This week I was so excited to host some of my co-workers in Istanbul.  I always love showing off a bit of my new hometown.

They were staying on the Asian side, which I will say I have not had much experience visiting before.  Yes, sure we got off on a stop on the Bosphorous scenic cruise, but I wouldn't REALLY call that a jaunt into Asia.

So we decided to be adventurous. We hopped on the ferry to head over to Kadıköy and wandered the cobbled streets a bit before finally landing upon our destination. Because I had no idea where to eat, I had done some research before we left and turned to good old google to find a good recommendation. One restaurant showed up in several of the search results and blogs, so we decided to give it a try.

Everyone was right. It was delicious, authentic Turkish food. Unlike a usual restaurant, they have almost a buffet downstairs where you can see the food for the day and then pick what you want in either regular or large size.  We decided to split all kinds of things among the four of us and once it was set on the table, we realized it was quite the spread: beef and artichoke, turkish meatballs breaded and fried, rice, Brussels sprouts with something else, a garlic and vegetable dish, stuffed eggplant, and more.




Looks delicious, huh? Want to give it a try?

Çiya Sofrası
Guneslibahce Sokak 43
Kadikoy, Istanbul 
+90 (0) 216 330 3190

 St. Nicholas Russian Church - we attended a midnight Easter service here. Or rather stood outside. It gets so crowded that everyone lines up outside to have their candles lit just after midnight.  The service can run for several hours.  Seeing that it was raining and in Romanian, we lasted 30 minutes.

While my hands were full with a candle and an umbrella, I missed a photo op. Luckily I found this one on the Bucharest Life blog. And yes, as mostly Orthodox Christians, Romania celebrates Easter a week later later using the Julian calendar.

After exploring Bucharest, we wanted to visit the mysterious Transylvania region of Romania. This is the supposed home of Dracula according to Bram Stoker. The character Dracula is based off the Romanian leader Vlad the Impaler (known as such because of his cruel treatment of the Turks). Common myth however, and tourist trap, because Vlad lived in the Wallachia region which is to the south of Transylvania and includes Bucharest.

Our first stop on the Transylvania tour was Peleș Castle in Sinai, the summer residence of the royals of Romania. This is their version of Dolmabahçe Palace, built between 1873 and 1914 by Carol I, the president from Germany.  It is almost so over the top that you can't believe it was really used.  A sliding ceiling? Vacuum sockets throughout the palace? Or maybe we just had a tour guide who enjoys tall tales.

 Exterior of Peleș Castle

 Dracula's Castle - ooooh, creepy!

 View of the castle from the watch tower. 

 View of the town of Bran from the watch tower.

Braşov

Moral of the story - don't judge a book by it's (communist) cover. 

When I bought my first guide to Turkey and was looking at things to do around the country, one of the things that caught my eye was the Istanbul Tulip Festival.

First, who doesn't love tulips? They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. Maybe not ALL shapes and sizes and colors, but there is quite a large variety of different tulips out there.

Two, unlike most people think, tulips (or lale) did not come from the Netherlands, but actually originated from the Ottoman Empire (or old day Turkey).  Who woulda thunk it?

Turkey celebrates this history and the tulip every April. Tulips pop up in every park in the city and it makes for a beautiful display. We came across some of these in the park near Topkapi this weekend and had to get a photo shoot in honor of Easter.

To sum it up: Texas + Bluebonnets = Tulips + Istanbul

One of the questions I get all the time from family and friends about living in Istanbul is 'How's the food?'

While my response may vary based upon my mood (or last meal), I almost always have a positive response. That is, as long as we forget that one time, where I may have said something along the lines of if I have to eat one more doner....

Like I said, almost always. Normally, I'm down for a good durum, kumpir, or especially a waffle! Waffles are my absolute favorite - it's like an ice cream store where you pick out toppings and sauces, but it all goes on a waffle.  Carbs are my friend.

We are just getting to the best part of Istanbul food though. You can get almost ANYTHING delivered.  Not just your normal pizza, but doners, McDonalds, Italian, or even beer. The corner store definitely knows us when we call now. Perhaps it is that we always order the same thing, or perhaps our rudimentary Turkish.  I'll go with the same order though and hope that they think we just like to order 19 beers every time we have a party, instead of the fact that we can't count to 20 yet.

Anyways, back on track. This is the best service. As much as I like to cook and have enjoyed having more time to do so over here, there are always those days where you just didn't make it - or want to make it - to the grocery store. And on those days, I am happy to know I don't have to scrounge the fridge to eat well!

This weekend we took a plane ride that was supposed to be a hop, skip and a jump away, although what with it being Istanbul airport and it raining like the dickens, it was more of a short jog away. Our weekend retreat destination?  Selçuk and Ephesus.

It was the perfect weekend to get away - escaping the rain and bustle of Istanbul for the sun and small town.

A little background - these area was first inhabited by ancient Greeks. Ephesus was founded when a royal from Greece had to escape from his hometown. When he asked a oracle where he should build his new city, she told him where he found fish, fire and a boar.  When the royal party stopped, they were frying a fish which was apparently so fresh it jumped from the pan, got in the coals, caught the woods on fire, when a boar ran out to escape the fire.  Ephesus was built upon the site where the boar was killed.

Ephesus is thought to have been one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean, with more than 250,000 inhabitants. This guess comes from the fact that the arena/town hall area holds 25,000 people (so they multiply this by 10 to get a 'guesstimate' of the towns population - definitely scientific, huh?). Ephesus once boasted the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.  While the temple itself is still gone, one lone column remains in Selçuk. There are still a lot of other remains still standing in Ephesus and surprisingly, for the end of March, tons of tourists already!

A few of the key attractions: