Our favourite food market is the Fethiye Friday village market (Cuma Köy Pazarı).
We write a lot about the local food markets in Turkey but we’ve never written about our favourite one – until today that is.
Fethiye Friday Market
Cuma Köy Pazarı means the Friday Village Market and that’s why we like to go here so much.
It’s on the same site as the Tuesday market in Fethiye but you won’t see the clothes and souvenir stalls of the big market here.
Fridays are for locally grown fruit and vegetables only, set along the canal and also under the covered area.
And, whereas the Tuesday market is absolutely packed with shoppers of all types, the Fethiye Friday market is a market where you can amble around in your own space and your own time, browse the stalls, pick and choose.
In our guide to Çalış Sunday market, we said that was chilled and relaxed, as is Çiftlik Market on Thursdays, too.
But the Friday pazar beats both Çalış and Çiftlik hands down in the chill factor stakes.
Local Produce
And you won’t see the usual market traders here.
These people are villagers from the surrounding areas and they come to sell their own local seasonal produce.
The stalls are haphazard; some displays neatly arranged, but many are just a mixed pile of random goodies.
From fruits, salad stuffs and vegetables to large plastic tubs of homemade pekmez (molasses from various seasonal fruits), nar ekşisi, olive oil, cured olives…
And usually a few village eggs balancing precariously on top of everything, just for good measure.
We don’t go to the Fethiye Friday market with a shopping list.
No, the village market is for browsing and perusing. Because the thing is, you just never know what’s going to be there.
It’s whatever the villagers have on the day.
And that’s what you’re going to buy to make your fridge and cupboards a tad more interesting, in a random kind of way.
Seasonal Produce
Sometimes, at the Friday Market, we don’t even know what it is that we’re looking at!
And labels often don’t help because it’s the village market.
If there is any label there at all, village names are used to describe a lot of the produce.
Dialect is a beautiful aspect of language – it’s just not so helpful when you’re trying to work out what a foodstuff is.
Sometimes we’ll struggle to find the staples like potatoes and onions. But that’s okay. We buy those on Tuesdays and Sundays.
We come home from the Friday market with random bags. Rodos Kabağı, courgette flowers. Small bunches of wildflowers that have been picked around the local villages…
Wild salad leaves that are just described as yeşillik (greenery).
We genuinely have no idea what a lot of the leaves are.
But they’re edible and they make for more interesting salads like this Turkish wild radish leaf salad.
And, if you get hungry whilst you’re browsing the sometimes weird and wonderful produce, you won’t see the huge street food area of kebab stands that do good trade on the Tuesday and Sunday markets.
But you will see a couple of stalls selling bazlama and gözleme (Turkish flat breads). And this is good gözleme!
Not too oily, not too thin and crispy, but packed with filling – and it’s usually a lira or two cheaper than on the main markets.
It’s a little added bonus to the random Friday village market shopping trip.
And not to worry. If gözleme is not your thing, if you enter or leave the Fethiye Friday market by way of the canal that leads into the sea, you can tempt yourself with lots of famous Turkish street foods as you walk through the row of Fethiye street food vans.
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 16th of August 2012
@ BacktoBodrum: This is the Friday market and will probably never change. I bet the Tuesday market has grown a lot, though. Would love to see your photo. :)
Backto Bodrum
Wednesday 15th of August 2012
Somewhere I have a photo of me shopping in the Fethiye market in 1981. I must fish it out and send it to you so you can compare. I bet it won't look too different to today.
Turkey's For Life
Wednesday 15th of August 2012
@ Matt: The markets in Turkey are fab, aren't they. We always hunt one out wherever we go. Highlight of any trip. :)
Matt
Tuesday 14th of August 2012
One thing I love about Turkey! The super fresh, organic and cheap fruits and veggies at the local farmer markets!
Turkey's For Life
Tuesday 14th of August 2012
@ Jenny: Oh, the gözleme is so good!! And the Fethiye Friday market is so chilled, too. a great way to do your shopping. :)
@ Peter: The Fethiye Friday market is on the same site as the Tuesday market, along the canal in the centre of town. :)