Today was the 2nd Karaçulha Camel Wrestling Festival, just up the road from where we live. With just a nominal entrance fee and proceeds going towards the local school, we would have been negligent not to go again. Last year, we entered the ‘arena’ (read ‘spare land’) with trepidation and a little excitement at being …

In Istanbul, tucked away in the back streets of Beyoğlu is the old area known as Çukurcuma. There’s always an area of any city that becomes the place to see, to be seen and to know about. While we were living in the UK in Manchester, this area was the Northern Quarter. And, during the …

The first time we came across biber dolması (Turkish stuffed peppers), we were staying with a Turkish friend and his family for a few days. Early in the day, mum was already preparing the evening meal and I remember glancing at the hob and seeing a pan with a glass lid, steam hissing through the …

One place our friend was keen to show us was Palamutbükü. ‘You’ll love it,’ he said. ‘It’s perfect.’ A little over 8 years ago, we were taken on a road trip to the Datça Peninsula for a short break with friends. It was November and Datça was deserted and beautiful. Just about everywhere we visited …

Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi is one of the most historic eateries near to some of the most historic tourist attractions of Istanbul. Most tourists visiting Istanbul for the first time are likely to be staying in Sultanahmet – the area boasting Sultanahmet Camii (the Blue Mosque), Aya Sofya, Topkapı Palace and the Basilica Cistern (aka Yerebatan …

Tis the season of mulled wine. Memories of freezing cold December nights in Manchester city centre. All of them made toasty, comforting and festive by the sight of a series of wooden huts in the square, softly lit and packed with handmade goodies, European foods. And stalls with huge simmering cauldrons of spiced, hot, red …

It’s little wonder that every time we walked past Palatium restaurant in Sultanahmet, it was a packed. Howling wind, driving rain – and a huge floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window radiating a warm, inviting glow to the outside world. We were two of its very regular customers whilst we were in Istanbul in October, as it was …

When a friend asked us if we fancied a weekend on the Datça Peninsula a couple of weeks back, we jumped at the chance, especially when they mentioned the promise of seeing Knidos… After our long weekend in Istanbul in October, we thought our 2011 travels in Turkey were through. Datça was to be an …

We’ve been writing this blog for two years now so it’s surprising that it’s taken us so long to get round to writing about this meaty staple of Turkish cuisine; kanat. Kanat means ‘wings’ (in this case, chicken wings). This post has been waiting backstage for a long time to see the light of day. …

The Datça Peninsula; wild, windy and just stunningly beautiful. That’s the impression we came back to Fethiye with last Monday after spending the weekend there with friends. It had been 8 years since we were last on this amazing stretch of land that juts out into the Mediterranean/Aegean Sea and, to be honest, while we …