Terrific Turkey.....

Potters village in Cappadocia

Back from Turkey after three wonderful weeks my days are still filled with thoughts and beautiful sights of this amazing country. What struck me first was the extreme landscape and the terrain. The charming old city of Istanbul , the fairy chimneys of Capppadocia, awesome beaches of Antalya, pristine Pamukkale and of course the incredible Izmir - ' Terrific Turkey ' it is !!!

Sharing a bit of Turkey with u... Whatever little my camera could do!.

Carpet factory in Ephesus
Ephesus....

'Travel' has different meaning to each one of us ........Get away, adventure, fun, retreat, relax, shopping... Though it is a mix of all these to me , most importantly it means 'time to be with myself'. Time to download, process, get in touch with my thoughts and rediscover myself.

The valley of Cappadocia

Food in Turkey is truly an experience. Apart from the regular bistro and pub menu the authentic home made turksih food is incredibly divine. Wide variety of vegetables prepared with succulent tomato based sauces, liberal use of yoghurt and feta... takes the experience to a different level.

My favourites were :
'Ekmek' - Turkish bread and olives and homemade grape molasses and 'menemen' ( Scrambled eggs wtih vegetables and herbs) for breakfast.
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'Manti' - mini pasta pockets with minced meat cooked and served in a bed of rich tomato sauce and creamy yogurt. They look lot like mini raviolis and 'Mezze platter' was for lunch. Or Bulgar rice with 'Imam bayildi' - eggplant stuffed with minced meat and cooked in tomato gravy

Snacked on 'Simit' - sesame bread, Charcoal roasted chestnuts and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Dinner was wide variety of Kebabs like Iskendar kebab or Testi kebab which is cooked in claypots for eight long hours , with Cappadocian red wine on the side .