Splendid Isolation in Kusadasi

There was little activity on the complex today as it is day two of our 100% curfew but it was lovely and sunny, although breezy, so I got my bedding washed and dried.  Back in the UK, I have to use the tumble dryer and it's still a novelty to peg out my washing and it be dry only a few hours later. As I returned with my washing, I saw that the Wine Fairy had been and left a bottle of red wine on my doorstep.  A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and my neighbour presented me with a plate of barbecued meats, so I could share their Saturday Iftar. I took the first photo just before the nightly 'boom' to announce the end to the daily fast and the other a short while later after the sun had finally set.  The sky was so clear with the moon shining although it's just a little dot in the photo; beautiful. 

This is my first time in Turkey during Ramadan.  My only previous experience was when I was working and a third of one of my teams in Bradford were young Muslims.  All observed Ramadan so to help them during the day, we didn't eat or drank in front of them.  We put all birthday celebrations on hold for the duration but come Eid, we all celebrated together.  Likewise, the whole team had celebrated Easter.  We also had an explanation of what Ramadan was on our team notice board, as we did with all the Muslim and Christian important dates and festivals. Last night, just as the sun was going down there were two loud 'booms' a second or two apart to signal the start of Ramadan. I'm not sure what produced the noise but I imagine it has been broadcast from the village mosque.  Sometimes I do hear the call to prayers, faintly, before the village dogs drown out the sound.  Now, I've  also read that  just before sunrise, drummers go round the streets to wake people up to ta

As anyone English knows, 23rd April is our patron saint's day.  According to Wikipedia, St George was a solder of Cappadocian Greek origins, so came from Turkey.  He died on 23rd April 303AD.   He was chosen as  England's patron Saint  in 1350, by King Edward III.  St George  was admired for his bravery in the face of terrible suffering, and he was popular among European Knights and military men.  He's also the patron saint of many cities and villages around the world. For some strange reason it has never been a bank holiday in England and most English people don't celebrate it, yet will celebrate St Patrick's day!  I always tried to celebrate St George's Day by wearing a red rose; the national flower of England, but over the years have been asked either if I was going to a wedding or, in Yorkshire, was it Lancashire Day! Sadly today, if you do celebrate the day, or fly the flag, you are assumed to be a right wing, zenophobe which certainly isn't the

Now, I've obviously had breakfast previously in Turkey, at the hotels I've stayed in, but none has compared to the complete feast I've experienced on a number of occasions here in Kusadasi.  All I can say is Turkish Breakfast  (kahvalti) here makes a Full English look like a light snack! Turkish Breakfast is popular on any day but particularly on Saturdays and Sundays.  I guess it is the Turkish equivalent of the family getting together for a Sunday roast dinner except it lasts for much longer! On my first visit to Kusadasi in April last year, I was taken out for Sunday Turkish Breakfast to Hotel Kismet which has fabulous views over Kusadasi marina, from its balcony.  View of Kusadasi Marina We got there at around 11am and didn't leave until 4pm.  What a feast we had!  It consisted of small dishes of   just about everything; bread, little cheese filled filo pastry rolls, eggs, sausage (sucuk), cheese, cheese, cheese, more cheese (all different), honey, jams (a v

I thought today was going to be uneventful but it turned out differently than expected.  Due to the total lock down, I had to send a 'happy 40th birthday' message via WhatsApp to my Turkish friend. If it wasn't for coronavirus there would have been a big party of friends and family celebrating in the Panorma restaurant here at Lavender Residence. My wonderful Turkish neighbours provided myself and the other English resident with a lovely and totally unexpected Turkish breakfast which I enjoyed eating sat in the sun.  There was quite a selection of Turkish goodies.  When I eventually stopped eating I was totally stuffed!  I'm going to do a post about Turkish breakfast, which is quite a feast, on another day, maybe tomorrow? My baba (daddy) in a UK care home, is blind so I've started recording voice messages for him and I did another today and sent it on WhatsApp to the manager.  Doing it this way means the staff can arrange the best time to play it to him so I

Again this weekend in many provinces there is 100% lock down with no one allowed out from their homes.  Looking at a police video of Kusadasi at 1am this morning, everyone is staying home.  It will be very hard on most people who are used to spending the weekends outside but it's just another day for me as I'm not allowed out at any time.  Although I can walk and exercise outside the apartment, I can't go out in public. Today, after some exercise (not enough really) I spent most of the day reading and listening to my 'chill out' music.  I joined in Rock Choir's 'Keep Britain Singing' at 3pm BST and for once didn't suffer any internet loss.  I was singing along to Firework and Symphony, at the top of my voice and with my higher alto harmonies.  For the sake of my neighbours I kept the windows closed. I ended up in an FB conversation with one of my Rock Choir friends about loo rolls and hand wash.  She told me she's managed to get loo rolls but c

It is now getting very warm at Lavender Residence which is up the hill outside Sogucak, although there is also a gentle refreshing breeze.  It's quite reminiscent of a good, hot summer's day in England; not too hot but hot enough to take meals in the garden. My terrace, at the side of the lounge is covered by the apartment above but open on three sides.  As we get to the height of summer it will be excellent for all meals outside but with shelter from the searing sun.  For now, I've moved my table and a chair to the far end where the morning sun spreads it's light and warmth. This morning I sat outside with my coffee and a bowl of delicious, sweet strawberries that my neighbour brought back for me from the market.  On occasions, I have had good strawberries in the UK but generally they are a bit hard and often under ripe.  These were large, fully ripe, soft, juicy and so..................strawberryish 🍓. Then a few hours later, whilst the sun was

I'm a big fan of nuts, particularly raw nuts.  I add them with fruit to 'fridge porridge' regularly snack on them and one of my favourite salads is Blue Cheese and Walnut salad, on a bed of mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes and a pomegranate sauce dressing. I'm not a big fan of marzipan but I do like almonds to snack on but until a few days ago, I'd never heard of eating green almonds.  I was given this treat by my Turkish neighbours and at first thought they were odd shaped olives.   I've since done a bit of googling to find out more.  With the help of Wikipedia I found out that almonds are drupes (stone fruit), not nuts, and the 'nuts' we eat are the seeds.  Peaches are also drupes.  Almonds can be sweet or bitter as there are different varieties. Back to green almonds, though!  They are only around for a few weeks in early spring and if left on the tree, ripen to the harder, brown nut that we are more familiar with, particularly in the UK.

When I visited Turkey for the first time in 2004, the holiday reps in Olu Deniz told us about the dolmus with stories of them being old and battered, fitted with kitchen chairs strapped to the side to offer additional seating, everyone crammed in regardless of numbers and don't be surprised if someone gets on with a goat or hens.  Oh, and you get on sit down and pass your fare along the other passengers to the driver.   Whilst I didn't see any goats, hens or other animals on a dolmus, they were a bit old and battered and I once had to sit on a cushion placed on a wheel arch as a seat. On my return to Olu Deniz the following year, the old dolmus had been replaced with very modern, white mini-buses with automatic opening doors in the middle, proper seats, buzzers to request a stop and a limit on the number of passengers. I don't have a lot of experience of using buses back home but one day, I had decided to get one in to Halifax and I needed to be there by 12pm.  Me being m

Today, Easter Sunday in Kusadasi was going to be just another day.  I recorded a voice message to send to my dad at his care home in Stalybridge, did some washing and then settled in for another day on my 'over 65s' lockdown.  But I hadn't bargained on my lovely Turkish neighbours, Muzo and Gulsaher.  Applying appropriate social distancing, they shared with myself and the other English resident, Graham, a lovely mezze of cheese, sausage, olives and banana and we also had a glass or two of red wine, as we all enjoyed the sun.  I video called my niece Emma, as I do every Sunday, missed a couple of video calls that I;ll return this evening but got a lovely message back from dad and 'Happy Easter' in Turkish from my bestie Helen, so responded in Ukranian.  Counting my blessings on this unusual Easter Sunday.

I love menemen!  Basically, it's scrambled eggs with onion, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and spices.  I'm sure there will be variations -I've just seen one recipe with cheese - it will depend on the cook, but it's fabulous and not just for breakfast. I always found it a bit of a tongue twister to say until I realised it's the same pronunciation of one of the warm up songs we do at Rock Choir to the William Tell Overture - many men, many men, many men, men, men - and now find I can pronounce it perfectly. The first time I had menemen was in Olu Deniz about 10 years ago and I loved it, being a fan of all things savoury and spicy.  I've made it myself at home and tried some variations.  One of my favourite UK home versions is to make the scrambled egg and add some cut up sun dried tomatoes and black olives and serve it on toasted ciabatta.  But the best version is Turkish menemen and my favourite place to eat it is La Terazza restaurant, which has Turkish/Belgian o

On a normal weekend, Turkish families love to spend the day outside, at the beach or parks or visiting some of the fabulous historical sites,  and I've enjoyed many leisurely weekends with my Turkish friends doing just that. But as this is now on hold until the virus has been overcome, I'm looking back at the Saturday some weeks back when it was sunny and quite hot and I 'found' the National Park known as Millipark. I wanted a change of scenery from Long Beach and knew there were beaches at Davutlar, a town a few kilometres from Sogucak. I totally missed those but heading straight through Davutlar eventually I ended up at the entrance to Millipark. If you wish you can drive through but, having read that there are no loos (always an issue) or restaurants in there, I decided to park up and have a short walk along the track at the side of the road. There is a small charge, depending on whether your are on foot or in a vehicle.  I think it cost me 6tl, which is les

Today the sun is out and and it's starting to get warmer!!  Soon, I should be able to sunbathe if my friends can get me some more suntan lotion as I've run out. Even when it's cold here, if the sun is out, it's warm and can tan your face.  When not on lockdown, I've gone out most days and over the coming days, I'll show you some of the beautiful places I've been to around Kusadasi but for today enjoy the beautiful views from Lavender Residence. Storm clouds January 9th April view over the fields 9th April view towards the sea January sunset over the sea Almond Blossom on the farm at the rear

On Friday, one of the Kusadasi expat FB sites announced that the over 65s and those with chronic illness were to be issued with PPE.  We already have to stay home and have our shopping done by friends, family or the council, have official escort to the doctor and the bank come to us !  I submitted my details not expecting much more to happen but today, I got a phone call and ten minutes later a council official delivered a pack of 3 masks, 3 bottles of sanitiser and gloves (I've not counted them yet).   I was told that as an old person not allowed away from home, it was a 'one off' emergency pack, for which I am extremely grateful.   Those not confined to home can register to receive a weekly pack of PPE.  Masks, which have to be worn in public, are also freely available at chemists and supermarkets and the Turkish government have now made them free and it is now illegal to charge for them.           

I think I'm a competent, and definitely confident, driver but I was apprehensive of driving over here.  I've driven extensively in the UK since 1974 when I got my full licence and I've also ridden my motorbike in northern Europe.  With the bike, the only thing to remember is to keep to the right hand side of the road, particularly when turning left.  Also there are some minor differences in road layout and the lights but basically, it's a doddle.  I've also driven an automatic in Tenerife and having 'fought' with the Spanish to get a parking space in a busy supermarket car park, it wasn't too bad.  My only experience of Turkish traffic was observing it in Istanbul and Antalya where the traffic was one major traffic jam with everyone vying to get in to a tiny space ahead; not too dissimilar to what I observed in New Delhi.  My thoughts, to make life easier here, were to hire an automatic but I was given a very good deal (there's always a deal to be