Thanksgiving

How to have a successful Thanksgiving…

Friends+ Laughter+ Love+ Food+ Wine= Fantasticness

When I first moved away from home I was far enough away that I was not really able to go home for Thanksgiving. I have to admit to a lower lip tremble over that. I am from a very close family and getting together for the holidays has always been very important to us. But since I was away, I decided to make the best of the holidays and to create my own holiday rituals and customs.

I have been very lucky in my Thanksgivings since I left home. The first year, I lived in San Diego, it was just Bulent and me. After the large chaotic extended family Thanksgivings it was a little hard emotionally. However, the high point of that year was that I successfully learned how to cook the entire meal by myself.

The second year in San Diego my BFF from New Hampshire came out with her husband and we had an amazing time. They had never been to California so it was a beach vacation rolled into the Thanksgiving holiday for them. Together we made the meal and had such a happy holiday. It really soothed my holiday homesickness.

The third year in San Diego my cousin had moved to LA and we had many more close friends. That year we hosted a Bad Ass Thanksgiving, complete with apple cider martinis and after Turkey clubbing downtown.

Last year we didn’t host but this year we really did it in style. This was our first “Married” holiday so it was pretty special that way. We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We hosted 16 people, there was food, conversation and general merriment. We had an amazing time.

In the short time I have been in Ankara I have been lucky enough to make some truly amazing friends. Now I have my family that I was born to and the family that I have made. Holidays are no longer a time of the lower lip trembling-- which is excitement in itself.

While Thanksgiving was a blast there was a lot to the preparation because of the amount of food to be cooked.

It included--

2 Turkeys
3 Kilos of green bean casserole
4 Kilos of mashed pumpkin
3 Kilos of cauliflower gratin
2 Kilos mashed potato
1 Salad
1 Pecan pie
1 Pumpkin pie
1 Apple pie
1 Crazy Allergic Reaction*

While I did cook most of the food myself, two of my amazing friends decided to deal with the kitchen afterwards. They did all of the pots and pans, put away the food and in general took care of 90% of the clean up. It was the best gift EVER!

Next year I will re-introduce the apple cider martinis and the dinner may be potluck. It will still be fantastic though, no matter what! All the trappings and trimmings Thanksgiving just disguise the real point of the holiday. A time for our “Framily” (friends+family) to spend time together.

*One of the reasons this post is so late and also will be the subject of the next post.

Safranbolu

While my parents were here they wanted to head up north as well.  My mom did not want to make plans or reservations, just to play the adventure by ear.  So one day we hopped in the car and drove north towards the Black Sea.  We stopped in Safranbolu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its well preserved Ottoman-era houses and architecture.

We had a lovely time.  We stopped and had a bite to eat at small cafe and then explored town. Yes, in this photo I am on the phone.  I had checked for local hotels and was calling to see if there was room for the night.

And there was!  We stayed at Mehves Hanim Konagi, it was a lovely old Ottoman Style house, wonderfully refurbished. The proprietor was great.  Since it was just my parents and me we thought we could share a large room.  However, since there was no room with 3 beds (only cots for children) she gave us two rooms for the price of one. 

Later we hiked all around town.  There is a large covered pazar which sells all kinds of goods.  Above the city on a hill there is a small park.  For a lira admission you can go in and see a panoramic view of the whole town.  Up on the far side you may be able to see a large yellow building.  That is a restored Ottoman mansion, which is now a museum.

The museum hosts photos and examples of Safranbolu's history and culture, though all the explanations are in Turkish.  It also has a gallery of local women’s art work. 

After exploring Safranbolu a little morn the next morning we headed off in the morning to the next town on our list.  While it was not too far on the map, it took us longer to reach Amasra than we had thought.  Between the construction, the one-lane bridges and the mountain passes without guardrails it was an exciting drive.   More on that later.      

Kapadokya with the FamFam

The trip to Kapadokya with my family was fantastic!  We stayed at an adorable little place in Goreme.   The owner was incredible helpful.  He steered us to some really wonderful small family owned restaurants where we had some truly incredible food.  I even went back to one of them later and learned how to make Turkish Manti (ravioli).

Showing my parents the incredible rock formations, with their amazing natural properties and unbelievable carvings and churches was really wonderful.  I was so excited to share my favorite parts of my new country with my Famfam. 

We stayed in a lovely hotel which had a great view of the valley of Goreme. 

We had two rooms on slightly different levels.  The rooms themselves were carved into the rock walls of the fairy chimneys.

We shared a balcony which worked out very nicely for post hiking cocktails. 

My parents were game for all kinds of hiking and tromping.  We climbed hills and rocks, looking for the best views. 

This visit to Kapadokya we actually had time to hike in Ihlara valley.  This is a valley about 45 minutes away from Goreme.  To enter the valley you have to climb down about 400 steps because the valley walls are made of sheer rock cliffs.  Into these cliffs thousands of year ago people had carved large and elaborately decorated churches complete with vivid frescos.  There are also many cave-dwellings carved into the rock as well.  

We hiked from the halfway down the valley to the end and saw several lovely churches and lots of cave dwellings. 

  A stream ran through the middle of the valley separating the two sides.  At the end of the valley we wanted to walk back on the other side to see different scenery but there was no bridge.  We intrepid explorers found a shallow spot to cross and trudged through.  The effort to get to the other side was rewarded as the path was beautiful and there were several more churches on that side.  

We also managed to visit a few wineries and take advantage of the regions other natural attractions. 

Pig Roast means pork right?

My cousin lives in New Hampshire, she and her fiancé own several hundred acres of orchard and a couple of houses that sit on the property.  With their gorgeous setting they have hosted parties and weddings over the years.  This year they decided to host a “Pig Roast.”  In translation that means a pig on a spit, cooked for 12 hours, and a keg of beer.  However my cousin, in her infinite class and wisdom, decided to do a whole lot more. I arrived to find the whole orchard mowed, a large tent with several picnic table covered by table clothes, and a tremendous amount of tasty food.  There was guacamole, salad, casseroles, lasagna and paella.  That is right.  This was a “Paella and Pig Roast.” 

(There were two large paella-That’s right, be jealous)

I might have eaten enough to impress the young men there.  I think after my 2nd or 3rd plate one guy told me,  “ I KNEW I liked you!”

Then there was the pig.  Oh the pig! Scary to look at, moist and delicious and tasty!

That was a lot of pork, but I ate as much as I could and then snacked all night!

My younger cousin and his friends were there too.  The young guys thought that the keg would be lonely if they did not keep it company. To do so they decided to do “keg stands.”  I had no idea what this was---I went to an all women's college-We drank profusely but never standing on our heads.  Our university taught us all about gravity. 

“Keg Stands” are when you tip yourself upside down, other people hold your legs steady and you drink directly from the keg tap-while upside down.  This particular guy upped the challenge and started doing upside down push-ups while drinking beer upside down.  Wowza! 

I was able to eat copious amounts of food, mostly slow roasted pork, scarf paella and hang out with my cousins all night.  It was a wonderful time and an awesome party!

Settling In

I had a fantastic time at home with my friends and family.  It was really fantastic to see everyone.  However the transition was rough.  I flew back on Saturday night.  I landed in Turkey Sunday night, my bags were still in London.  After filling out the lost baggage paperwork we drove home.  I went straight to bed and Monday I dragged my behind out of bed at 6 to go to work.  It is difficult to have the necessary patience for 6th graders when you are tired and jet-lagged.  The first two days of the week were tough, and the next few I was used to catch up on life, sleep and laundry.  I am finally back….Which also means Back to Blogging!  Yay!  It might take me a while to get back into the swing of things, but no more long absences. 

Here is a souvenir of my trip home… This is my super cool little brother.  Right after this was taken he swung me up on his shoulders kind of like a yoke, head facing one way, my behind the others.  As I was struggling to get down, using my only weapon (the tickle),  his friends walked in.  Thankfully being a mature person he dealt with this tactfully.  Did he put me down?  No.  He turned so my face was facing them instead of the other end.  We may be adults, but some things never change. 

Home At Last

I just love visiting home!  Though when you have only a few short visits a year it tends to be less a vacation and more like a marathon.   I flew into to Boston, and then drove directly to my grandmothers house.  We had a nice visit before I crashed from from only having 2 hours of sleep in the previous 24.  The next morning I woke up bright and early (because my internal time clock is 7 hours faster then EST.)  My parents and I hopped in the car and drove down to NYC to visit my aunt and cousin.  It was whirlwind and a blast.  I also scored an awesome wedding gown in NYC for the coming nuptials.  Then off to New Hampshire. 

So breakdown of travels…

Saturday Turkey to Boston

Sunday Boston to NYC

Monday NYC to New Hampshire

I am still exhausted.  But having tons of fun.  This afternoon I will be driving to Boston to have a visit with my brother, who is awesome and super cool.  Saturday there is a big party at my grandmothers house because my mother is a genius and thought it would be easier to have a party for everyone who wants to to visit with me than for me to make individual visits to each and every person.  Then I will be back in NH trying to schedule visits with friends.  Also buying bulk of things like vanilla extract and Burt’s Bees lip balm to bring with me back to Turkey.

Amazing Travels: Istanbul

I have just been on a one in a lifetime trip. Thank you Mom and Dad. Now, I know people out there are thinking, "Sure, tell us about your sponsored vacation, Little Rich Girl." Totally not the case. The last time I was in Europe I went with a girl friend, low budget backpaking. We stayed in hostels to save money, would eat the provided rolls and Tang for breakfast, sneak a couple of rolls in our pockets for lunch and for dinner eat whatever was cheapest, that we didn't think would kill us. It was winter, so we would go to the grocery store, buy cheese and bread, and hang it in a plastic bag out the hostel window at night to stay fresh. Back to the current vacation.

I got engaged in February and have been with Bulent for almost 5 years. We thought it was time for "Meet the Parents" Transcontinental style. Since my parents were planning on flying all the way to Turkey, they thought it would be fun to visit several places in Turkey and Greece. Bulent and I drove up from Marmaris to join them in Istanbul, a city I have not yet visited.

We stayed in a charming apartment with a view of the Bosphorous very close to Taksim Square, Istanbul's version of Times Square. Lively with pazars, and bars and pedestrian streets, it was a blast.

The view from the apartment was lovely

We visited Dolmabahce Sarayi (“Doll-ma-bah-che Saw-rye-i”). Dolmabahce was an opulent seafront Ottoman palace used during the empire’s last 80 years. It had a tremendous amount of European artistic influence. The palace was incredible and boasts 14 tons of gold in decoration. Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish republic spent his last days there.

Later we went to Kapalicarsi (“Cup-uli-chur-shi”). It is an Ottoman-style covered tunnel with carpet, jewelry and leather shops. It was a maze of shops, ranging from swords and shoes to jewley and carpets. The vareity was truly amazing as were the negotionations. I speak a little Turkish now, and it was suprising how much it counted when haggling about the price. All the shopkeepers would bust out smiling when they heard it, and knock down the price right away. The beggining price offered to me was usually less than my mother could bargain down to on the same item.

The third day we had a packed schedule, the problem with Istanbul is that it is such an amazing city with so much beauty and history. I think that you could live in Istanbul your whole life and not be able to see all it has to offer. On the day of the championship sight seeing we hit up three amazing places, Topkapi Sarayi, Sultanahmet Cami and the Ayasofya.

Topkapi Sarayi (“Top-cup-i Sorr-I-i”): An Ottoman palace from 1400s used as the Ottomans’ adminstration building for 400 yrs. It was filled with artifacts and riches from the Ottomans' reign.

Photo by sl4mmy

Sultanahmet Cami (“Sull-ton-uh-met Jum-ee”): An Ottoman mosque built in 1600s. It is also known as “Blue Mosque” because of the beautiful hand painted tiles that adorn its walls. It is still a mosque currently, and so you can only visit during non prayer times of the day. Even then, speaking is restricted as people do pray during those times as well.

Ayasofya (“I-yah-sophia”)or Hagia Sophia, a church-turned-mosque-turned-museum. It was built as a cathedral between the years 532 AD and 537 AD(Hagia Sophia). When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in the 1450's the cathedral was converted into a mosque(Ayasofya). This building was truly amazing in its beauty and sheer size.

To give you an idea of the immensness, this is the stone stair case to reach the top.

It is at least a 10 minute walk.

Origionally, when it was a church the ceilings were covered with mosaics, but when it was converted into a mosque the mosacis were plastered over. It has been under renovations for many years, as you can see there is alot of resortation needed. Slowly the plaster is being removed to reveal the underlaying mosaics. However, the issue is, that in reomving the plaster to unover the mosaics, important and historic Islamic art would have to be reoved or destoryed. For example the Islamic calligraphy below.

The next day we left for Efes the ancient Greek city. After all the sightseeing we were a little tired. However, we knew Efes was going to be amazing. So we hopped in the van, and started our roadtrip south. This is my brother. I had just told him how long the trip would be, you can tell he is thrilled.

Tomorrow: Efes