Wooden houses - Safranbolu

The photos of the Siberian houses reminded me of the beautiful Ottoman style houses in the heritage listed city of Safranbolu in Turkey.

So I dusted off the cobwebs from a giant photo album at the bottom of the linen cupboard and pulled out these photos to share.



About fifteen years ago my Mum and I backpacked around Turkey for 3 weeks. Such a beautiful country. Safranbolu was a highlight of our trip.



We arrived late at night, about 8:30pm, after a very long bus trip from Ankara. We were the only tourists on the bus, and the only people who spoke English. We stepped out of the bus onto a dark street (no street lights) and into torrential rain. In the glow of a gas lamp we showed our guide book with the name of our accommodation, hoping to get directions. After about 15 minutes, and a lot of conversation between the Turkish men who still remained at the bus stop, a short man in his fifties volunteered to show us the way. He had been at the bus stop, with a couple of other street vendors, selling bread to the people arriving on the bus. He put down his box of bread, where he stood and hoisted both of our large backpacks onto his shoulders. With the wave of an arm, he motioned us to follow him. We did.



He delivered us to our accommodation, Carsi Pansiyon. We showered, changed and went downstairs to ask where we could get a meal. The owner of the pension told us that there was nowhere opened at that time of night. He had a pot of chicken soup bubbling on the stove, his own dinner, we were welcome to have some. It was the best chicken soup I have ever tasted before, or since (apart from my own Nana's, of course) A simple, flavoursome broth, with tender corn fed chicken, finished with, and added just before serving, ripe, diced tomatoes and freshly chopped parsley. Served with our favourite Turkish bread and fresh butter, we were in heaven. The rain continued to beat down outside. In a simple, darkened room, we slurped our soup, as if it was our last meal on earth, overwhelmed by the generosity of our host



We were just finishing our soup when some of the owners friends came over for a visit. With very little English, we were invited once again to stay and were offered some more amazing food. Pide, Turkish pizza with mince meat and egg topping, the first we had eaten in Turkey and definitely one of the best. We also tried quince (eaten raw) and fresh hazelnuts for the first time in our lives.

Yes, the best way to discover a culture is definitely through it's food and hospitality. I could go on about the food in Turkey for hours.

Don't get me started on the rice pudding.