Tall Buildings, Low Culture: Eating the Aegean Sea

Selin has been brainwashing us with delicious, elaborate Turkish dinner parties for a couple years now. She's from Izmir, went to college in Istanbul, and lives down the block from us in Chicago. Over charred eggplant yogurt meze and glasses of raki we'd all joke about going to Turkey together. I never thought it would happen.

This spring a miracle happened. The 2014 Deleuze Studies conference was announced for July in Istanbul, so seven of us (four presented at the conference) set off for Turkey. We made it our priority to eat all the seafood and meze we possibly could.

we bought the big guy

Karaburun Coast

My first meal in Istanbul was an unexpectedly good plate of lamb chops from a Taksim Square cafe. They were charred and tender and so magical I think they can prevent jet lag.

one of many construction sites, Istanbul

olives and homemade olive oil, Izmir

Primed by a Bourdain episode and trumped by Selin's immense knowledge of food and Istanbul, we had our first of many full Turkish breakfasts at Lokma (listed here in 10 Best Places to Have Breakfast in Istanbul). This ridiculous meal typically has several shared plates of cheeses, breads, vegetables (tomato/cucumber/olives/peppers), omelets, and sujuk- sauteed lamb sausage. One breakfast we counted no less than 7 types of glorious dairy products on the table, including halumi (gooey grilled white cheese), a feta-like cheese served with olive oil and olives, a ricotta type thing drenched in homemade jam, white cheese cubes, Ayran yogurt drinks, and our favorite- clotted cream in a pool of honey. Everything acts as toppings for simit - a Turkish sesame bread ring.

It's leisurely and communal and by the end you'll have a nice little buzz from the bottomless glasses of tea.

simit sandwich guy, Izmir

We recreated the spread most mornings at our little stone rental house on the Aegean sea. We grilled fish from the market over Turkish charcoal in the courtyard. Every night around 2 or 3am a Ramadan drummer, a holdover from Ottoman times, would come through the tiny winding streets to announce Sahur beneath our windows. Sahur is the last meal before practicing Muslims start their day of fasting during Ramadan. From sun up to sun down nothing is allowed to touch the lips. No food, water, gum, smoking, or even swimming is allowed. Many people get up for Sahur to eat and drink and then go back to bed.

Don in front of our little Greek stone house rental, Foca

My favorite thing about Ramadan, besides the families picnicking until 2am in any and every available greenspace, is the bread. Pide is fluffy and salty and when served hot out of the oven it's life changing (and only available for one month a year). When fasts are broken there's usually a line at the local bakery, and woah it's worth the wait. The Ramadan feasts are so good in Turkey that it's become the second most popular halal travel destination.

Multiple times a day we ate spiced rice stuffed mussels (Midye Dolma) in between swims in the Aegean sea. You can get them every couple hundred feet and they only cost about $0.30 each.

Floyd's majestic bro dive at the diving rocks, Karaburun

midye dolma guy, Foca (photo by Neal)

Selin had many involved conversations with chef/owners about the type, size, price, and timing of our fish. At a Turkish dinner you're supposed to be full three times.

First start with a bottle of raki, the national drink, a delicious anise flavored liquor served with ice and water (also the one which Ataturk, "The Father of Turks", drank himself to death). Next eat mezes until you're stuffed. Take a break from eating by drinking more raki. Then nod to the chef that you're ready for them to grill the main course (fish or meat dish). Relax during and after eating with more raki. Take some time digest and then order a fruit plate and another bottle of raki.

Ataturk with an extra large glass of raki

Besides legalizing alcohol, and banning all hats other than western-style fedoras, Ataturk made drastic changes to modernize Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Between 1924 and 1938 he secularized the country and standardized the language using a modified Latin based alphabet. Ottoman Turkish, in Arabic script can still be found around town.

The ubiquity of Ataturk images- from fruit stands to hotel lobbies to ferry boats (and now our refrigerator) is shocking.

Izmir outskirts

We spent most of our trip a few hours from Izmir - a city of 4 million, yet the Aegean coast and its islands remain sparsely populated. Most islands lack fresh water or are still in ownership disputes with Greece. Karaburun, which is my new favorite place in the whole world, has a population of only 2,722. The rugged terrain means the ferry is only the logical way to get there. Ferry Video Here.

Just before golden hour we set off for Karaburun from Foca, unaware of the beauty we were about to witness. The ride was a surreal two hours of uninhabited islands, waning sun beams, and a steady 70 degree breeze. The Karaburun peninsula looks like a mix of Alpine mountains, South African desert rocks, and Scottish Isles coast (from what I've seen in travel mags).

Halfway through, we were mesmerized by dozens of wind turbines of an indeterminate scale. Later I looked it up; the Karaburun wind farm is a $227 million project with 52 turbines each standing about 300 ft tall.

And here's one more video. Our landing on the Karaburun dock could be a wizard's homecoming in an Ursula Le Guin novel. Something about the announcement was extra foreign too. We'd been hearing Turkish everywhere for about 10 days, but this recording sounded other-worldly (and kind of Japanese).

After a couple miles in a cab on dirt roads, our arrival at the Ergin Pansiyon was just as fantastical. A tunnel of tropical plants guided us through curvy pathways to our rooms. Three white beach dogs lazed around in the sand in the diminishing sunlight. This guy looked like he might magically fly off into the sea NeverEnding Story-style.

One night we walked the couple miles into town and accumulated dogs along the, each cuter than the next, until we had 4 dogs. We hit the edge of town as a pack 11 creatures strong.

I was beside myself with joy each of the three days in Karaburun. We all were. We ate fried goat cheese stuffed zucchini blossoms and fresh fish every night. We put beers on our room tab and jumped off cliffs all day.

Meze- including the official favorite - zucchini blossoms- at Ergin Pansiyon

evening hike, Karaburun

crew, Izmir

The last meal I'll highlight was simple grilled fish on a small rented boat that took us through the Sirens Rocks (of Homer's Odyssey fame. Unreal). Not only can this man thread a boat through the islands of an ancient limestone coastline, he can perfectly grill a fish.