Ladies and their baskets
So one of Selim’s favorite parts of Izmir was watching the neighbors. We stayed in an apartment building five stories tall and most of the other buildings around us were also fairly densely occupied. While I worked, Selim would sit on the balcony for hours on end, editing his YouTube videos, and watch the goings-on. We both found it fascinating the way the neighbors utilized baskets and strings to quickly transport items from their apartment to folks on the sidewalk. Actually, not just folks but cats and dogs, as well, received water and treat shipments this way. Selim was also highly entertained by elderly women yelling at each from their respective windows as window-to-window interactions didn’t always stop at a quick greeting but sometimes went on for hours.
Dogs and Cats
I personally have never seen such well-taken-care-of street cats and dogs as those in Izmir and perhaps in the whole country, I can’t speak to that necessarily. In many places I feel bad for animals that live on the street as I think perhaps they’d be happier with a family. In Izmir, I think it would be a downgrade for some of the dogs and cats to have to live with a family. There were full-on dog and cat housing developments on the street complete with water bowls and food dishes. I didn’t see anyone act in an abusive or mean way towards the animals and in fact, many people stopped to pet them, say nice things to them, or give them food or water. It’s almost as if the animals are owned by the entire neighborhood instead of just one family. It’s also clear they have received veterinary care as their ears are tagged to indicate this. All of this is not to say that people don’t own dogs or cats as pets and keep them at home, of course they do. It’s just the street animal culture is noteworthy.
Ayran
In my personal opinion, this is the best food or drink that I’ve had here to date. Which is lucky because it is one of the most widely available if not the most. It is a combination of yogurt, water, and salt. At the low-cost supermarkets (A101, BIM, Şok), you can buy it for 2,5 – 3 TL for 200 ML which is the perfect serving if you haven’t become too addicted. Once you’ve spent three weeks biking through the country, maybe the 3,5 TL 300 ML container, which can be found at Migros, will suit you better. At some restaurants, you find fresh ayran coming from local farms for around 10 TL. Many Turkish people seem to be a bit snobby about fresh versus processed. Totally fair, better for the local economy and less plastic waste, but I don’t notice a big difference in taste. I would personally like someone to start a paid ayran fountain so I can just put it directly into my water bottle and avoid the packaging waste. Just like they sell oil or shampoo in this way in some markets in the U.S. Anyway, ayran is great. Word on the street is the only time you’re not “supposed” to drink it is for breakfast because it’s too heavy and will make you sleepy. Me personally, I drink it at all times of the day and just try to hide it a bit from people because I’m ashamed of drinking it at breakfast because I don’t want people to think I’m “doing it wrong.” But that’s a me a problem. After I started getting into ayran, it took Selim some time to really enjoy but now he’s a full-on believer, as well. Sometimes I drink with şalgam, mixed together. It’s an interesting taste but a nice change of pace. I don’t necessarily recommend it because Selim finds it not to his taste so I think maybe others might not like it. Oh, maybe because it’s fermented carrot juice aka turnip water.
Pide
Selim did a whole YouTube video on this. It’s basically Turkish pizza and is elongated rather than circular usually. I think Lahmacun can fall in this category, too. My favorite has been the one pictured below.
Çiğ köfte
I was fearful of this for the first week because I thought it had meat in it. Since I’ve tried it, I don’t believe I’ve gone a day without eating it for either lunch or dinner or both. This is not normal behavior here to be clear. It is more of an appetizer, light meal, or snack rather than lunch or dinner. Back in the day, çiğ köfte was actually made with meat but since raw meat is a bit of a public health problem sometimes, it is now only vegetarian at chains here. It’s made with spices, tomato, bulgar and is a paste often eaten on dürüm, a wrap. When you get it at the chains like Komagene, they add spinach, lettuce, corn, two sauces (one sweet, one sour), and chips if requested. You pay extra for the Doritos in case anyone was wondering but they really add a nice crunch to each bite. From that shop, it’s maybe 19 TL for a sandwich with chips on it. If you want the discount version, you can buy a basic version of the sandwich from the grocery store for 5 TL and buy your own huge bag of knock-off Doritos for 6 TL (Samba brand, BBQ flavor preferred), maybe add some lettuce, corn, or tomato if you have them on hand. I’ve heard that Komagene is the most expensive chain for the sandwich, though, as there are others here, as well. This has been my go-to-meal since we have been without a gas stove for most of our camping trip. But it all started with a walk in Izmir where we spotted a “Vegetarian Certificate” in a çiğ köfte franchise. Thanks public health!
