IZMIR Archives - Page 2 of 3 - following the funks

TURKEY: Day trip to Tire’s Tuesday Market

November 27, 2017November 27, 20172017, IZMIR, TRAVELS, TURKEY Catie

Tire’s market has been around for more than 600 years, and up to 30 thousand people visit every. More than 1700 sellers display their goods from nearby villages, including fresh produce, herbs, flowers, cheeses, and oils. The handmade textiles produced by Tire’s village ladies are also beautiful.

90 kilometers away from Izmir (just 60 from Kusadasi), Tire holds a farmers market held in the downtown area every Tuesday. This market carries the distinction of being one of Turkey’s largest outdoor market and it’s fame brings day tours like our to see what there is to offer. Alongside the local vegetables and fruits, visitors can find clothes, houseware, blankets/sheets, and even electronics. Farmers come from several villages nearby selling their products.

Different than other farmers market you would also see:

Handmade goods such as scarves and tablecloths
Dainty jewellery made from Point Lace
Beledi Weaving
Felt Makers and clothing products that use a blend of silk and felt.
Handmade saddle for horses and donkeys. (Probably we are the last generation who would see this)

If time, visit the Tire Museum:

While we did not visit, the Tire Museum founded in 1935 is said to be well curated and informative. Two halls display earthware, coins, and other artifacts from 3500 BC and 1100 AD as well as jewelry, carpets, clothing, war items and other everyday wear from Ottoman times. If time allows, visit the museum for a quick look through to learn more about the history of Tire. The museum is open every day except Monday from 8:30-5:30 (closed for lunch between 12:30-1:30).

Lunch at Kaplan Restaurant:

Like most cities in Turkey, Tire boasts about it’s special ‘Kofte’ (meat patty made of beef and lamb). After our time at Tire Market, our IWAI group traveled up to the top of the mountain to eat at a well-known local restaurant, Kaplan Hill Restaurant. The meal started with mezes, appetizers which included their well-know greens, some cooked with garlic then chilled. Another carrot based meze stood out as my favorite. For the main course, we enjoyed the area’s famous Tire Kofte. If you prefer not to eat meat, as for their local dish of greens and eggs, served hot. Dessert in Tire uses a special Lor Cheese (soft, uncured cheese like Ricotta) topped with black mulberry jam.

How to travel to Tire Market:

Tire is also accessible by train from Izmir Basmane Train Station. It takes 1.5 hours for the train to go to Tire from Izmir through several villages and towns.

Questions for you:

Have you been to Tire, Turkey?

Have you visit the Tire Tuesday Market (Salı Pazarı)?

If, so what did you like about it? What did you buy?

Save it for later!

TURKEY: Day out on the sea lookbook

November 6, 2017November 6, 20172017, IZMIR, TURKEY, WEEKENDS Catie

Mondays can be busy and overwhelming to the senses. You want to start the week off right and avoid distractions… find some flow for your work. So in honor of busy Mondays everywhere, today I bring you a wordless lookbook reminiscing some warm summer days!

But before you start, just a quick explanation. Turkey has a huge coastline! The north, west, and south all border major seas. One of the best summer day trips is renting a boat with friends and taking a small tour (about 5 stops) along parts of the coast. This tour was with Teos Tur out of Sağıcık, a city on the southwest coast.

After meeting our captain about 9 am, we headed out for the day stopping along different coves and enjoying the landscapes. At each stop there is time to swim, explore, sunbath, and snorkel. Definitely bring your water games, snorkeling gear, and floaties!

The captain provides tea and coffee, but we bring any food we would like to eat throughout the day. Our group decided to only do lunch together (although the Turkish way would be to do breakfast and lunch). Our friends brought kofte(meatballs) and kebabs from the local butcher that the captain grilled for us when we were ready. Everyone brought a dish to share: bread, fruit, salad, etc. It also happened to be just before Jason’s birthday this year. We brought a cake to celebrate. Nothing fancy, but it is always fun to have a mid-day meal in your swimsuit between the dips in the sea!

Enjoy our day on the Aegean sea! (P.S.- If you like this, then you will love listening in to our podcast episode about our sailing trip along the Mediterranean coast!)

EVENTS: 2017 Izmir Coffee Festival

November 1, 20172017, EVENTS, IZMIR, TURKEY Catie

On October 13-15, 2017, the 2nd annual Izmir Coffee Festival was held at the Izmir Arena. I recently recap our experience from the first ever Izmir Coffee Festival. The same organizers, Next Organization and Ateş Prodüksiyon, of private festivals (also planned the Izmir Chocolate Festival), have continued to produce an even better festival this year. Tickets were 38 TL each for a 1-day pass or 76 TL for a 3-day entry.

Like I mentioned, coffee is no stranger to Turkish culture. Turkish coffee is long steeped in Turkish tradition. Specialty coffee, however, is on the rise! Almost 10 years later, Turkey is home to lots of little startups for coffee roasting and small coffee shops serving not only filtered coffee but also options for pour-overs, Chemex, and AeroPress. In our neighborhood alone I can find 5-6 different coffee shops to enjoy my favorite way to drink coffee! Many of them do their own roasting too.

The first day of the coffee festival was PERFECT. The weather was a breezy, sunny 73 degrees. While last year was crowded and the layout of venues was too close together, this year the layout of shops were much improved giving the guests room to move with ease and vendors more room to work.More vendors were placed outdoors and the whole of the outdoor space better utilized.

Like last year, I anticipated most booths to represent coffee companies, and it proved to be true this year as well. Of course, we made sure to stop by Jason’s favorite afternoon workplace, RAF – Roast and Found, and enjoy our first latte from them. The soon to open LessOrdinary Coffee sold one of my favorites of the festival, a Coffee Sangria for 25 TL. I was surprised at the number of Istanbul representatives such as Arabica Trading House Roasters that service to coffee shops like the new Story Coffee in Istanbul. By far, the most intrigue coffee item at the coffee festival was the Nitro Brew coffee. This carbonated cold brew looks similar to beer in color, but definitely, keeps its taste!

Several small businesses sold miscellaneous items to give the guests some diversity. I met the owner of Basic Jewel again from last years festival. I love her simple yet unique design for pendants and earrings. A couple of new favorites were pastries from Leone Patisserie and Boulangerie and sweet delicious spread from Dulce La Leche in Assos, Turkey. Towards the back of the area, the festival provided an amazing play area for kids! Lounge chairs lined the coast so guest could relax with a gorgeous view of the Izmir’s bay. If you fancy learning more about coffee, the festival offered workshops and held seminars on different topics related to coffee.

When to go

For those who want to visit for the whole day, Saturday and Sunday would give you a full day of wandering the area and watching performers such as DJs, dance instructors, and sports instructors. The program rotates performers on a central stage with a large area to sit and enjoy your purchases and free coffee samples. But if you enjoy lesser crowds, go early the first day as well as first thing Saturday and Sunday morning!

List of activities and services:

– Catering, tasting, cupping
– concerts and music concerts, interviews (pre-registration for some interviews)
– Workshops (Pre-registration is available for some workshops.)
– Children’s play areas, adult play areas, close up shows
– Sports events, dance shows, latte show shows,
– Street art performances, contests, and surprise gifts
– Recreation areas
– Selfie area

We are excited to head back to the 2018 festival and see what they have in store for guest next year!

For more information:

Website: http://coffeefestivalizmir.com

Address: 1649 Sokak No: 107 Turan – Bayraklı / İZMİR

Telephone: 0 232 382 2 382 & 0 232 382 38 28

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EVENTS: Arkas Sanat Merkezi’s Landscape of Water Exhibition

October 18, 2017October 18, 20172017, EVENTS, IZMIR, REVIEWS, TURKEY Catie

From September 20 to December 29, 2017, Arkas Art Center (Arkas Sanat Merkezi) is hosting Landscapes of Water (Su Manzaraları) collection. As a member of the IWAI, I attended with a group of ladies on a special guided tour to hear about the collection. You may remember this groups from last year’s Christmas Bazaar or our outing to the Costumn Museum in Doğanbey and Priene.

Located in a beautiful sea view side the French Honorary Consulate Building, the Arkas Art Center was created with the art-lovers in mind sharing collections and art interest with others as the wish of Mr. Lucien Arkas, the President of the Board of Directors of Arkas Holding. The building itself has a long history. Construction of the building started in 1825 and took about 10 years to complete. Throughout the next 100 years, the structure has survived several earthquakes and an even a couple of fires.

The French Government assigned the building to be used for a 20 year period for cultural and artistic purposes, and after renovations, opened in 2011. Now it is one of the first centers in Izmir that has hosted international painters.

Spanning throughout the 10 exhibition rooms over 2 floors, Landscapes of Water contain landscape paintings dating from the first half of the 19th century to the second half of the 20th century. The paintings represented several artistic movements such as such as the Barbizon School, Impressionism, Symbolism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, and Expressionism. Artist represented include works of Eugéne Boudin, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Maurice de Vlaminck, Francis Picabia, Henry Lebasque, and Hippolyte Camille Delpy, among others.

The Arkas Art Center says:

“Landscapes of Water “reflects” the historical evolution of the pictorial medium over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Here you will find the remarkable They invite the viewer on a fabulous odyssey through diverse geographic areas, from the banks of the Seine and the Scottish lakes to the summits of the Alps, by way of the warm light of the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the rivers of Europe.”

Being my first art gallery viewing in Izmir, I found the gallery to be well-maintain and beautifully displayed. I found the impressionist pieces to be some of my favorite, similar to a Monet type of painting. Both upstairs and downstairs are projector screen which brings the paintings and movement of the sea to life. I found an area for children to color their own painting to match the ones on display. A favorite of everyone was a luminous sunset painting that looked as if it was glowing, but instead just showed the power of colors and the impressive creations of an artist with oil paints, a canvas, and a brush.

How to get there:

The center does not have any private parking. From the Alsancak Ferry, the center is about a 12-minute walk West along the coast. From the Pasaport Ferry, it is a 7-minute walk East along the coast.

Entrance Information:

Entrance is free. Lockers are available for large bags, belongings, jackets, umbrellas, etc. on the ground floor.

Tours:

Free guided tours are provided in Turkish or English for a minimum of 5 people upon request on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Tours for children are also available in similar form. See information below for contact details and operating hours.

For more information:

ARKAS ART CENTER

Monday: Closed

Tuesday-Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00 (Entrance Free)
Thursday: 10:00 – 20:00 (Entrance Free)

Website: http://www.arkassanatmerkezi.com

Address: 1380 Sokak No:1 Alsancak, İzmir

Phone: + 90 (232) 464 66 00, + 90 (232) 464 60 06

For Guided Tour Reservations: 0232 464 66 00

Email: [email protected]

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Episode039: When you attend a ballet in a 2,000-year-old theater

Welcome back to Episode039 and happy Fall! Our 2-year visa applications are in the works! We are hoping that all of it should be processed and our new visas will be in our hands in the next month! Please be thinking about us in this in-between time and for approval. Currently, we are in limbo between our currently expired visas and the new ones coming in… which is never fun.

In Episode039, we are back to sharing about our expat life. That means several updates about daily life, getting back into a routine during our 2nd year, learning to love each other better in the midst of change and in a different culture, and a weekend getaway to explore the nearby 2,000-year-old ancient city.

Did you know we have Instagram? We would love for you to follow us there to see daily pictures and stories about what our lives look like in Turkey!

Mentioned links:

Visas – What all do we have to do?

In the news… Thankfully this does NOT affect our longterm visa application.

Ballet at the Ephesus Ancient Theater – Check out some pictures at this post.

Ephesus in the Bible

Ayasoluk Hotel and Restaurant in Selcuk

House of the Virgin Mary

Grotto of the Seven Sleepers

Basilica of St. John

Car Rentals and our *ahem* many accidents…

#1 Spain
#2 Cyprus
#3 Romania

Intentional Conversation Episode

Date Night to the Suat Taşer Bostanlı Open Air Theater

Questions for the listeners:

Are you an expat living overseas? Where do you live?
What does your daily life look like? How did you adjust to going back ‘home?
Have you ever had to reprioritize your marriage to be more intentional with one another?

As always, email us your questions and we will answer them in a future episode!

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Recent Posts:

TURKEY: Selçuk’s Ayasoluk Hotel and Restaurant

EVENTS: 2016 Izmir Coffee Festival

EVENTS: Ballet at the Ancient Theater of Ephesus

Current Series:

EXPAT: Going Home Series – 6 part series

The Going Home Series is all about how you can have the best visit back ‘home’. Catie covers both sides of the spectrum to help both those in the native country and those living abroad have an easier time reconnecting and supporting each other.
If you are an expat going back to your native country, this is for you!
If you are someone who will be visiting returning expats, this is for you too!

GOING HOME SERIES: 10 thoughtful questions to ask your returning expat

GOING HOME SERIES: 8 ways you can bless your returning expats

GOING HOME SERIES: Expats, 5 ways you can help those back ‘home’ understand you better

Stay tuned for upcoming articles:

EVENTS: 2017 Izmir Coffee Festival

TRAVEL: Why you should use Local Guddy next time you travel

If you are just now joining in:

We encourage you to go back into the archives and listen back to our first episode. And we encourage you to go back and listen to Episode009 to help get you up to speed on our big move!

You can also join in on the adventure via Facebook means you will get the first scoop and discussion on new podcasts!

AND…

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POP OVER TO LEAVE US A REVIEW ON ITUNES. This helps others find our podcast!