Adam's friend owns a condo in Bodrum, Turkey and was generous enough to let us stay there. We arrived at night, and the condo complex looked like a village in itself, sprawled across a massive hillside.
Turkey in August is...hot. It was around 100 degrees each day, and we began each morning with a vertical climb to the market for bread, fruit, veg, and whatever random meat we could find in the freezer case.
After our trek to the market, we could barely muster the energy to head to the pool. The heat and sun were relentless, so we only lasted about an hour outside before running to find shade.
Lunch was usually a potluck eaten on the balcony of the condo. We hid under the umbrella and feasted contentedly on watermelon, olive oil, pasta and bread.
Most nights we cooked at home, but one brave evening we ventured out to the restaurant at the top of the hill to try the local fare. We ordered testi kebabs (yes, you read that correctly), which were presented to us flambe and with great fanfare. Adam and I both had to dance with the waiters before we were allowed to eat. 100 other diners looked on with awkward interest to see which idiots had ordered what everyone else had already identified as the "party in a clay pot" dish.
The end result of the dancing, clapping, and hullaballoo was similar to goulash. Really tasty!
The sea in Turkey is crystal clear and about 80 degrees (perfect!)...but the landscape is very rocky and not good for sunbathing. To rectify this, the resorts cut away the hillside and brought in builder's sand to accommodate beach chairs, umbrellas, and snack bars. The end result is a little rough on the toes but worth it for a dip in the Aegean sea, where the water is so salty you can float without effort.
I bought these shoes from the L.L. Bean catalog when I was in the 7th grade! They are Tevas, sawtooth pattern if you really must know.
The pool by the beach was an infinity pool, which was really neat. I was swimming with a t-shirt over my bathing suit to avoid getting too much sun, and I got kicked out of the pool by the resort manager! Guess American girls in baggy shirts aren't the image they wanted to project. ;-)
To conserve electricity, Turkey have rolling blackouts that last about an hour. Most of the meat we purchased was frozen, because it is the only way to keep it from spoiling when the freezer stops working in 100 degree heat! One night we de-frosted our mystery pack to find chicken wings and tiny chicken legs. Another night we thought we were buying regular sized chicken thighs and legs. However, upon defrosting we noticed the colour of the meat was much darker than chicken. After some taste tests, a mental review of all game meats we have ever eaten, and a quick look at the local wildlife, we came to the conclusion we were eating duck. Whatever it really was, it was delish. :-)
A map of the Bodrum peninsula, if you are curious.
Turkish currency is still Lira and one Lira equals about 43 pence. I like the design of the fiver best.
One thing that was frustrating about Turkey was that I always felt like I was being taken advantage of. I was really interested in learning about the culture and eating local dishes, but no one we met wanted to share any of that - they all wanted to make a fast profit. Even the taxi drivers, who I can always rely on to tell me where to get the best food whether I'm in Peru or Portugal, had ready-made sales pitches to push us here or there. The final straw was at the airport when I brought two bottled waters up to the cash register. The sales clerk looked at the water, looked at the 10 Lira in my hand, and said "Yes, 10 Lira please." Are you kidding me??? Next time I'm keeping my money in my pockets...
To celebrate the end of our holiday, we went to dinner at a posh beachside restaurant. It was Friday the 13th and we were seated at table 13. :-)
The end.
