Turkish coffee

Posted on by
1

I’m a pretty big fan of coffee, especially when I can get good coffee, which was difficult in Asia.  However, in Turkey coffee is pretty unique.

Turkish coffee is a method of preparing the coffee, the actual beans are the same as any other coffee. The beans are finely ground and then boiled in a pot.  When it is served in a cup, the grounds settle on the bottom.  If it is done well, it can be very good.  If it’s not done well, you get bad coffee!
Most interesting though is what comes with it.  Must places serve it with a biscuit, a biscotti, or a piece of Turkish delight.  The restaurant last night had a bit of a different spin on it.
The coffee is in the top left hand side of the picture.  The chocolate is from Belgium.  They sliced off pieces of chocolate at the table.
The restaurant was called %100 Restaurant and is right on the waterfront in Izmir.  It’s certainly not the cheapest place I have eaten at in Turkey, but the food and service were very good.  They have nice views of Izmir and the bay with lots of seats outside.

Foça

Posted on by
1

My plan was to spend my last couple of days in Greece before returning home.  I bought a ferry ticket from Kusadasi which was subsequently cancelled due to bad weather.  

Instead of Greece, I decided to come up to Foça (pho-sha).  It’s about 80km outside of Izmir and is the furthest point West in Turkey.
There are a lot of crowded beach towns in Turkey, but this is not one of them!  Those looking for a relaxed couple of days by the beach should look into this place.
To get here from Izmir, take the IZBAN railway (connected to the metro) northbound to the second last stop and then take a bus.  If arriving at Izmir airport, just get on the IZBAN at the airport and head North, there is no need to change trains.  
I will spend one night in Izmir before I start the journey home, but for now I will explore this area for the weekend.   So far Foça seems to have some nice restaurents and hotels / guesthouse that are right on the ocean. Once I explore some of the beaches in this area, I will post some more pictures.

Kusadasi

Posted on by
Reply

Kusadasi is a small city on the coast close to Ephesus.  If you are visiting Ephesus, I advise to stay in Selcuk; it’s much nicer and cheaper.  However, if you are arriving or departing by ferry or cruise ship, you will end up in Kusadasi.

There are some very large ships in the port.  I went down to get a ferry ticket to Greece and see Pidgeon Island, which is nice for a stroll, but it’s nothing too exciting.
There are many many shops around the ferry terminal, so if you like to be harassed by shopkeepers then this is a good place to stroll around!  In all seriousness I’ve been told you can get good bargains here, but I just can’t stand shopping when some guy is trying to sell me everything in the store at a “good price”.  I’ve ran out of ways to say “No, I don’t want to buy your Turkish carpet” 🙂