Miss Adventures
Turkey
Six Things You Must Do in Istanbul
As you may know, Istanbul is the Europe Capital of Culture for 2010. Istanbul has been prepping for this year for quite some time, readying the city for an influx of new tourists to sights like the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar. While I’m not heading back to Istanbul any time soon [...]
Istanbul: 2010 European Capital of Culture
Tomorrow – January 16 – Istanbul will be introduced to the world as the 2010 European Capital of Culture. Istanbul, the Capital of European Culture, you say? But Turkey is not even part of the European Union. You’re right…not yet. But, most of Istanbul is in Europe, even if the majority of Turkey lies in [...]
Planting Season at MissAdventures
Dear friends, I must apologize for the long delay in writing. But, I have been up to big things. First of all, I have been concentrating on my writing and my other blog Italofile.com. I am using Italofile as a way to explore the Italy travel landscape beyond the pages of my books The Unofficial [...]
Perfect Summer Salad
My staple during this hot Turkish summer has been kisir, what some call Turkish Tabbouleh. It’s not really a salad, but it makes the perfect cold side for stuffed peppers or karniyarik (another Turkish dish I’m making a lot lately). I learned this recipe from my maid, but you can also find a perfectly good [...]
Three Great Books
There are a ton of books, both fiction and non-fiction, about Turkey and the Middle East. While most of them are useful in learning about the region’s history and culture, few hold my interest for more than a couple pages. That’s not the case for the following three books, which I am reading or have [...]
Beypazarı and the Food of Anatolia
Last weekend we went to Beypazarı, a small village an hour and a half by bus from Ankara. Located on the old “Istanbul to Baghdad route,” Beypazarı has been inhabitated by various tribes and peoples, including the Seljuks, who left behind a 12C mosque, and the Ottomans, whose “konak” houses dot the town’s hillside. Beypazarı [...]
First Impressions: Ankara
No one ever writes anything particularly special about Ankara. Guidebooks don’t dedicate many pages to the capital. And, when I mentioned to people that I was moving to Turkey, their faces lit up: They: “Istanbul?!” Me: “No, Ankara.” They:”Oh, too bad. Istanbul is great.” My first impressions of Ankara had been quite favorable, up until [...]
36 Hours in Istanbul
In case you missed it, the New York Times ran Seth Sherwood’s 36 Hours in Istanbul this weekend. I’m looking forward to following Sherwood’s suggestions and telling you all about them very soon. Before that, we’ll be doing some traveling in Anatolia. Stay tuned…
Welcome to Turkey
We arrived in Turkey at a very interesting time. The Battle for Turkey’s Soul is afoot, pitting the “sons and daughters” of Atatürk (as well as the Turkish military) versus the “headscarf republic,” or Islamists. Hundreds of thousands of Turkish secularists have marched in Istanbul and Ankara at the slightest hint that the prime minister [...]
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