The fortress

The peninsular where we’d had dinner and where Randal and I had stayed at Ali’s Pension in 2011.

I love the old wood and stone buildings…some abandoned Greek homes.

I especially love the mountain behind the town.  We motorbiked up part way last visit.

Modern rugs and lamps with designs  tied to tradition.

Looking back towards Eḡirdir as we traveled towards Beyṣehir and Konya.

Eḡirdir is famous for its apples so Taṣ stopped and bought us some local apples.  These were last year’s crop, but still good!

http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?m=201107 is the story of our amazing motorbike ride to Beysehir from Eḡrdir and our visit to Konya and the Whirling Dervishes in 2011.

The plan this trip was to go directly to Konya and visit the Mevlana Museum and the Selimiye Mosque.  But the mosque was closed for renovation so we stopped in Beyṣehir and visited the Esrefoglu Mosque instead.

Beyṣehir Esrefoglu Mosque…a wonderful spur of the moment stop.

Randal and I had stayed overnight in Beyṣehir in 2011 and had visited this mosque in the old Ottoman part of the city and I’d found it quite lovely. http://www.turkishculture.org/architecture/mosques/seljuk-mosques/esrefoglu-mosque-855.htm

describes the mosque and tells its history.

http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?p=7419   is our earlier visit to Beyṣehir. http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?m=201107 is our visit to Konya

Taṣ had located and called the mosque’s cleric who graciously agreed to give us a tour. We learned that the entrance way to the side   He also later sang some of the prayers for us and his voice was really sweet. 

“Near the front of the worship space is a structure called the Minbar, the raised steps from which the imam delivers the sermon at the Friday prayer. Near the Minbar stands a roofed niche called the Mihrab. This nook indicates the direction of the Ka’aba, the cube-shaped building in Mecca that is the most sacred site in Islam. All mosques are built facing the Ka’aba, and Muslims should always face in this direction while praying.

The words of the Quran, the holy book that Muslims hold to be the words of Allah (God) revealed to the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, are everywhere in the prayer hall, often in flowing Arabic script. The hall may also be decorated with intricate patterns running the length of the walls, pillars, ceilings and floors. Pictures or statues are absent, in observation of the warning in the Hadith (the sayings, actions or traditions of Muhammad and his companions that are not part of the Quran) that depictions of living things can lead to idolatry.” http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/791-inside-mosque-muslim-worship-allah.html

We learned that in the design were the Arabic letters for the word Allah.  And the entrance way to the Minbar is quite narrow so that anyone entering must not have over-indulged in food.  If you can see them, Taṣ is wearing some knitted gloves he bought from the local women selling their crafts just outside the mosque. 

The design represented the earth with the stars and solar system surrounding it.

The beautiful blue ceramic tiles

From the Beyṣehir we drove on to Konya for lunch and to visit the home of the Whirling Dervishes

Where locals go for pide.

Pide is Turkish pizza!

I ate it all!

The crust is thin and crisp and dripping with thinly melted cheese and olive oil.  Or bits of grilled meat.  It was after 2 pm so we were actually quite hungry and dinner was a long way off in Avanos, Cappadocia.

The turquoise tomb of M. J. Rumi founder of the Dervish order.

Waiting in line

Headscarves are rare in Marmaris but quite common inland. 

Shops selling dervish memories. 

It was a quick stop in Konya.  Soon we were on the buses and off to Avanos our base from which we’d visit what we know as Cappadocia but what is called in Turkish Kapadokya.

We boarded the bus at 6:30 am with only a mild gray drizzle rather than the forecasted heavy rain and our weather luck held the whole trip.  Our first stop a few hours later was the West Café & Bistro in Gocek.  It was our second breakfast of the day so I went easy; Randal went for it all. 

www.westcafegocek.net

You can get a full American breakfast with bacon and eggs…or grilled cheese toast.  It’s a favorite café in a favorite cruisers’ bay.  Our pal Eve especially liked Gocek when she was cruising in Turkey.

Our overnight stop, Lake Eḡirdir was a day’s drive which was broken up by breakfast, a light lunch and several “comfort stops and a visit to Sagalassos and Isparta.

Marta Evi translates to the House of Mushrooms…. Our second stop of the day.

Finding spots that can feed 26 people quickly with good and also interesting food, means short stops between eating or sometimes long stops between eating.  Our first day had short stops so no one was overly hungry when we arrive here about noon after the stop in Gocek.  That, of course, did not stop us from eating. 

Mushroom soup with mushroom bread!

Soup and bread were delicious.  The soup was garnished with a lovely sprig of rosemary.

Natural mushroom bread..we would call it “homemade” mushroom bread which is bread with bits of mushroom in it

So now that we’d eaten our way along it was time to stop and work it off.  And what an amazing place to do that, Sagalassos. 

“The archaeological site of Sagalassos is located in southwest Turkey, near the present town of Ağlasun (Burdur province); roughly 110 km to the north of the well-known port and holiday resort of Antalya. The ancient city was founded on the south facing slopes of the Taurus mountain range and was the metropolis of the Roman province of Pisidia. Next to its mountainous landscape, a series of lakes form another typical feature of the regional geography. Today this region is known as the Lake District.” http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5409/

http://www.sagalassos.be/  also has lots of info too.  Both Internet sites can answer all of your questions about Sagalssos.  I just enjoyed walking around in the beautiful mountain setting.  It was cold, overcast, windy and just perfect!  The views of the valley and snow-capped mountains were breath taking in their starkness.  I love the wild open spaces, scrub, stone and dessert.  The only thing missing were sheep, goats and donkeys.

We made a very quick stop in Isparta for folks to purchase products made from roses. 

http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?p=7352 tells the story of our first visit to Isparta and how an Isparta government official Bulent Akbas arranged with his friend the Mayor of Guneykent, Fahretdin Gozgun, a tour of the rose fields for us guided by a wonderful young man named Emre Yalcinkaya and an equally helpful Guneykent employee to drive us through the hills.  I totally recommend a visit to Guneykent for anyone interested in the rose industry in the Isparta area.

Taṣ and his friend who owns Kebapçı Kadir just near the clock tower in Isparta. http://www.kebapcikadir.com.tr/  which according to their web page has been in existence since 1851.

It was getting cold and damp so Randal and I skipped the shopping area for some tea.  In Lake Eḡirdir I was hoping to buy more of the cheapo rose cream I’d bought last time so skipped the rose shops in Isparta. 

As we were leaving Isparta  this lady came aboard to sell dried rose petals.

The bag of of dried rose petals was only 5 TL so Randal and I bought one.  We like to buy local products when we can.  I had no clue what we’d do with the petals but that’s not always the point.  We just wanted to be supportive of this lady.  (Actually they are now sitting in the corner of our front head which should be a good thing.)

Our final stop Day 1 was Lake Eḡirdir, a favorite place from our 2011 motorbike trip.

http://www.mydoramac.com/wordpress/?p=7322 tells that story.

Dinner at a Big Fish Restaurant on the tip of the island where we ate locally caught perch.

A final photo before heading back to the hotel and a good night sleep as I planned to get up (and did) go for a 6 am walk through Eḡirdir the next morning.   That story next.

You will not forget the poet from the Black Sea ‘Children’s Jacket” here at this place.

That is a totally wild guess  except that I did find the following  “Kâzım Koyuncu 1972-2005 (Şair Ceketli Çocuk) “ and we were planting the saplings in the   Kâzım Koyuncu  Memorial Forest. 

The curved info on the bottom is the name of the local company providing the barbecue.   

Trees planted in past years.

Saplings waiting to be planted.

One of “my” trees.

You picked up a sapling, found a hole, peeled the plastic casing from the sapling’s roots, put the sapling in the hole and then pushed the dirt back in with your hands hoping not to encounter any creepy crawlies never mind glass shards.  I should have thought to bring gloves

Mary and Rick with a planted sapling.

Preparing for the “TV” segment.

Imdat Avci   http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?load=detay&link=151719

“İmdat Avcı is a one-man environmental movement, sailing the high seas in the Marmaris area, where he cleans up trash wherever he finds it. This mission is his passion and his life’s work.

Once a careless user of the natural world, a traumatic experience in his 30s converted him into an eco-warrior, and now he tirelessly scours the highways and waterways of Muğla and fights inefficiency, waste and animal cruelty wherever he finds it.”

Mary stepped forward to help hold the sign.

She also was brave enough to speak on camera and said all the right things about being happy to take part in this local environmental event. 

Whole families took part in the tree planting.

By 1:30 we’d helped fill all of the available holes.  Lots more volunteers were arriving, some carrying spades to actually dig more holes; so we waved good-bye and started back to the marina.  As we were passing Albatros marina, we heard someone call out to us.  It was Joan, an x-pat we’d met several times in the past few months.  She asked if we wanted to see her friend Hassan’s wood boat.  There had been a horrible fire just a year ago and he was in the process of rebuilding her.  We said yes and joined her to go meet up with Hassan.

Hassan on the right (hatless) with his helper.

We were invited aboard.  I said no as I hated ladders.  Hassan, Joan, Mary and Rick went up the ladder. As I hate wimping out even more than I hate ladders, Mr. Helper walked to the stern of the boat with me and I climbed an even steeper ladder to the top and then he just took my hands and hauled me onto the boat.   I did warn them that climbing up was 10 times easier for me than climbing down so I would be there until the boat was put back into the water and I could step off onto the dock.

Hassan giving us the tour.

Her name is Panorama and she is due to be back in operation by the end of March.

She will be beautiful once again.

Rick, Mary, Hassan, Joan on what will be the sunning deck. 

Well I did manage to climb down the front ladder which had some really big spaces between the rungs.  I do hope we get to see Panorama when she is back in the water.  

Then it was back to the boat where Randal was slaving away making 2 pecan pies for the St. Patrick’s Day Potluck Dinner.  Pecan Pie is Southern, not Irish, but no one was complaining and both pie plates were empty by the end of the night. 

Randal’s pecan pie with the incredibly flaky crust!

Everyone brought a dish so the table was soon crowded with dishes of food.

Sampling the Irish and not so Irish dishes.

Irina thnks the food is just perfect!

Kellys all….     Ned and Barbara                                           Ed and Sue

Lee and Zehra celebrate her birthday and their 19^th anniversary.

Cute!

Cuter!

Bill and Joan.  On her next birthday she’ll be 88 years incredibly young!!!

Mary in her brand new sweater that she knitted in Wednesday Group  dancing the jig with Joan.

A fish restaurant exactly where it should be!

Azmakkapı Orfoz Restaurant   Azmakbas  Akyaka, Muḡla              

What a setting!

That piece was half the fish!  It was shared by TK and Randal and Deena and I shared a piece the same size.  We had meze, salad, bread and that wonderful grilled sea bass.

Deena pointing to the motor on the half-sunken dinghy which is the only dinghy in Turkey in worse shape than ours.

The restaurant, just a bit out of town center, seemed a popular place where you could watch the small boats giving river tours.   Ducks and geese swim by hoping for handouts.  Deena and I fed the ducks and geese.  They would take the bread from your hand…if you were brave enough to hold on to it as they grabbed for it.  Sometimes I was and sometimes I wasn’t. 

After lunch we drove into the village and went for the boat ride up the river.

Deena

TK

Several small restaurants dotted the river bank

Looking down into the crystal clear river was like looking into a huge aquarium of fish, turtles and river grasses. 

This young boy and his sister seemed to enjoy the ride.

Our lunch restaurant was the turn-around point of the river ride.

See the ruins of something on the hills behind.

“Being a settlement even in antique times – there are plenty, though not very important remains.”

But they were impressive to us.  The tower in the distance distracts a bit from the ‘antique.”

After our the ride we walked around the resort area a bit.  It was in the process of being renovated which seems to happen to many hotels in the area during the winter.

TK and Deena

Some photos of Randal and me taken by Deena.

Great photo!

This turtle was struggling to climb out of the stream onto the stone walkway.  Deena helped him out and then he plopped himself back in!

Deena pointing out where we’d just been.

She obviously wanted a belly rub

Deena obliged

This beach is probably quite crowded during the summer. 

It is possible to take a bus from Marmaris so maybe we will one day again before we leave Turkey.

Just as our previous visits to Karacahisar, we were stopped at the bridge by a herd of goats.  We love this!

There are about 3 streets in the village but we got lost finding Sebile’s house.

While we were there we noticed a carpet that Sebile had woven and both Randal and I really liked it.  We were particularly taken by the lovely golden color of the wool.

This is a wool on wool carpet that will last past our life time.   Randal and I loved the gold color which comes from a “corn flower” boiled for the dye.  The browns come from walnuts.  The red, green, and black are chemical dies.   Some of the yarn came from  Sebile’s sheep and some from her neighbors’ sheep.  She spun, dyed, and then wove the wool into this carpet. 

Prior to the mid-19th century, many of the weaver’s color choices were dictated by the availability of certain plants in their region or what could be obtained by trade.  Before the seminal year of 1860, when chemical dyes first arrived on the scene, plant based dyes were all that were available. These dyes are called vegetable dyes or natural dyes and have a distinct look about them. They age beautifully, work harmoniously together and the indigo dye, which creates all the ranges of blue, even preserves the wool. Usually with vegetable dyes one can observe a slight variation in the color itself. Also affecting this is the type of wool being used and how it was spun. Hand-spun wool, being less perfectly formed, will accept the colors of the dyes at different rates of the same shade and will show more variation in color than machine spun wool. Deeply saturated wool will also show less color variation which will only appear after the rug begins to age. This variation of color is termed "abrash" and adds a certain artistic quality and charm to tribal rugs which is often highly regarded.  http://www.nhrugs.com/vegetable%20dyes.html

The sheep!

A similar carpet in progress with the pattern as a guide.

Showing how it’s done; TK in particular was quite fascinated….maybe a retirement hobby.

Sebile’s daughter kept her “poker face” our entire visit.  Perhaps a future weaver; perhaps not.  One day she took a scissor to her mom’s carpet in progress but thankfully it could be repaired.  I was that kind of a kid only I took the scissor to my hair just before I was to have a set of photos taken.  So only my sister has a set and not me.

Randal never stopped smiling all day! 

When we left Sebile she gave a huge bottle of her homemade olive oil to Deena and me.  Randal had made one of his famous walnut pies for the two carpet ladies Sebile and Gülümser to share.  He gave both women a huge jar of corn syrup and the recipe for walnut pie translated into Turkish by Deena and TK. 

From Sebile’s house we drove the 2 minutes to Gülümser’s house.  We had been there twice before, once in May of 2011, by luck and once in December to order a carpet.  Gülümser was busy with other carpet orders and the olive harvest so asked if Sebile could make it for us with the pattern Randal had admired.  I think I heard them explaining to Deena and TK who translated for us, that they were the last two women in the village with the skills to make carpets.  We had once learned that Turkish carpets have double knots

Gϋlmser and Randal with the carpet we bought from her!

It’s very similar to Sebile’s though the background colors are different.   Many people buy two of the same for either side of the bed, but we wanted one from each lady.  Not sure where we will use them, but they will always remind us of the “carpet ladies of Karacahisar. 

Medalled Milas Carpets

Yet another group of Milas carpets and rugs, this time distinguished on the basis of their initial conception, are the ones referred to as "medalled". Their prototype has appeared in the village of Karacahisar near Milas, and this village and its vicinity is still producing carpets and rugs based on the same pattern, which are also called Karacahisar carpets and rugs, considered inside the category of Milas carpets and rugs. Instead of the niche and the alem placed in the fore as in the prayer rug tradition, Karacahisar carpets and rugs are characterized by a centrally situated and larger field called "belly" ("göbek") with medal-like designs around, as well as abstract patterns of leaves and branches which are woven along the sides of the carpet. They are woven on a bed of white and red, regardless of the proportion these colors may occupy at the final stage of the finished product. Prayer rug types are usually woven in a tighter manner, and Karacahisar carpets and rugs looser.

Colors

For the final colors, brown, peculiar tones of reddish brown and of a very dark yellow are distinctive tints of Milas carpets and rugs. Wool has established itself as the main material for Milas rugs as of the 18th century, and the natural dyes are still widely used. Although industrial dyes of our day can more or less fully replace the savour and resistance of naturally obtained dyes, natural dyes will mature in the same manner as traditional rugs.

   The yellow is obtained from leaves of peach and apricot trees, the distinctive reddish brown (which is also frequently encountered in artefacts dating from the Carians, the inhabitants of the same region in antiquity) from Erica vulgaris, the brown from walnut leaves, the very dark, brownish yellow from acorns, the green from mint, and the wool is blackened by leaving it in the ground for a week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milas_carpet

MİLAS – Considered valuable cultural items and famous beyond the borders of Turkey, Milas’ trademark carpets are about to be saved from becoming a dying craft. Merchants complain that the number of producers is decreasing and the existent ones use factory fiber instead of traditional threads. Local authorities take a stand to protect the carpets

The state administration and the municipality of the Milas district of Muğla are collaborating to preserve the tradition of Milas carpets for the next generations.

Milas carpets are considered valuable cultural items and are famous beyond the borders of Turkey. The merchants who sell original Milas carpets have complained that the number of carpet-producing villages is decreasing and the existing ones use factory fiber instead of the traditional threads.

Türel Buldan, a 64-year-old owner of one of the district’s well-known carpet stores, said the exact history of carpet production in Milas was unknown but a prayer rug from the 17th century, at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, is labeled the oldest known Milas carpet. Buldun said there were 40 motifs unique to Milas. "The most famous is the one called ’Adalar’ (Islands). The carpets are woven by Turks from İstanköy, Creta and Rhodes. ’Ada Milas’ is the carpet’s name," he said.

Similar to natural dye

Buldan said factory-created wool fabrics that have similar colors to natural dye from plant roots are mostly preferred these days and only the villages of Karacahisar and Bozalan follow the tradition of using naturally dyed wool. Only a small number of the carpets that are woven and sold in Turkey are original Milas carpets, according to Buldan who said nearly all of the carpets sold outside of Milas are lower-quality productions woven in the villages of Isparta, Afyon, Burdur, Balıkesir and Kütahya provinces. "Those carpets are far from natural, and not original," Buldan said, adding that the imposter carpets were being sold at the same price as the originals.

"I want people who weave carpets with naturally dyed wool to earn more. A carpet takes two months to complete," said Buldan. He said the weavers’ profit is laughable compared to today’s salaries. According to Buldan, the low pay is another reason that carpet weaving is a dying art. He said a cleaning lady makes more money than a carpet weaver and weaving is similar to a hobby now. "There are carpet-weaving stands in 80 of the 114 villages of Milas. The stands are there but the number of villages where carpets are being woven is decreasing rapidly. There are approximately 20 villages in which carpets are woven," said Buldan.

Milas district’s local administrator, Şahin Aslan, said a project for preserving the carpets of Milas is being prepared by the Milas Girl’s High School. The project aims to prevent the degeneration of carpets while preserving their originality and improving their status by offering reliable information to consumers. The local administration of Milas, Milas Municipality, Muğla University, Milas Sıtkı Koçman Vocational School of Higher Education, Milas County Directorate of National Education, Milas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ildız Carpet Farm are all supporting the project.

"In order to actualize the project, the collaborators met with weavers and tried to figure out each and every quality of the Milas carpets. The carpets are going to be labeled as Milas carpets only if they meet the standards. Therefore, the buyer will not hesitate about whether a carpet is a real Milas carpet or not, and the weavers will make the deserved profit," Aslan said. They are working on a historic building to be transformed into a showroom for Milas carpets, he said. Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat said the Milas carpet was not a product in their eyes. "For us, each and every one of our carpets is a cultural envoy," he said. The mayor said steps must be taken for the international production of the Milas carpet. A carpet museum is in the works and training courses are to be opened to preserve the genuine Milas motifs, according to the mayor.  http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/11628135_p.asp

We said our final good-bye to Gϋlmser and drove off happily with our carpets.  Gϋlmser had served us tea and some tiny nuts that tasted like pistachio mixed with pepper and looked like peppercorns.  That was just enough to hold us until our lunch stop in Akyaka for some grilled fish.  It was a wonderful lunch in an incredibly picturesque town.  That story next email.

Feta Cheese Salad at Kırçiçeği   http://www.kircicegi.com.tr/en/index_en.htm

Ordinarily I’m not a feta cheese fan, but this was really good, not overwhelmingly salty at all.  Just a really rich taste reminding you that cheese comes from milk.  And the salad contained lots of arugula, the nutty/peppery leaf called roka here in Turkey .  A great deal of “white cheese” is eaten here for breakfast: I know I ate a ton when we traveled through Turkey on our motorbike.  It’s great on bread with strawberry jam.  I never would have thought of it as feta.  I always call it “white cheese” and ask for the kind with less salt.

“White cheese, commonly known as Feta cheese in the West, is mainly produced in the Marmara (Area around Istanbul) Region, is consumed in abundance. It can be produced out of sheep or cow milk, but the production techniques may change according to region. White cheese needs 90 days to mature in salt water. High fat content white cheese is soft and smooth whereas low fat versions are harder. It is an essential part of Turkish breakfast and used in börek.”  http://www.turkishculture.org/culinary-arts/cheeses-312.htm

  While in North Cyprus I read about Turkish Hellim cheese vs. Greek Halloumi and the cultural clashes over who really created this particular cheese with the rights to call it by a specific name.  Apparently there are Feta cheese wars also.    The following information comes from students in a history course at Cornell University.  Part of their study of inter-European history was the study of some foods associated with different countries.

“The Feta Cheese Dispute

Issues of Regional Identification Involving EU Regulations and “National” Brands of Food

by Mike Peluso, 11/20/2005

  Introduction

There has been an encouraging degree of cooperation in recent years among European countries, and it appears that the EU has helped to create a more defined sense of a truly "European" identity. The spread of ideas and culture has become more apparent than ever before. However, despite the recent successes of the EU, it has not gone without controversy. Specifically, a number of conflicts over food have emerged in the past few years. Despite the increase in cooperation, it has become apparent that there are still strong regional and national identity issues among many Europeans. In some cases, these national disagreements have extended to different types of food and the question of which culture they belong to. Feta cheese is one prime example, and it has been battled over by Greece, Denmark, and Germany, among others. The long-running disagreement over this cheese shows that cultural and economic concerns are still extremely divisive elements within the EU.

Feta cheese.

Feta cheese is a brined cheese that is made from goat and sheep milk. It is unclear exactly when it began to be produced in Greece, but it is discussed in several ancient Greek sources. For example, the Cyclops in Homer’s The Odyssey prepares a cheese from sheep’s milk that is believed to be feta [4]. Within Greece, feta has been produced in much the same way for thousands of years. The unique climate of the Greek mountains is believed to give feta cheese its distinct taste, with the main ingredient coming from sheep and goats that graze in the area. Greek producers have strict regulations regarding feta, including the stipulation that at least 70% of the product be made of sheep’s milk. The remainder can be made of goat’s milk, due to the difficulty in obtaining large quantities of sheep’s milk. It takes about an hour for the milk to coagulate, and then it is cut into large cubes. These cubes are packed away into barrels and refrigerated for about two months [5].

The interesting thing about feta cheese is that it continues to develop as it ages, much like fine wine. It will taste differently depending on how many months it has been allowed to age. The Greeks have been regulating this process since 1935, and their firm tradition ensures a cheese with a strong, salty taste. Other producers, like France and Denmark, often use cow’s milk in the process, and they may use coloring agents that Greek producers strictly prohibit ].” https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/his452/fetawars.html#history

Selap at MADO

Salep, a beverage from wild orchid.

My order of salep took a while to come; longer than Mary’s coffee, but it was worth the wait.  You sprinkle the chopped pistachio nuts and tiny raisons on the top and then sprinkle it with cinnamon.  The tiny pastry had more chopped pistachio in it.  This was my first ever Salep. 

Nestle version which can’t possibly compare to the wonderful stuff at MADO.

Salep  http://www.wittistanbul.com/magazine/salep-and-boza-history-and-recipe-of-special-turkish-winter-drinks/

A wild orchid, the basis of salep.

Orchids have fascinated mankind for more than 3000 years, not only with its aesthetic beauty but also with its medical might. The idea of making a drink out of this enchanting flower belongs to Turks, thanks to their religious belief. In the 8th century, Turkish people converted to Islam. According to the belief, they are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages. So they came up with the idea of salep, a hot milky drink to warm you up during the cold winters.

Tubers of wild orchids are washed, boiled, dried and finally grinded into flour. This is the essence of this soft and warming, but also medical drink. The healing power of salep comes from glucomannan, which heals respiratory problems like bronchitis and cough.  It empowers the heart and the mind, stops diarrhea and warms up the body. Especially if it’s consumed with ginger and/or cinnamon, its effect is amplified.

(Last night I mentioned over the VHF radio that I wasn’t feeling great: my throat was sore and I was tired.  I wanted to explain why I wouldn’t be at Neighbors Restaurant to help celebrate Rick’s 63^rd birthday.   Someone in the marina office heard what I said and had the Pineapple Restaurant  send over some warm Selap.  I hadn’t known they were doing that so tried to send the Pineapple guys to another boat.  It took 2 calls to the marina as well as the marina manager coincidentally walking past to get it all straightened out.  That was very sweet and I do like my salep!”)

Where to Find Salep

    This precious flower grows almost everywhere in Turkey, and there are lots of varieties. Yet, some varieties are facing extinction. To get 1 kilo of salep flour, more than 1000 orchid tubers are pulled out of the soil. And it takes up to 7 or 8 years for the orchid’s tubers to grow sufficiently to use for salep production. Therefore, export of salep is prohibited. However, instant versions with salep flavor are exported.  (I paid 6.50 TL for my Salep which is about $3.75.  Given what it takes to make salep you would think it would cost more.)

[In Istanbul] the two common places to drink a nice warm cup of salep are Emirgan Sütiş (Sakıp Sabancı Caddesi, No:1/3; Emirgan, Sarıyer) and Öz Süt (İstinye Park AVM).

Home-made Salep

   It is easy to make salep at home … as long as you can get the salep flour. For six people, mix 2 tea spoons of salep flour with 2.5 tea spoons of sugar. Slowly add 3,5 glasses of cold milk, and stir. Finally boil the mixture while stirring on low fire for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot in a cup dusting with grinded cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger on top.  (Not your calorie free Diet Coke, but less than ½ tsp of sugar per person, at least in this recipe.  Not sure about the Mado version.)

Instant and Ready to Drink Versions

   Or you can also get the instant versions. Warm milk, add the flour, stir and finally add cinnamon. Unfortunately, they have more salep flavor than real salep, some as little as 0,3%. Some brands have even ready to drink versions. Those you just need to heat, add cinnamon and you’re ready to serve.

“It’s spring sir!”  Remember that line from MASH

Every day men are selling bunches of spring flowers around Marmaris.  These  were the ‘welcome home’ bunch we bought for “the other Randal.”

New Friends….

Mϋḡa   Mine and Moi   ….one of those “arms length photos.”

Mine is the manager of the marina Migros.  Mϋḡa is her younger sister visiting from Izmir.  They came to visit the boat one evening after work.  Both very sweet, lovely women.  Mine and I have been trying to teach each other a few words of our languages.  Every little bit helps!

Reyhan and Selahattin Ünver

Reyhan means “sweet basil” in Turkish which I think is a lovely name and fits perfectly.

I’d met Selahattin at the Sunday Market in Beldibi.  He sells some wonderful REAL candied bitter orange peel in sugar syrup and a type of fruit spread that Randal really likes.  One Sunday we happened to talk about boats.  Salahattin is retired Turkish Navy.  I said that when he had time he should come see our boat.  So Wednesday afternoon he and his wife stopped by for a visit.  Selahattin’s knowledge of English is quite good so he could interpret for Reyhan and me.   Randal and I plan to visit them at their home in the Amutalan section of Marmaris this week.

Reyhan and me

My RAGBRAI 21 sweatshirt.  That was the bike ride accross Iowa.  I know across is spelled with one c but the person who printed the sweatshirt did not. 

Reyhan had made this wonderful  gὂzleme as a gift.  It’s very light layers of thin dough and can be plain or filled.  These are the last few that still remain.

Last but not least….Mr Buttons who lives with his family on the boat Hideaway.

Every now and again I borrow Buttons and we go for a walk.  He is 15 years old so knows about everything there is to know if you’re a dog.  He’s a little guy, about the size of my last dog Belle and I think they would have gotten along famously.  Every morning Buttons goes with his “dad” Collin for their morning cappuccino.  Truly.  Buttons particularly likes the foamy parts Collin saves for him.  Buttons just made a visit to the local vet for his annual shots.  Though rather surprised to learn of Button’s cappuccino consumption the vet allowed that one or two cappuccino per week at his age couldn’t do any harm.  I think Collin might let him squeak by with a few more.  This is their routine;  when they get to the café in the morning, Collin goes in the front door to place “their order” and Buttons goes in the exit so he can walk past  all of the tables to sniff out and lick up all of the pastry bits other customers have kindly left behind on the floor. 

Collected blue bottle caps are “recycled” into wheelchairs for the disabled.

Big clear plastic bottles being filled with blue caps are visible around Marmaris.  I’d wondered about them but not enough to actually find out.  Just yesterday we passed one and Mary and I made some guesses which included recycling; though why the tops and not the actual bottles would be a question.   Well I now know the answer to “why the blue caps?”  It was provided by our friend Heidi Trautmann from North Cyprus.  Heidi had mentioned in an email her interview of Dr.Kudret Özersay : The man behind the new Social Movement ‘Toparlaniyoruz.’  While looking on her site for the article I noticed the words, “blue cap.”  Dr. Kudret Özersay is involved with much that is good in North Cyprus, including the collecting of blue caps to be recycled for the disabled. http://www.heiditrautmann.com/category.aspx?CID=8665257547 is the link to Heidi’s interview.

But that was North Cyprus.  So I Googled “blue caps and Turkey" and found the following article….