Merhaba,
I just made myself hungry writing this email about our walking/eating adventure yesterday. Luckily I have some strawberries and kiwi I can go nibble rather than the chocolate squares I have saved for “company.” As for my simit addiction; I still have it but I’m dealing with it. I discovered that if you eat a toasted simit with loads of melted cheese every day, but weeks end you’ve gained a pound. Not a good thing if you eat one every day for several weeks in a row. Thankfully salad stuff is really in season so I can stuff myself with that rather than simit. Even though we walk every day, you have to walk miles and miles to walk off my melted cheese simit. Yesterday we walked miles and miles for our food. It was worth the walk.
Ru
Sunday Lunch in Iҫmeler
A week or so ago Mary, Rick and I biked to Iҫmeler for lunch. It was a lovely ride along the beach walk; but a bit too short really for a bike ride. I suggested to Mary that maybe we should walk to Iҫmeler for lunch one day….it wasn’t so far. Well actually it is kind of far which we found out when we walked there this past Sunday. Sylvia from Yacht Marina had organized a walk beginning at the statue of Ataturk in Marmaris and ending at a lovely beach restaurant in Iҫmeler.
I really had no clue how far we’d be walking. The reservation was for 1 PM which would give us 2 hours to get there. The path is mostly flat along the beach. It’s not actually all that scenic as hotels and restaurants in various stages of renovation line the land side. The view of the bay is quite nice however and the weather was perfect.
We walked pretty steadily at a fairly good clip which got us to the restaurant about 12 :40. Amazingly I wasn’t starving. I was tired and thirsty and needed the WC. We’d planned to sit on the restaurants outside patio but most tables were taken; Sunday brunch is a popular custom in Turkey. As we’d just spent all that time in the fresh air and the wind was a bit nippy, eating inside was fine. Several tables were lined up so everyone ate together. The food was served family style. It was a full Turkish breakfast with bread, cheese and olives, baked eggs, salad and lots of toppings for spreading. And gallons of Turkish tea. I’d actually thought of walking back to Marmaris, but had restrained myself during the meal so wasn’t feeling guilty enough to do it. If anyone else had wanted to walk, I probably would have. As it was, an empty dolmuṣ was waiting just around the corner so we all climbed on for the trip back to Marmaris. The actual length of the walk was reputed to be 8 kilometers. Ten kilometers is 6 miles so we walked a good bit. I certainly slept well Sunday night!
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Starting out bright and chipper from Marmaris |
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There was lots of impromptu al fresco diners along the beach; a sign Spring is coming soon in Marmaris. |
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About half way. If you follow the shore line around to the right side of the photo and keep going you will get to Netsel Marina. |
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Water stop: Robert, Rick and Mary. Robert is here from California visiting his mom and dad for a few weeks. |
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The outdoor tables were filled so we ate inside |
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Turkish Tea A flame heats the boiling water pot which heats the boiling tea pot. Turkish tea is quite strong so first you pour some tea into your tulip shaped tea glass and then you pour some hot water in to dilute the tea. The trick is you have to hold both pots at the same time, pouring first from one and then the other. I filled myself up on the tea so didn’t fill myself up on the bread. Across from Robert is Teal (sp) a retired geologist originally from Switzerland but now mostly a traveler. I sat between Teal and Jennie from Yacht Marina. We talked about travel and where we’d like to go next. Actually Mary, Rick, Robert and I were the only Netsel folks doing the walk. Some of our Netsel pals had opted to bike so were on their way back just as we were arriving. |
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Traditional Turkish brunch. The round plate with the small dishes were spreads that you could tell were “home made.” |
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My plate Olives, baked eggs, white cheese, herbed pepper spread and something made with pistachio bits and syrup and something that might have been dried quince slices. I definitely ate more than my share of that. About 8 kilometers worth of food. |
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Some serious eating happening |
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Tazina, Rick, Mary We met Tazina our first stay in Turkey. She has done an extended Great Wall hike and is in training to walk the Camino De Santiago trail in Spain. |
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Mary wants to fatten Robert up a bit before he goes home and meals like this will do the trick. I passed my fried cheese börek along to Robert which is why he has two on his plate. They have the best salad greens in Turkey especially the wonderful nutty/peppery arugula. It’s in season now so quite cheap. Seasonal vegetables here in Turkey taste great and are very inexpensive at the open markets. There’s no excuse for not eating healthfully here in Turkey with the wonderful vegetables, fruit and olive oil. Unless, of course, you hit all of the bakeries in town. |
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Catching the dolmuṣ back to Iҫmeler. |
