TURKEY Archives - Page 20 of 20 - following the funks

IZMIR: Zoo Time

November 23, 2016July 11, 2021EVERYDAY LIFE, FAMILY, LOCAL, PLACES, TRAVELS, TURKEY, WEEKENDS Catie 2 Comments

It has literally been years since I have been to a zoo. Shockingly enough, in the four years that I lived in Iowa, I never made it to the Des Moines zoo (and they even have a Zoo Brew for adults in the summer!). Even more shameful, Jason and I went to San Diego and did not go to the zoo … which apparently is one of the main attractions.

So, either we are not zoo people or we don’t have kids… it seems that both are true right now!

BUT, we recently went to the zoo… in Izmir. And we really enjoyed it!

I know you are thinking…how can you make it to the zoo in your first 2 months living in Turkey and never make it to one in your own state OR even San Diego in the last 4 years? Last summer, Jason and I spent 10 days exploring Izmir making dreams and visions for possibly moving to this location. One of the ‘things to see’ in Izmir on almost every website was the zoo. Unfortunately for us, July weather is extremely hot and humid. That and public transportation from our location to the zoo was going to be 2.5 hours… one way. Being the wise ones we are, we decided (very quickly I may add) to stayed put in our air conditioned rental and planned to visit it another time.

With it being fall time, the weather was perfect and the bus ride was pleasant. The neighbourhood we decided on is a little closer, and we are able to catch only one bus that took us all the way there. Being a Saturday morning when most Turks are just starting to eat breakfast, the bus was found to be empty and relaxing.

The zoo exceeded our expectations by 100%. For only ~~3.50 lira ($1.25 USD)~~ 10 Turkish Lira and 5 for kids 7 and older ($1.15 and $0.58), zoo goers are able to access the whole zoo and the petting area. A little cafe with simple cheese toast, muffins, snacks, and drinks was the perfect place to wait for some friends of ours.

The zoo was opened on 18 acres of land for the International and Cultural Fair in 1937. In 2008 moved to the Sasalı area in NW Izmir gaining a whopping 425 acres area that now makes up Turkey’s first zoo and wildlife park. This park now hosts over 1600 animals, 138 species and 250 species of plants.

Jason snapped this shot of me…

I kinda of like him… and this hat.

And he kinda likes me wearing a hat, which I do for him…

Our relationship works out well for us.

Can I pause here and tell you about one of my favorite purchases this past year? Overalls.

If you know me, then you would know that I have become an avid dress wearer. One piece of clothing makes a whole outfit – casual or dressy. And now that jumpsuits and overalls have made their debut again, I am one happy girl! I found the perfect pair of overalls at the Gap Factory Outlet this past summer. They are the perfect casual day wear. Especially for a day at the zoo, correct? (Similar black pair can be found here.)

I will also tell you that we completely overdressed for this day. Being more familiar with a colder November, we have been a little caught off guard with how warm it has gotten throughout the day. So a sweater under my overalls and a wool cap was not the best idea!

A couple of my favorite animals were the rhino and camels, but the cutes animal award goes to the patagonian mara! Other animals such as deer and squirrels can be found at the Izmir zoo. Those are quite common in America but not so common. I was able to see the deer, but did not see any squirrels!

So that’s it. We went, and we love it.

Maybe we are zoo people after all! (Because we still have no kids to blame it on.)

Address:

Izmir Zoo or Izmir Doğal Yaşam Parkı is located in Sasalı, Cigli, Izmir, Turkey. (Telephone : (0090) 232 327 30 16)

More info via the website of Izmir Zoo and Wildlife Park and Trip Advisor.

What about you?

Do you love the zoo?

What is the best zoo out there?

Would you go to a zoo without kids?

LANGUAGE: Did you hear that Turkish has two past tenses?

November 10, 2016November 10, 2016LANGUAGE, TURKEY jason

Catie and I are currently trying to learn Turkish.

Yesterday in my class we learned that Turkish actually has two versions of past-tense. For those of you who may not remember from English class in high school, past-tense refers to those things which have already happened, which happened in the past.

Turkish has two versions of the past tense:

The first version is for the things that happened in the past for which you have direct knowledge.
The second version is for things that happened in the past for which you have indirect knowledge.

If I went with you to the mall yesterday, I would use the first version. If someone else told me that you went to the mall yesterday, I would use the second version. Turkish literally has built into it’s grammar a tense for rumors.

This got me thinking if other languages have a similar distinction. It turns out that not only are there other languages that have two versions, there are some that have three, four, and even five versions of past-tense. It’s called Evidentiality. The most interesting one, according to Wikipedia, is Fasu which as:

visual sensory
nonvisual sensory
inferential
reported
heard from known source
direct participation

This blew my mind! To have different verb tenses for something you personally saw happen versus something you personally heard happen versus something you inferred happened versus something someone told you happened… etc … I’m glad I don’t have to learn Fasu.

Languages can be very interesting.

FOOD: Aşure – Noah’s Ark Pudding

November 3, 2016October 10, 20182016, EVERYDAY LIFE, FOOD, IZMIR, LOCAL, TURKEY Catie

Cheers to the first post about FOOD. Cheers to not just any food, but TURKISH food!

And yes, you read that right! We are here to chat about Aşure. So how do you say it properly? The ‘a’ is an ‘aah’ sound while the ‘new-to-you’ letter ‘ş’ is pronounced like the English ‘sh’ sound. The ş with the ‘ur’ is similar to ‘shur’. Finish it off by saying the ‘e’ like the letter ‘A’ and you basically speak Turkish now.

Ok, not really. But you at least learned a new Turkish word: ‘Aah-shOOr-EY’

First off, aşure is not just a Turkish dish. Other cultures throughout central Asia and the middle east share a similar type of dish. This dish is special to Turkey because the actual site of the historical Noah’s ark is said to be in eastern Turkey. Hence, aşure is also known as Noah’s Ark pudding. Originally a Jewish celebration, this dessert also marks the rescue of Moses from Pharaoh during which the Hebrews fasted. Sunni Muslims also connect this period during the year with the deliverance of Moses. Aşure is traditionally served on the 10th day of the Muslim month Muharrem, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

But before Moses and the deliverance of the Jews, the dessert come from the story of Noah and the great flood. When the waters receded after the great flood, Noah took whatever he had left from their food storage and toss it into one pot. As you will see below, there are quite the diversity of ingredients (some I would not normally put together!). This large pot of food kept everyone well and alive until the waters finished receding. For this reason, aşure is usually made in large quantities and is shared with neighbors and friends standing as a symbol of friendship, diversity, and unity.

What’s in it? Quite the assortment of grains, nuts, fruits, and sugar. It may contain but isn’t limited to: walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, apricots, raisins, currants, figs, chickpeas and navy beans. Depending on the family and region, ingredients like chestnuts, lima beans, bulgur wheat and pieces of fresh coconut will also be added. Spices like cinnamon, cloves, and another lesser known spice to westerners, cardamon, can be a main contributor to the sweet taste. So basically, anything goes.

The great plus about living in Turkey full-time is getting a home-cooked, traditional dish of aşure hand delivered by a neighbor. Just this last week, our 3rd-floor neighbors shared this sweet gift with us. While I enjoyed it warm and cold, Jason wasn’t a big of a fan of it either way. The taste is a little … unique, but well worth the trying!

For recipes on how to make it yourself at home, click on some of the links below:

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Recipe

Turkish Food Recipe

All About Turkey Recipe

Video of the recipe

Questions for you:

Have you tried this before? Did you like it?

What do you think? Would you try this recipe at home?

If you do, let me know how it went and what you thought about it. You can always follow us through our move from the USA to Turkey via our 50 episodes of the FunkTravels Podcast.

See you next time!