Roughly chop a couple of the meaty, summer Turkish tomatoes (use a tin of tomatoes if you like) and add these to your pan along with 3 or 4 cloves of grated/crushed garlic and a mug of hot water. Add salt and pepper and a teaspoonful of sugar.
• Cook for about 10 minutes and then add your fresh beans. Stir them in, bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for half an hour or so, until your beans are cooked. If you're using 2 tins of borlotti/pinto/romano beans, simmer your sauce for 20 minutes or so and then add your beans for 10 minutes till they're heated through.
• Once cooked, add your barbunya pilaki to a serving dish and allow to cool. Once cool, garnish with fresh, chopped parsley. Before eating, squeeze a wedge of lemon over your serving. Don't skip on this because it really adds to the taste.

No parsley but at least we had some greenery in the house

As we said, barbunya pilaki is a perfect member of your summer meze table. It's likely you will end up with lots of juices leftover once you've polished off a serving of barbunya pilaki. Some fresh crusty bread will sort that little problem out for you. 

Some people also add small cubed potato to their barbunya pilaki. We've experimented with this on occasion but we much prefer just the carrots and onions. If you do add potato, your barbunya pilaki doesn't last as long so you'll need to eat it quicker. 

Finally, our photo has basil in it rather than parsley. This is because we forgot to buy parsley. A light sprinkling of roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley enhances the flavours of this dish. And don't forget the drizzle of fresh lemon juice, too. Essential for ultimate enjoyment! 

Afiyet Olsun

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Barbunya

It's that fantastic time of year again where barbunya starts to appear on Fethiye markets and it will be around for a few months to come; certainly until late September. The first time we came to Turkey on holiday, we saw these curious, colourful pods on the market and wondered what on earth they were. The second time we came, around ten years ago, we were a couple of years older and wiser and worked out that they must be some kind of bean. Well done us! Well, give us a break. They're hardly a regular on the British supermarket shelves.


All of this seems very strange now because since we moved to Fethiye, barbunya is one of the staples in our diet during the summer months and it's only writing this blog that makes us think back to earlier days when everything was so new and unknown. A bit of asking around, trying as many different Turkish foods as we could and a few Turkish cookery books later, we eventually worked out that the lovely beans you get as one of your meze dishes in many of Fethiye's restaurants are barbunya beans and the dish we both love is known as barbunya pilaki.

It's barbunya season

We've also done a little bit of research to find out what we would know barbunya as if we were to be back in England. If you take the beans from their pods they are quite a large bean with amazing colouring; white but covered with purple swirls. It's a bit of a shame that as you boil them in your pan, the purple disappears and you are left with coloured water and an average-looking bean.

So if we were back in England and craving barbunya (there's more bite to them than other bean varieties), which tin would we plump for in the supermarket? This is the debate. Some suggest that the Turkish barbunya is a romano bean but Google Images suggests barbunya is definitely not romano. Others have said pinto beans and a Google Image search on 'pinto bean pod' has revealed that barbunya could well be the cranberry bean variety of a pinto or borlotti bean.

We're going to post a Turkish barbunya bean recipe tomorrow, hence the reason for the bean debate. Anyone not in Turkey, if you want to do the recipe, a tin or two of borlotti beans is going to be the way forward. And of course, if you're lucky enough to be living in a part of the world where fresh beans are commonplace (like us), you don't even need to consider the tinned route. 

Eating & Drinking - Fethiye Fish Market (Part Two)

We posted about Fethiye fish market yesterday and mentioned that there was a strong chance we would be eating far too many meze dishes followed by far too many prawns...and that's exactly what we did. It was fantastic!

The idea was that we were going to take photos of all the meze dishes once they were on the table and then take photos of the prawns. As you can see, that didn't happen. We devoured the meze dishes and had started to serve the prawns before I remembered. They still look so tasty though, don't they? We always order them like this - we ask the fish monger to clean them and then the restaurant cooks them in garlic and chilli oil. Divine. 

Not a full plate but you get the idea

As usual, this is not the best diet food in the world, but the yummy food never is, is it? Especially when you get toasted garlic bread to dip in the sauce as well. It's a treat for us once a year when our friends come out. She likes this as her first and last meal of the holiday so we could well be there again in a fortnight!

Eating At Fethiye Fish Market

• We're not recommending restaurants inside the fish market. Everyone you speak to has their personal favourite so you can take advice from others or just go for a walk around and choose your own. We will, however, give one little tip if you've never been before and you want to try it (it is an eating experience) and that is to choose your restaurant first. 
• There will be waiters stood outside each place (we always choose somewhere where nobody asks us to go in) trying to talk you into their restaurant. Choose where you want to go, sort your table and then go to choose your fish. Pay for it and tell the fish monger which restaurant you are sitting at. He will clean your fish and take it to the restaurant for you. 
• In the meantime, you can choose meze dishes from the fridges and order drinks.

Some of the bigger restaurants are starting to put fish on their menus, meaning you can just go and sit down, order from the menu and eat. Personally, we prefer to choose our own from the market. It's all part of the fish market experience, we love markets anyway and it means we can choose our own fish - whichever is looking particularly good at the time. 

Eating & Drinking in Fethiye - The Fish Market (Part One)

We said we were going to write about the lovely Fethiye fish market a couple of days ago and as we have friends out at the moment, we are all going to eat there tonight before going to Deep Blue Bar so it's fitted in quite well. This post is about the fish market itself and then tomorrow's post, part 2, will be about the meal we eat tonight.

Judging by the reaction of our friend last night when we diverted through the fish market, we're fully aware that these photos are not going to appeal to everyone but we just love walking around the stalls to see what's available. She's vegetarian and hates the sight of fish - we're complete opposites when it comes to food because we think all of this looks great.

Take your pick at Fethiye fish market

About Fethiye Fish Market
So, what makes Fethiye fish market so special? A few years ago, the mayor of Fethiye had the idea to create an attractive fish market, surrounded by small restaurants that would cook your fish for you and provide salad and bread for a small fee. At the time of writing, this fee is 5 lira per person. Simple idea, but genius. It's become a bit of a tradition now that we go with our friends who are out at the moment which is why we're going there tonight. 

We'll go to the restaurant we always go to, order far too many mezes, buy far too many king prawns and end up absolutely full to the brim - well, this is how the tradition stands at the moment. We used to order prawns as a starter and then a fish but a couple of years ago, we just thought, 'Forget the fish; extra prawns!' Very extravagant but we only do it once a year.

Take your pick at Fethiye fish market

Obviously, the meze dishes and drinks are extra so you can make your fish market experience as cheap or as expensive as you like. Prawns are anywhere between 35 lira and 50 lira per kilo at the moment, depending on their size. But then you have your sea bass and sea bream. A treat when we were living in England, but the staple fish of Fethiye. If you are in Turkey on a budget, you can pick a decent sized bass or bream for as little as 4 lira each. These cheaper ones tend to be farmed (they are clearly labelled) and the ones caught in the sea cost around 10 lira each, depending on their size.

The fish market is not just somewhere you go for an alternative eating experience in Fethiye. It's also a fantastic shopping experience where we do quite a bit of our food shopping. If you read this blog a lot, you'll know we buy our fruit and vegetables from Fethiye and Çalış markets. Fish is bought from the fish market and there are also butchers (our favourite butcher has his shop here) and dairy stalls. On Fathers Day, we had a barbecue at our house for Barry's mum and dad and decided to make swordfish şiş kebabs. One swordfish steak (30 lira and weighing just under a kilo) made up five meaty şiş kebabs - and swordfish is perfect on a barbecue. We also bought our chicken, cheese and olives from here. Fethiye fish market is a one-stop shop for all of our favourite goodies.

We've never ordered a lobster but there seems to be more of them around at the moment

If you are desperate to visit the fish market and you are with people who just don't do seafood, it's perfectly okay for them to buy meat from the butchers and pass it on to your chosen restaurant to cook. Some of the bigger restaurants also have a separate menu where you can order other non-seafood meals. Two of the people in our group tonight can't stand fish and one of them is vegetarian. Meze, chips and salad for those two then while we gorge on the delightful fruits of the sea. Hopefully, more photos in Fethiye Fish Market Part Two tomorrow.

(Some people struggle to find the Fethiye fish market as there is no obvious sign pointing you to the various entrances. We've added it to our Google Map of Fethiye to make it easier for you to stumble across.)

World Cup in Fethiye - Will We, Won't We?

Big screen football - love it or hate it

Yes, it's here again - the 'big screen' in Deep Blue Bar. We do nothing only moan about bars that show the football but this is the World Cup. It's different. We're hoping Deep Blue's big screen is going to be showing us scenes like this in a few short hours, rather then the scenes of despair we're becoming used to. 

We'd actually like to point out at this stage that as England struggle to battle through the easiest group in the World Cup, and all the Brits, bar Andy Murray, fail to make the second round of Wimbledon (the worst British performance in Wimbledon's 133 year history!), England beat the Aussies in the day/night cricket match at the Rose Bowl, Southampton yesterday. Hooraaaay! All is not lost. Well done to the cricket boys. Barry is going to Deep Blue in a short while, wearing his England One-day cricket top. Let's hope it brings us luck.

Hmm, watching the England match with Turkish friends at Deep Blue. The last time we did that against USA, one of them came up to us at the end and asked, 'Why do England never try?' A very fair question and one that we have never been able to ask about the Turkish football team.

Well, we did have plans to post about the fish market in Fethiye for today's post but that can wait for tomorrow.

Eating & Drinking - Boğaziçi Restaurant, Fethiye Harbour

Twilight along Fethiye harbour

We're very wary of this blog becoming a what to do and what not to do if you're ever in Fethiye (which is exactly what we don't want). We did say yesterday that this is an account of how we survive life abroad and the very big main point of this blog is that it's positive about Turkey and Fethiye.

Okay, point made. The photo you are looking at is of Boğaziçi Restaurant along the new harbour in Fethiye. It was taken at twilight, hence the odd lighting.  Boğaziçi and the other restaurants along this stretch are part of our daily life because we pass them every time we walk into town. We find ourselves sitting at Boğaziçi more than the other places, just because. No other reason...just because. We're creatures of habit, there's always a relaxed atmosphere here, beers are cheap, food is cheap, it's on the seafront, you can see Fethiye harbour...err, yeah. Why would you not want to go there?

I mentioned a while back that this place has recently lost around two thirds of its roof space and is under new ownership. There was nothing wrong with the food under the old owners but there are now new owners. We ate there last week and the food is now even better and considering you're on the seafront, it's very reasonable. It's mainly a traditional Turkish food menu so I went for the Adana Kebab (12 lira) and Barry had chicken şiş. Servings were more than enough and really well presented, making you feel like you're in a restaurant and not a lokanta. And - a rarity in Fethiye - we ordered octopus for our starter. Lovely. Why it's so difficult to get octopus in Fethiye restaurants, we don't know. Maybe there's been no demand for it in the past but this octopus was really well cooked - not overdone - and served in garlic olive oil. Divine!

Update 2013

• Boğaziçi has extended and they now also have the smaller building next door, by the canal.
• There are now many cafes and restaurants, including Shaka and Kuzey, along this stretch of new harbour. We hope to be visiting all of them over time.
• If you follow this blog a lot, you'll know we've changed a bit and are now happy to write about places to eat and drink around Fethiye. 
• 
  

Turkish Food - Ekşili Patlıcan (Sour Aubergine)

Somebody asked us recently whether we actually make / cook all the food that we put on this blog. Apart from the fact that we fell in love with Turkey and Turkish food when we first came on holiday here, the next main reason for choosing to move to a place like Fethiye was so we could buy lovely, fresh ingredients and learn about different recipes. We both cook all the time and the variety of Turkish dishes means we're always going to be discovering new ones to have a go at. This blog is all about how we survive life abroad - and part of that survival is cooking. Whenever we happen to be making a different Turkish dish for tea, we'll post the recipe here.

So, the other day, the Fethiye weather was hot, hot, hot and we've discovered the perfect dish that kicks our dwindling appetite into gear; Ekşili Patlıcan. We've mentioned before that we are readers of a blog called Almost Turkish Recipes. We've learnt (and am learning) a lot about Turkish food from this blog and Ekşili Patlıcan has become a regular on our mealtime menu - especially when the weather is so hot. The recipe is being gradually adapted each time I make it just to suit our tastes so this is how I'm making ekşili patlıcan at the moment.

A Turkish Recipe For Ekşili Patlıcan

• Cut two onions in half and slice them into half moons
• Chop three aubergines into bite-sized chunks
• Roughly chop 4 or 5 tomatoes. (If you're in Turkey, two of the big meaty tomatoes will be enough.)

You need a big pan

• Throw all this into a big pan, add a good glug of olive oil, put on a medium heat and mix everything carefully. (If you're like us, you won't have a pan big enough and  your aubergine will keep falling out. Bear with it because it will reduce quite a lot - or you can always buy a bigger pan. We'll get round to it one day.) 
• Now add 2 teaspoons of honey, the juice of a lemon (we also add home made nar ekşisi - sour pomegranate sauce - for extra flavour), 3 cloves of grated / crushed garlic, salt, pepper and as much chilli powder as you can handle (quite a lot for us!).

As we said, the mixture will reduce and your tomatoes will break down to create the juice you need. You don't need to add any water or stock.

Your ingredients will reduce and look like this.

Taste your sauce to check the flavours. If it's missing anything, add more sweet / sour / chilli - whatever suits your taste.

After half an hour or so, check your aubergines are soft and if they are, remove the pan from the heat. If you're wondering why this is what we eat when it's so hot, this is where the summery bit comes in.

Sprinkle your parsley at the last minute so you get it's full flavour and texture.

Put a serving of ekşili patlıcan onto a plate / into a bowl and leave it to go cold and sprinkle with fresh, chopped parsley just before you eat it.

We usually prepare a portion of Turkish rice to go with it and we also let that go cold. Trust us, it's somehow a refreshing, light dish, perfect for when we're melting in the soaring temperatures. And if you're thinking a chunk of lovely freshly baked bread would go well with it, you're thinking right. It's just that we're trying not to think about that as we're trying to reduce our bread intake - not easy living in Turkey where they bake the best bread in the world (in our opinion, of course) and you just want to devour loads of bread with every meal possible.

Afiyet Olsun

Fethiye Rumours - Fethiye to Rhodes Catamaran

Allow us to refer you back to a previous post where we mentioned a new catamaran was going to replace the 'daily' hydrofoil from Fethiye to Rhodes. 

This was supposed to be happening back in January of this year but nothing came of it. And then...we saw an advert showing the new Fethiye to Rhodes Express catamaran - and look. Here she is!

We say, 'here she is.' We actually went to the marina to check because the photo in the advert didn't look quite right. When we got there we saw that the catamaran has a different name ('Aegean Queen' rather than 'Fethiye to Rhodes Express') so it's either going to have a name change or the advert was just trying to show the purpose of the boat - or actually, will it keep it's original name and still be the 'Fethiye to Rhodes Express' as well? We shall see.

Aegean Queen

Rather than just jump in with both feet and start to write about this rather attractive vessel on our blog, we did do a little bit of checking at one of the travel agencies opposite the marina but this doesn't mean any of this is definite. We're just reporting what was said...and it may all be rumour. To cut a long story short, the advert we saw was advertising visa trips to Rhodes on the catamaran. However, on making our enquiries, it's not running. BUT the Flying Poseidon hydrofoil  IS running. It's not running every day at the moment (contrary to what you might see on the posters) but that could all change as the season heads towards busy time.

When will the catamaran start running? 'End of June, err beginning of July, err I don't know,' was the reply we got. And that's what we love about life here...we'll just have to wait and see. When it starts running, it starts running. It might be this season and then again, it might be next season. Who knows? Not a bad looking one though is it? Looking forward to trying it out for a day trip to Rhodes sometime but until then, the hydrofoil will do.

Waiting, waiting in Fethiye

Here we are, sat watching Slovenia against USA, hoping for a draw, just to make life easier for England in the World Cup. We love Turkey and all things Turkish (and I don't like football) but the World Cup is the World Cup and we have a joint love of the English and Turkish football teams. Unfortunately, Turkey are not in South Africa to entertain us, so England are our only hope. Dare I say it, but it's 2-2 as I write. Please let it stay like this - and please let England win against Algeria later on. Anyone reading this from elsewhere in the world, just bear with me for today - it's a World Cup thing.

Deep Blue Bar football

And here's a photo of the big screen in Deep Blue Bar - Steven Gerrard scoring for England in their first game against the USA. This group was all supposed to be so easy for England. Obviously, the other teams have different ideas. Waiting for 9:30pm (Turkish time) and we'll have a better idea of how this group is going to pan out as we watch the England game.

Anyway, enough football. It's been another scorcher today in Fethiye. We've not hit the dizzy heights of the 40s like we did yesterday, just the mid-30s, but the early evening sun is much hotter tonight. We were rescued by the haze yesterday evening but no such luck tonight. We managed a walk to the Friday market in Fethiye this afternoon for some much needed essentials (and some cherries and apricots - little breakfast and nibbly treats, not essentials). I mentioned on our fanpage on Facebook before that the only thing to do in this weather is eat frozen watermelon. Ohhh, the bliss of arriving home from the market after a long trudge in the sun and delving into the freezer for Barry's frozen watermelon concoction. It was promptly devoured on the balcony while the shopping was left to wait where it was dropped!

Game on! Slovenia/USA finished 2-2. Waiting, waiting for the England Algeria game now. (Sorry!)

43 Degrees in Fethiye?

The title could well be a slight exaggeration. We've just come back from Fethiye on the dolmuş and the temperature was flashing up as 43 degrees. It certainly felt like that anyway.

A few tempers starting to fray as well. The dolmuş was trundling along really slowly because it wasn't full. This is completely normal and it's not usually a problem but it's far from ideal when everyone's baking. Just after we had set off, the driver decided to stop for no reason - well, we can only assume he was waiting for more possible customers. 

'Is it only me who feels all hot and bothered?' I was thinking. And then a young Turkish girl at the front of the dolmuş piped up. Our Turkish isn't great but the general gist we got was, 'Why are we waiting here?' We couldn't hear the driver's reply. Then the girl explained - in a good quality tetchy voice - that it was 43 degrees and he shouldn't be stopping there anyway and she betted he was going to stop at Migros, too, and it was too hot and ...

The driver chuntered back at her, another man chirruped in and told the driver it was hot (we think he must have known!) and we were on our way. A bit of people power...and a bit of breeze. Yeah!

Tempting - water feature on Fethiye harbour

And so, what to do when it's so hot? These are the new water features along the new harbour in Fethiye. I took this yesterday evening as we were walking. Designer chic...but good on the little Turkish kids who were playing along the harbour a couple of days ago. They didn't even bother taking any of their clothes off. They just jumped straight in the water and played in the fountains - we could have done the same as we were walking up there this afternoon. So inviting but I'm not sure adults would get away with what kids can get away with.

Fethiye harbour fountains

And this is the water feature next to the marina in the centre of Fethiye. It's the first time we've seen it on this year...oh, to walk straight through that. How lovely that would have been this afternoon. Right, I'm making myself thirsty now. A litre of water and then ironing! Not ironing weather.

Fethiye - Hot, Hot, Hot

Phewww, there's only one thing to do when the weather in Fethiye is as hot as this - you immerse yourself in water. This is the pool at the Golden Moon Hotel where we immersed ourselves this afternoon. It was only two weeks ago when I posted that the water was 'fresh.' None of that today. No, 'Eeeeh, Oooooh, Aaaah, it's freezing.' I climbed straight in and it was even warm. A good cool down though.

And so, if you can , imagine sitting in an oven and then someone comes along and turns the thing on full blast. That's what today was like. We're not complaining, it's just that we usually get an acclimatisation period. This year has been cool, cool, cool, ROASTING. Our bodies don't know what's hit them.

All of a sudden, the pool is necessary

The dip in the pool today was made even more necessary because somewhere in our wisdom, we decided to walk to Kipa, Fethiye to get some tuna and some flowers. Off we trotted in the heat of the day. We live nowhere near Kipa so it wasn't one of our better ideas. Imagine our distress when we got there and there was only one twin pack left of the tuna we like and no flowers. It was a long walk home with our little tuna twin pack!

To top things off nicely, not only did we set off in the heat of the day; I decided to set off in the heat of the day in my brand new flip flops! Every year, I have to go through the same rigmarole...and every year, I forget what the year before was like. My first few days of flip flop wearing leads to big toe and second toe agony. This only lasts a few days, but it's pain all the same. I was not amused to be hobbling down the main road in 'hair-dryer heat' with only a couple of tins of tuna to show for our trouble. 

I'm now sat writing this with plasters dotted about my feet...and the World Cup trumpets are filling my ears. The bonus is that the plasters were donated by one of the waiters at the Golden Moon and guess what - they stick! One of life's little rarities these days. I've kept the packet so I can remember the name of them and I'll post it on here when I find it. Everyone deserves sticky plasters!

Get Rates For The Golden Moon Hotel or Other Fethiye Hotels

Another Meis Visa Trip - It's All Food & Drink

They say time flies when you're enjoying yourself and it's certainly true for us. We can't believe this is the third time I've written about the Meis visa trip on this blog - it doesn't feel like we've been writing it long enough for that.

Yesterday was like clockwork. Picked up outside Tansaş as usual (I made sure I had my camera with me this time!) at 7:45, a couple more pick-ups along the way and then straight to Kaş to get the boat. You never know who is going to do the transfer from Fethiye or what they are going to transfer you in. We just wait for a random vehicle to pull up at Tansaş and we jump in. Yesterday was made much easier by the fact that it was a minibus with the words 'Meis Visa Trip' splashed across the bonnet in big orange letters. A good clue.

Overlooking Kaş harbour and across to Meis from the balcony

As usual, I was more than thankful to see a very calm sea on arrival in Kaş. We've actually been really lucky with the weather the last three times we've been across to Meis. We were greeted by an offer of çay (Turkish tea) from Turcan (the boat driver) which was lucky because he happened to be sitting on the balcony above the agency. We've been dying to have a look up there for ages so we accepted the offer - and we got to take a few photos of Kaş harbour.

A still, June morning in Meis harbour

And once more, we arrived in Meis. Some people had come from Fethiye just for a day trip and we've said before that Meis is one of those places that you either love or hate. One family looked completely bewildered and said, 'Is this it? Where are the shops?' 
'Yes, this is it.' And then we wanted to add, 'Great, isn't it?' but we don't think they would have agreed. It's four hours of bliss for us. A stroll around the harbour, sometimes around the back streets, sometimes we venture a little further up the hills...

The Olive Garden - welcome shade and great food

...and if it's the summer season, we always head here for lunch; The Olive Garden, run by Damien and Monika. A shaded haven set just back from the sea front. There are different beers available with glasses to match - a good glass is so important - and all your traditional Greek cuisine.

Mmmmythos!

We're big fans of the Greek Mythos beer. Dry and crispy and most refreshing on a hot, sunny day. We only drink Efes Pilsen in Turkey (when we're drinking beer, that is!)  so Barry always has to make the most of the variety on offer when we hit Greece. He had a Pilsner Urquell and a Maisel's Weisse, too - one of those cloudy wheaty-type beers that I just can't get with. Your time on Meis goes by very quickly when you are whiling away the hours sampling beers and enjoying great food.

Pork fix 1 - The pork cutlet

Oh yes, the food. Ask Damien what he recommends and he quite rightly says, 'If you've come over from Turkey, you're likely to want pork.' Yes we do. Barry went for the simple pork fix; pork cutlet. 'Cutlet' was an understatement because it was huge.

Pork fix 2 - The home made Greek sausage

I debated long and hard. Did I want a pork fix (I did) or did I want calamari souvlaki? My desire for a pork fix got the better of me and I went for the home made Greek sausages - I always do! If you've ever had a good quality Cumberland sausage, a Greek sausage is like that - maybe even a bit better. I can't decide. Next time we go there, I'll force myself to order something different just so I can take a different photo for the blog!

(Monika and Damien also have accommodation and a gift shop on the island. If you want more information, you can visit their website here.)

Travel Photo - The Greek Island of Meis

Woo, time flies when you're living in sunny (the sun is out properly and has been for the last two days) Fethiye. Once again, the time has come upon us where we have to go to the beautiful Greek island of Meis. 

As it's the summer months, we'll get longer on the island, giving us time for a wander around the quieter roads and paths and, more importantly, a lovely, barbecued, Greek pork sausage lunch washed down with a Mythos. Highly unhealthy, but very good.

Meis - so picturesque

A proper post and new photos (this one is two years old) when we get back later on today.

2013 Update:
If you're staying along the south coast of Turkey, it is possible to go to Meis from Kaş for a day trip (or longer) during the summer season. 

Aksazlar Koyu - Fethiye Photo & An Update

This photo was taken at Aksazlar Koyu a couple of weeks ago and it just sums up the Fethiye weather over the last three weeks, really. Beautiful, clear, sunny mornings and then a heavy, humid cloud engulfs us after lunch. We even had rain yesterday. All very odd for June but things might be looking up. It's 14:30 and the sun is still proudly strutting its stuff. Is this it now? Has summer come? 

Warm but hazy in Fethiye

We're just about to go out and about to see if anyone is getting into the World Cup spirit in the Fethiye area. We'll go for a walk along Çalış Beach and then get the dolmuş into Fethiye ready for watching the England v USA match at Deep Blue Bar later on. If you read this blog regularly, you'll know that we're anything but fans of football...but we love the World Cup and European Cup so we're both excited about the England game tonight. Such a shame Turkey didn't make it. They were great to watch in the last European Cup.

 After yesterday's post about the humble simit, we fast came to the conclusion that we are not getting the full potential from this little ring of bread. Barry asked people on Twitter and I put it on the Facebook page. It appears people living in other areas of Turkey (mainly in the Istanbul region) adore their simits and Turks living outside of Turkey pine for a simit. Fresh and warm, straight from the oven, topped with cream cheese is how one woman regularly buys hers from her local simitçi in Çanakkale. Right then, what's going on in Fethiye? Why don't we get that? Hmm, I'm almost glad we don't though or else the waistline would be expanding at an alarming rate. I suspect. As I mentioned yesterday, we could buy them from the simitçi when we're in Fethiye and take them home to add butter and jam, or we could warm them up and have a cream cheese simit - but that would be a slippery slope.

Turkish Food - Simit

The simitçi in Fethiye doesn't move too far, these days.

We'd be more than willing to bet that you cannot go to any town or city in Turkey without coming across this famous Turkish street snack - simit (a ring of bread topped with sesame seeds). If you are walking round Fethiye, there is still one guy who walks around shouting 'Simitçi!' (simit seller) with the tray on top of his head. It doesn't even wobble.

Maybe it's a dying skill or maybe the council are trying to phase out the 'simit strollers,' I don't know, but these days, you are most likely to spot simits being sold to the people of Fethiye from these little carts or from the bakeries and markets. If you are in Turkey on a budget, simits are great because they're around 50 kuruş each and they're very filling. Enough to sort you out for the day.

Simit eating is a way of life in Turkey. In Istanbul, there is a chain of eateries (they have a fast food outlet look about them) called 'Simit Sarayı' (Simit Palace). We can only assume they serve simits with different fillings, the one in Eminönü is 3 storeys high and always packed full of people. (Of course, they also serve börek and other snacks.) Here in Fethiye, it's not unusual to see toddlers in the street with a simit in their hand, chomping away quite happily.

Now, we both love our Turkish food, but we can't get with the love of the simit. If we were to bring one home and slice it in half through the middle and put some butter and jam on it, then yes. Lovely. But, walking round the streets, chewing a dry piece of bread - no. We've tried a few times and it's just not working for us. We hate to be defeated by food and hope that one day, we can learn to love the the Turkish street food favourite that is the simit...however, we may be some time.

2013 Update: 

• We did refuse to be defeated and this post shows how we learned to love the simit.
• Also, while in Izmir, we even debated the differences, if any, between simit and gevrek.

Fethiye Sunset - Positives of the Strange Weather

The Fethiye weather is very strange at the moment - we have never known it to be like this in June. The mornings start off really promising. Blue skies, calm sea and the temperatures are great. Then, lunchtime comes and the clouds appear, the breeze picks up and it goes cooler. Now, don't get us wrong, it's still really warm and the nights are spent kicking the sheet off the bed but where is all this cloud coming from? As I write, we've just had a few big drops of rain - they've gone now thankfully and the cloud is just trying to break up.

Just another Fethiye sunset

But, let's look at the positives. Sunsets are all the more beautiful when there's a bit of cloud in the sky - a little added interest. This was the Fethiye sunset a couple of nights ago. As with the Çalış sunset that we put on here a couple of days ago, we've got hundreds of photos taken from here, but you just can't resist when you see stunning views like this.

Here's hoping the rain holds off for later. We're getting the barbecue out and have a couple of friends coming round. We're hoping to impress them with some of our cooking but the pressure's on as they cooked a fantastic Sunday lunch for us on Sunday. It's a long, long time since we've eaten a traditional Sunday lunch and we don't really miss them but when somebody puts one down in front of you, complete with home made Yorkshire pudding, mmmm, it was good. 

I've done the usual suspects; Antep ezmesi and Antalya usulü piyaz. Barry's in charge of the cooking. They wanted some Turkish food so that's what they're getting and the great thing is, if anything goes wrong, you can pretend it's supposed to be like that because they've got no idea what it's supposed to taste like. Not that our Turkish cooking isn't good...

Seasonal Food in Turkey - Summer Fruits

Writing about the seasonal fruit and vegetables on Fethiye and Çalış markets is getting more difficult as we come into early summer because there's just so much to see, photograph, buy and of course, eat.


Cherries (kiraz) have been out for a few weeks but they are at their best right now. We always go for the Napolyon kiraz - slightly more expensive than the others but really big and juicy and worth the extra lira or so per kilo. We wrote a post over winter about Nif and the mountains. This is where most of the cherries that the people of Fethiye buy come from.

 

Napolyon cherries are the best

Apricots (kayısı) are just coming into season but we haven't bought any yet. We prefer them when they are soft and juicy and at the moment, they're still a little bit on the crunchy side.

When we were living in England, we always thought we didn't like apricots because we didn't like apricot jam or apricot yoghurt. However, when we came to Turkey, we tasted our first fresh one - a revelation. We're just waiting for a bit more ripeness now and they'll be on the shopping list.

Never did apricots look so tempting

(We mentioned erik - unripe plums - a while back. You can see them in this photo, next to the apricots. A much more appetising colour and flavour for the untrained British taste bud.)

And then there's the famous Turkish watermelon (karpuz). Look at that juicy redness. The ones for sale on Fethiye market this afternoon were all advertised as coming from Dalaman (of airport fame) and they are 50 kuruş a kilo! Bargain. Wonder if they manage to sell them all. We never buy the watermelons from the market because they are just too heavy for us to carry home. We should have taken a photo of these melons next to something to give you an idea of the size. Think of a rugby ball and double its size. They'll get a lot bigger, too, as the summer progresses.

Huge watermelons

We're very lucky because if we do feel the need to eat watermelon - so refreshing straight from the fridge when the sun's beating down outside - we have a man with a van. Every day, at this time of year (he turned up last week) he pulls up at the side of the main road at the top of our street and opens the back of his lorry to reveal mountains of watermelons. He then sets up his scales and a little stool in the shade on the path and sits there all day, every day (meaning any pedestrians walking along the path have to detour into the main road and walk around the lorry). It means people in the neighbourhood don't have far to carry their melons and he gets passing trade from the traffic. Good move, mister.

For more Turkish summer fruits, see our post, A Celebration of Fethiye Market. 

Eating & Drinking - The Tents, Çalış Beach

Like us, most of our friends are music lovers and so when they come out to Fethiye to visit us, a night out revolves around the places playing the best music. Of course, Deep Blue Bar is where most evenings are spent (the reason we started going there ten years ago was because we preferred the music to that of the other bars).  

Yet another famous Çalış Beach sunset

But sometimes, we head to Çalış for a change of scenery. The famous Çalış Beach sunset is always a winner and has everyone reaching for their cameras. We've got far too many photos of it but you just can't resist. We like our friends to leave Fethiye and go home to tell everyone how great Turkey is so we always head for the beach at least once just before the sun goes down so they can get photos.

And after the sun goes down and darkness falls, we head to the far end of the beach to what we call The Tents. The real name is Yörük Çadılar (literally, 'nomad tents') but we've always known them as The Tents. Entering here is like entering a different world: you can eat, drink, dance, have fun, sing along (even though you don't have a clue what the words are) or just sit, listen, watch and chill all in the one place.

The Turkish band play every single night (even in the winter months) and Ahmet, the singer and saz player (the saz is a Turkish instrument that looks a bit like a mandolin) has a fantastic voice and most definitely knows his way round a saz.

Listening to the live band (far end) at the tents

Turks (and probably many other nationalities of the world) do not do shoes and carpets at the same time and you've probably noticed in the photo that there are lots of carpets covering the floor. When you arrive at the tents, the waiter will realise straight away that you are not Turkish and will advise you on the 'tents etiquette.' If you choose to sit at a table, shoes are okay. If you choose the floor cushions, as in the photo (we always do), you must take your shoes off and carry them to where you are sitting. Even the waiters wear slippers!

Sit and watch (or join in) traditional Turkish folk dancing

The summer months at the tents are more lively than the winter months. The Turkish locals of Fethiye go there for a family night out and you also get Turkish holidaymakers. Every night is likely to be lively and if you want to go on a Saturday night, our advice is to go up in the daytime to reserve a table. It will be packed. We've been to the tents twice recently and both times, it was busy. Oh, and just so you know; bar one or two other people, you are likely to be the only foreigners in there...one man's scary thought is another man's bliss!

Fethiye Yörük Çadılar - Useful Info:

• To get to the tents, enter the Çalış Beach promenade from the main road, turn left and keep walking towards the end. The tents are just after the Mutlu Hotel on the sea front.
• If you're entering Çalış Beach via the green steel bridge, you'll see the tents straight ahead of you as you come down from the bridge.
• Live Turkish music is advertised as starting at 8pm but it's usually around 9 - 9:30 before it starts.
• Make sure to go up and reserve a table if you want to go in summer on a Saturday night.
• There is a simple menu with very reasonably priced dishes such as köfte, şiş kebab and gözleme.

Shopping in Fethiye - Kipa Has Arrived!

We've only gone and done it! We've caved in to our own curiosity and just had to go to Kipa Fethiye to see what the excitement was all about. People reading this blog in other parts of Turkey such as Izmir and Istanbul will probably know all about Kipa but for those of you who are wondering what we're going on about, Kipa is Tesco (the massive British supermarket chain) and they have finally seen fit to build a store in Fethiye.

For us, this is a bit like the Fethiye McDonald's posts. Loads of people are really pleased that Kipa is finally in Fethiye. We're not fans of supermarkets at all - this photo says so much - but let's not go there in this post.

Kipa supermarket, Fethiye

Okay, our first ever Kipa experience. It felt like walking round a British supermarket (well, it is Tesco under a pseudonym) and this was authenticated by a British couple having a good tetchy moment with each other at one of the checkouts. It sells a few different sauces that Brits are familiar with such as Lea n Perrins sauces and Bisto and the like. Some items are cheaper than the other supermarkets and some are more expensive.

Kipa is not in our immediate locality but a big plus for us is that in the winter months (we know we're in the midst of summer), we'll be able to stroll up there at the weekends for a bottle of wine. They are selling the really good quality Turkish wines and some Chilean wines for between 15 and 20 lira so that's going to be a winter weekend treat. The other thing that's going to be a weekend treat - and this is one of the only things I've missed about Britain - I'm easy pleased - is they sell the cheap bunches of flowers from the buckets. I've now got a great bunch of flowers in a vase on the table and they cost a grand total of 1 lira, reduced from 3 lira. I'm a sucker for a bargain. At 1 lira, they'll probably be dead tomorrow...but they were 1 lira. What can you do?

So our future Fethiye shopping habits may well change. We're predicting :

• Wine, flowers, Kipa tuna (it's good and reasonably priced) from Kipa Fethiye.
• General essential shopping such as washing powder, toothpaste and the like from Tansaş supermarket. Tansaş is closer to our house. 
• Bread - ALWAYS from the local bakery or the little markets nearby.
• Fruit and veg - ALWAYS from Fethiye and Çalış markets.
• Fresh meat - ALWAYS from the butchers.
• Fresh fish - ALWAYS from Fethiye fish market or from the guys selling it on the harbour early in the mornings.

We've put 'ALWAYS' in capital letters because this is what we tell ourselves, constantly. It's our ideal. We have been known to get the odd bit of fish or meat from the supermarket purely for convenience and for this reason, it's good that supermarkets are around in Fethiye. Nothing will beat the markets and independent traders for us though...and hopefully a lot of other people feel the same way.   

A 2013 Update:

• The bunches of flowers and cheaper wines were short-lived and Kipa is...well, it's a supermarket. We look for offers!
• Fethiye now has two medium-sized Kipa stores (the new one is not far from Cafe Pazar, on the same street along with four - yes four - other supermarkets). Çalış market is also on this road (Yerguzlar Caddesi) and, happily, is still as busy as it always was.