Turkish Delight : Photographs and Memories

As regular readers of this blog might have noticed, I have not been regular with posts for the last 2-3 months and that can be attributed to a small issue with the Macbook browser and a combination of other factors! Now that I have figured other stuff, I will be back with my regular blogposts and also pen down past travel experiences and share photo stories. Today, I randomly stumbled upon photographs from the 2019 trip to Turkey and wanted to make a photo story of all the delightful travel memories that get better with passing time as they are laced with generous doses of nostalgia!

We landed in Istanbul and travelled across Turkey to places like Trabzon, Van, Gaziantep, Izmir, Selçuk, Antalya and traversed across numerous towns and villages in the Turkish countryside. If you are planning a trip to Turkey, here are the links for the posts.

Istanbul : Tips for Backpacking

Trabzon : Travels on the Black Sea Coast

Van : A City of All Day Breakfasts

Gaziantep : UNESCO approved eating!

Photographs and Memories from Travels across Turkey

Steamed corn and corn on cob is likely to be your first tryst in Istanbul and Turkey.
Turkey is a vast country and a number of regions grow a variety of olives.
Overnight buses across Turkey are supremely comfortable and one can see memorable sunrise(s) & sunset(s) from the window.
Gözleme is the Turkish version of an Indian parantha (if you please!) and is a safe choice on the road.
Stay at a heritage homestay – Accommodation in the big towns in Turkey is top notch.
Best to bring your bottle of wine and enjoy as every restaurant/café has matching glasses!
A kind restaurant owner in Trabzon serves us complimentary dal soup (Çorba) upon knowing we are from Hindistan – India.
Freshly baked Simit could be an endearing memory of a trip to Turkey.
Historic staying place in Trabzon.
Trabzon has certainly the best pide (sort of simple pizza) in all of Turkey.
Autumn is a great time to explore Turkey – as its shoulder season.
Kind strangers had letting us know their secret spots that only the locals know!
Kestane – I really miss roasted chestnuts available in plentiful across Turkey.
Turkish locals love to sit in open spaces and parks through the day.
At the time of this trip, 1 Turkish Lira was roughly about INR 12-14.
Nargis or narcissus or daffodils are commonly sold on pavements in all cities in Turkey.
Sitting space in the heritage hotel in Trabzon.
Bird’s eye view of the industrial town of Trabzon.
A delicacy from the Black Sea region.
Oranges grown in Rize province are sold at a very reasonable price and are excellent quality.
Leeks so good, and the variety of fresh veggies is staggering.
Trabzon bread is highly sought after.
We bought top class dried figs and dried mulberries from this shop at a fraction of the price in India.
Güle Güle means bye bye in Turkish.
Staggering variety of honey and vinegar at the market.
Butter, cheese, peynir and other kinds of milk products.
Fragrant nargis flowers.
For a while I wondered if it was possible to buy and carry these cute stools to India!
The Turkish cāy tray.
Authentic Haman is a totally different experience than the commercial ones in Istanbul!
Fascinating to see the tandoor / bukhari in the Kåmil Koç office in Van.
Van is located close to the Iran border and has a rich tradition of tandoor breads like naan, lavash and many more.
I kept wondering what these breads would taste like…
3 TL Lahmaçun bread – Definitely the cheapest meal in Turkey.
A moment of delight to see this lane on a random walk.
Honey sellers are everywhere, at least in Van.
Mosques are called Camii in Turkish.
These cute minibuses in Van are a good mode of transport to go around the town.
A visiting Iranian family from Tehran invited us for a round of drinks and cake in a park.
This scene reminded me of Ladakh in winter with the tall poplars bereft of leaves and barely surviving!
Market scene in Van, Turkey.
Headed to Akdamar Island Church and blessed with a view like this.
Waiting for passengers to fill the ferry but nobody ever came!
We had to be content with the view from afar.
A small çay restaurant for the poor migrants and immigrants from different countries.
Juicy and ripe persimmons being sold by the kilo.
Turkey has a rich tradition of making copper utensils.
A beautiful sight at every corner.
In comparison, I liked these bags more than the other ones.
Spices for sale in old Gaziantep bazaar.
Locals making us taste pistachios which we later ended up buying!
Oranges oranges…
I think he said he was originally from Syria.
Typical breakfast platter in Turkey.
An underground market in Gaziantep.
Bakircilar carsisi – Coppersmiths bazaar.
Treasure trove.
Gaziantep Castle.
Old world charm in the nameless streets of Gaziantep.
Anatolian carpets, pottery, ceramics and other knick-knacks.
Old town of Antalya is primed for tourism.
Mesmerising evening light and mellow cold even in December.
Sunset at Antalya marina.
Memorable sight.
Wish I had bought these.
Circus and jokers!
Sip wine with this view at one of the numerous eateries at Antalya Marina.
Spot the moon.
A very cold and snowy welcome to Konya.
Kunefe and cay – breakfast in Konya as we started the day.
Unforgettable sema performance of the whirling dervishes.
Nargis flowers, anyone?! For 10 TL a bunch.
mmmmm, yummy chestnuts.
Best place for authentic local food in Izmir, at very economical prices.
The simit selling carts are very cute and distinctly identifiable from afar.
Širince village has a Greek past and still resembles an idyllic Greek village setting.
Sirince is a tourist delight.
Souvenir shop on the way to Ephesus.
On Istiklal Caddesi street in Istanbul before the return flight to India.
It was as if the weather gods were creating the perfect evening for us in Istanbul.
Night time is when Istanbul really comes to life.
Princes’ Islands trip.

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