We just love Kemeraltı Market in the Konak area of Izmir! We’ve made this comparison before, but for us, when it comes to size and personality, Izmir is to Istanbul what Manchester is to London in the UK. Izmir is completely different to Istanbul. But it’s impossible not to make such a comparison. Both cities …
Beans – both dried and fresh – are a much-used ingredient in Turkish cuisine and the dishes they produce, like this white bean dip, are right up there amongst our favourites. When it comes to white beans (cannellini beans) Antalya style piyaz is a real regular in our house. And, of course, kuru fasulye, a …
In the Izmir seaside neighbourhood of Alsancak, there’s a famous, pedestrianised shopping street called Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi. Filled with high street stores, restaurants and patisseries it’s Izmir’s answer to Istanbul’s Istiklal Caddesi, though it’s much less crowded and the high-rise buildings are much less historic. So if shopping isn’t your thing (we’re most definitely not …
Most people who visit Turkey fall in love with Turkish bread right from that very first moment when it passes their lips. When fresh, the standard Turkish loaf should be crisp on the outside and soft and light in the centre. Upon sitting down to a meal, the diner insists to themselves, “Only a couple …
Each city has its own personality, with qualities that either attract or repel the visitor, and if you’ve read our previous posts on Izmir, you’ll know we were very much attracted to the Aegean city. It’s a confident city without being cocky or in your face. It’s surrounded by mass tourism but remains unaffected by …
It’s Friday again so it’s time for another Turkish food photo. Actually, we’ve decided to change the name of this weekly series to Turkish Food Focus because our first two posts in this section, the Izmir gevrek vs. simit mystery and nohutlu pilav, contained more than one photo. Future posts are likely to be the …
In a town that is constantly growing, changing, evolving; where new eateries regularly appear on the scene, tempting foodies with designer interiors and increasingly innovative menus, we also fully appreciate – and perhaps rely upon – the comforting presence of places like Bülent’in Yeri… Bülent’in Yeri, Kayaköy Because, like barbecue restaurant, Cin Bal, Bülent’in Yeri …
Well, as far as we’re concerned, surviving the winter months in Fethiye isn’t about surviving at all. We love it! Well…most of the time. But we do get many people asking us, “But what do you do in winter? What’s the weather like? Don’t you get bored?” No. In fact, we’d love the winter season …
We’re going ‘fusion food’ with this vegetarian Mediterranean stuffed peppers recipe. Turkish cuisine is famous for its dolma recipes and peppers stuffed with rice filling is perhaps the most famous of those recipes. But for this recipe, we’re going with the Mediterranean label because, whilst we’re still using Turkish ingredients for our delicious filling, there’s …
We’d been in Izmir for four days and still hadn’t made it to one of the sights on our list of Izmir Must-Sees – Kadifekale (the Velvet Castle). Racing around, bagging sights is never really top of our agenda when we go somewhere new – but Kadifekale sits on top of a hill (of the …