Escaping Post Election Blues

[bal canavar]

After a hectic and disappointing few weeks , I came down to the coast with some family and good friends to escape the post election blues pervading Istanbul .

The Bodrum old town has always been a favourite , but we have been making stops around the Bodrum coast.
On Sunday we had a beautiful breakfast on the beach at Bitez at the New Season restaurant the relaxing laid back keyif of the morning sitting around the table on the beach surrounded by friends , some family and newspapers ,plus cute stray dogs (you just want to take home ) ,certainly melted the stress of Istanbul and the past few weeks . Thank you Bitez .

We also visited Yalikavack and was suprised how built up the road to the town was with houses and stores and now a big mall Midtown . On arrival in Yalikavack we were disappointed to see a mini shopping centre that was being built I think last time we visited now complete but empty showing the pointless need for this building so out of character of the old town . I was happy to see no other major changes that I could see , we visited the new marina as well , as one of our party needed his Istanbul Starbucks fix and the one at the marina sufficed .

In Bodrum town we had to have fish so tried one othe famous on the old marina which has been thier for years but was disappointed by the service and the meal was ok but not special , so tried the one tucked away on the road down from the otogar that you pick your fish from the fisherman shop and only pay the restaurant for the cooking , it was good and can recommend ,if I could remember the name .

Also our old favourite restaurant the Sunger was still serving up a good fish soup and a mean seafood pizza .

Also the Chinese restaurant in the Oasis Centre beats most I and our party have tried in Istanbul .

There has been some good music bars to while away some time ,we liked bar 45 just of the track at the bottom of the hill ,at Bardakci along from the Asker kamp .

Out of interest maybe someone from Bodrum can explain the sudden influx and need for the artisan chocolate shops , along this far from busy street in Bodrum leading away from the Asker kamp at Bardakci last count 5

Today we have hired a boat to fish , relax and to hopefully Dispell all thoughts and realities of another spell of AKP rule , and see if we can make plans in some way on our return to Istanbul to lend support in some way to reopen the closed squated drop in cafe and legal centre and refugee kitchen closed by the police authorities in Kadikoy

 

[teosgirl]

Enjoy your holiday Bal, I've missed your posts.

Charlotte

 

[yalimart]

Heres one of central Yalikavak pre shopping centre, the guy that built it had to knock some of the top storey off the taxi rank side and opposite where the car park is, he built an identical building illegally which he was forced to take down to ground level again, hence the great concrete base, i think there is a car park underneath, not quite the mandarin groves of this photo.

Martin

 

[JanetClarke]

Good to hear from you.

I too love the Pizzas and Fish soup in Sungar!

 

[bal canavar]

Flying back to Istanbul from Bodrum,we flew Atlas Gobal which I can highly recommend we returned to Istanbul little earlier than intended to attend a friends birthday .

It was held in one of the few old meyhanesi still in Istanbul, famous for its music and Greek mezes and of course fish and raki.
It's located in what was the famous arrival/departure station and romantic rendevous spots in Istanbul the now closed Haydarpasa station (ask any Istanbulite and he/she will have a story about Haydarpasa ) in the stations 1908 buffet meyhane restaurant called Mythos .

The food was excellent the staff attentive always on hand to reccomend and explain some of the dishes , our group may have brought their own "keyif" but it was enhanced by the venue and the Faisal music playing the old favourites and soon had my people and other guests of the restaurant on thier feet and dancing and clapping .

It maybe a little more expensive than most places but the decor of tiled walls old photographs of famous istanbul songwriters and projected nostalgiac films on the walls added to the ambiance of the night, and of course the food was excellent and nice to seegreek/Turkish recipes not normally not seen , a real taste of old Istanbul and included osmanli tatli of mastic and serbet. I would certainly reccomend it to anyone expat or Turkish alike it was a nice return to Istanbul from our Holiday on the coast .

And I would like to thank the people who pmd me on TLF and posted and thanked my post to cheer my blues away . Thank you appreciated .
PPs I knew Janet you had good taste , Sunger fish soup first quality .

 

[Kanga]

Bal you make me so homesick for Turkey. Can't wait for next April.