Gokpinar Village

Oh where to begin!?.....

I decided on a whim to come to Gokpinar (SW Turkey) just last night, boarded a bus, and arrived this morning!! I had heard about this traditional Turkish cooking school that is run by a mother and son....for dirt cheap. They teach Mediterranean style Aegean cooking as well as spicer versions of Turkish cuisine from the Black Sea and Eastern Regions.

Gokpinar is a small traditional Turkish village of 100 people that was established by nomadic Turks some two hundred years ago. The house where I stay (and cook!) is atop a hill overlooking the village here most of the residents are either goat herders, farmers, musicians, or beekeepers. The guy who owns the house use to be a tour guide in Bodrum but realized that any visitor of Turkey wanting a true cultural experience had no place to go. So he bought and fixed up the place, planted a vegetable garden, and brought his mother to teach some really really delicious and authentic Turkish cooking.

The mother doesn't speak English, but there is a sweet girl about my age who translates while we are cooking. She also constantly quotes Rumi, which is nice.

Today we made homemade sundried tomatoes, green beans with olive oil and peppers, Parslane salad with yogurt, and bulgar pilav (bulgar wheat pilaf). We picked all the vegetables from the garen ourselves! Tomorrow morning: traditional Turkish breakfast, manti (my favorite!!!) and homemade bread. At some point we'll be making bakalava from scratch....mmmmmmmm. I'm writing down all the recipes and paying close attention so maybe I can carry all of these foods with me with I return!

I realized that cooking and picking vegetables makes me just about as happy as anything : )

There is also an AMAZING view of the night sky. I haven't seen starts this clear since I left West Texas....

Also, I get to attend a wedding that is taking place in the village on Sunday, which is great because I'll get to see an authentic wedding ceremony and celebration!! We'll be helping with the food preparation before.

This has by far been my best experience here yet.....

You can see more photos on my Facebook page!

Yawn

Lazy day today.

I spent most of the day at the internet cafe reading my book and plotting my travels. Needing to recover from jet lag and the endless amounts of things Ive been doing the last 5 days....

This Turkish keyboard is really frustrating by the way. The period and the i are out of place...plus I cant figure out how to do an apostrophy or the AT sign for email addresses. But I guess thats pretty minimal. Not too many complaints so far : )

This place never ceases to suprise me. I ate at this sandwich place today that used a huge Belgium waffle instead of bread. And actually, it was pretty delicious.

Tomorrow I am going to the Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar!! Lets hope my bargaining skills have improved!

Sultanahmet, Istanbul

It's been a few day since I've updated...but I've met like a dozen new friends in the last two days and have been busy running all over the city! I'm a little exhausted and have not had much time to rest. Hopefully I'll have a nice respite in Bursa soon!

If it's one thing I love about Turkish culture, it's their willingness to treat you like a family member or close friend within the first few minutes of meeting you! My second hosts name is Buket and she has really been such a bright spot in my trip...endless energy and enthusiasm. I got lost on the way to her apartment but after about half an hour trying to speak Turkish to my cab driver, I made it! We stayed up for hours drinking tea and talking. Buket studied abroad at the University of Michigan and goes to the same university as my first host, Cenk. (Something about those BosphorusU people :) ) She had some friends come in this morning from her home town of Eskisehir (pictured in the new photos I posted) and we all sat around Buket's table and had a proper Turkish breakfast....seseme bread, feta cheese, Nutella, cucumbers and tomatoes....and tea ofcourse. I asked why they eat breakfast this way. Their reply...."because it's easy!". Anyhow, I'm okay with bread and cheese pretty much anytime of the day : )

After I left Buket's, I decided to roam around Sultanahmet a while to see the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. Sultanamet is the most "touristy" spot of Istanbul and I have been putting it off, not wanting to fight the droves of camera yielding yabanci's (yabanci is turkish for "foreigner!). But it was actually one of the most amazing experiences I have had so far.

I spent the first hour or so walking through the streets (somewhat lost because I didn't want to take the overcrowded Tram) and happen to stumble upon a cafe called Maya's that was next to The Kybele Hotel. I sat down to order a cappuccino, but just ended up getting a mineral water after I found out it was going to put me out 8 TL (6 bucks). While I was flipping through my dictionary and trying to arrange some Turkish sentence in my head, the guy at the table next to me began to chat me up. He was a man about 50 or so, completely dressed in linen, with a rambo-style scarf around his head, and Birkenstocks....definitely not your typical Turkish guy! Turns out he was the owner of the hotel and the most prolific Turkish carpet dealer in Istanbal. (Authentic carpets sell for upwards of $50,000 or more). His hotel also has a merchant art museum full of hundreds of lamps and other authentic goods he has collected in his travels over the last 30 years. Seriously, the craziest thing I've ever seen. The room was like a bungalow COVERED wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling with the most rare and interesting goods from the Middle Eastern region.

While I was visiting with Mike (he made that name up haha) he introduced me to his close friend, Mimi, who was a Bulgarian journalist from San Francisco. Apart from being one of the most genuine people I've met, she also leads an extraordinary life. As a investigatory film maker, she is currently in Istanbul as an undercover prostitute to expose the dealings of the Kurdish mafia's sex trade and prostitution industry. She has been working on this project for 7 years and is one her last trip to finish the film. I was immediately intrigued! (And no, it's not exactly like the movie Taken...I'm in no danger Mom and Dad.) Although most of the women are their by choice or the result of addiction and poverty, some are Kurdish women who were forced into prostitution and brought to Istanbul....where they speak no Turkish and have no means to free themselves. Mimi hides cameras in her clothes and dresses in disguises to do her reporting.

I sat and talked to Mimi for 2 hours and she told me about some of the things she has witnessed over the past 7 years. Her report covers all parts of the world, including Mexico, Asia the Middle East. Aside from these fascinating stories, Mimi also shared with me practical life advice about living in Turkey. Most of the things I was already aware of, but she made me feel more confident about my choice to come here. Even after her work and all her travels, Istanbul is her favorite city in the world! She proceeded to go on and on for another hour about Turkey and her favorite spots to go! I took notes : )

That was kind of alot. But it would have taken me days to recount that by phone.

International calling is so expensive. Goodbye Blackberry addiction! : )

Talk soon!!

Day on the Bosphorus

Ridiculous.

This photo was taken from Boğaziçi University where my host goes to school. I explained to Cenk that the few from Texas Tech is not near as appealing...

After touring the University, we went to an art exhibition that featured original works from some famous Turkish and Portuguese artists. My favorite paintings were by an artist named Hoca Ali Riza as well as Osman Hamdi Bey--Turkey's most beloved painter. Then we ate dinner (with some tasty desserts!) at an outdoor cafe along the shoreline of the Bosphorus.

I can't get over how great my host, Cenk, has been. What an amazing first couple of days.

Oh, and I have a Turkish cell phone now. They have a ban on foreign cell phones (they say this is for safety, but most agree it to boost cell phone sells in Turkey).

PS. Coffee here = everything I hoped it would be : )

First day in Turkey

After 10,000 miles and a ridiculous amount of bus/train/plane/dolmus rides, I have made it to Istanbul!! It's really late here (about 1:30 am) but I figured I would write to cover the days events and let everyone know I'm okay.

What an amazing city. The magical quality of Istanbul is difficult to put into words...and is hardly done justice through a photo (even though I will be posting some in the next few days!) From my first view of Bosphorus, to my drive through the city's colorful hills and winding streets, to my first Efes beer on the rooftop of a Taksim cafe, Istanbul has been a wonderful host. Several Istanbul'ers have even welcomed me into their homes for this first week--graciously giving me a first look at the city through their own native lens.

I got to chat over a long dinner with my first host, Cenk, but haven't seen any of the "sites" just yet (even though the one from my plane window was pretty good : )) With everyone in class tomorrow I'll be able to see some more of Istanbul. Not sure what's on deck, but it's sure to be as good as these first few hours!!

Welp, looks like I'm going to Bursa!

I have been dancing around the idea of going to Turkey for some time--a fact little known by most I suspect.

With a fancy Cambridge ESOL certification under my belt, a couple job offers, and enough Turkish to get me out of the airport, I have decided to give Turkey an honest go-at-it. My job will be at a Language Academy in Bursa (I don't really know about work/blog rules, so I'll leave it at that. If you really want to know where I'm working, ask me.) I'll be teaching university students and doing a little private tutoring now and then.

Bursa is a city of 1.5 million people located in Northwest Turkey about 80 miles south of Istanbul by ferry across the Sea of Marmara. I'm told it's often overlooked by most tourists because of its close proximity to Istanbul's massive urban sprawl, but offers a distinct charm and beauty. Bursa was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire and has some truly amazing architecture. Its nickname is "Green Bursa" because the city rests beneath the tree-clad slops of Uludag (Great Mountain) and is covered with some of the loveliest parks in the area. Bursa is a great place for a lover of the outdoors (your's truly) because I'll only be a short cable car ride away from a maze of hiking trails and rock climbing sites...not to mention skiing in the winter time!

That's alot of information you could probably find on Wikipedia or something but I figured I would let ya hear it from the horse's mouth.

I know that the reactions to the news have been varied. Some have responded with vauge encouragement...while others just look at me like I'm a crazy person. And really, its a hard thing to understand even for me. I just know that God has been intrisically involved in every decision and event I have made, including this one. The gift of discernment is a powerful one and so I pray that I am making my decisions in that truth. Some bizarrely amazing doors have been opening already in Turkey, so I am encouraged.

I fly out on July 14th and will be spending some time in Istanbul and possibly Bodrum (bellydancing class : ) So stay tuned for that!

I'm going to keep this much like a personal journal and will be updating if frequently. Feel free to send any questions my way. Emails are also welcome: jana.m.smart@gmail.com