Uncle Geoffrey has lives in Urla, a town close to Izmir (the third largest city in Turkey). He's lived in this country for over 30 years. Dave has been to visit before, but this was my first time. Here is Uncle Geoffrey's home. It is surrounded by summer vacation homes, so about 1 in 10 are occupied in the wintertime.
We came across the Sunday market, which was a great place to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables. We bought almost all the ingredients for one of our favourite recipes, cous cous au poulet. We found dried paprika and tumeric, as well as some delicious dried figs I couldn't stop eating.
A very full shopping bag.
The oranges are very cheap at the moment, about 1 Turkish lira, (maybe 70c NZ money?) a kilo. Delicious freshly squeezed juice.
We explored lots of coastal towns, enjoying lots of local lunches. Often we ate mezzes, grilled fish, moussaka and doner kebab. Artichokes were in season, and I also enjoyed trying new things like fava beans, spinach dressed with lemon and olive oil, Turkish bread, and aubergine salad as well as old favourites like the delicious baklava and kebabs. Knowing that we were seafood fans, Uncle Geoffrey took us to a few of his favourite fish restaurants by the sea.
We met a few friends in Alaçatı... and went on the hunt to find the B&B owned by Uncle Geoffrey's friend, Antje. We eventually found her by asking the local German butcher.
The windmills are being restored at the moment.
It's a pretty old Greek town.
Closer towards the harbour, we spied flamingoes. They're the first to arrive back from their annual migration, followed later by the storks.
View from the castle in Ceşme.
A market in Sirince, a hilltop village.
One of my favourite stops was the Temple of Dionysus, where you can wander at your leisure amongst ancient ruins, olive trees and daisies. I couldn't resist making a daisy chain, though I definitely couldn't do a Greek nymph impression due to my winter layers!
Thank you, Uncle Geoffrey for a lovely visit and winter break. Hope to see you again soon.
