Sunday, September 20 Istanbul
When I arrived here Friday night I was so exhausted
and so tired of touring that I seriously considered canceling my tours
here. Boy, am I glad I didn't because these two days turned out to be the
best, by far, of the entire trip. I finally had a guide who knew and
understood what I liked and wanted and planned
accordingly. I could not have asked for more.
This morning we headed out for Sile, a resort area and
fishing village about an hour away (on good highways).
Once out of apartment congested Istanbul the scenery became quite green, heavily
forested and hilly. Off the highway we were once again on twisting and
winding roads and seemed to be climbing all of the time but, all of a sudden the
Black Sea came into view. I don't think I have ever seen as many fishing
boats, of every size and description, as there were in Sile. I wondered
how the guy who was first in line ever got out because that boat was blocked in
by many others on all sides. A beautiful area. People walking in droves and many
fishing off the pier.
Then it was off to Agva another small village on the
coast. Another beautiful area with some wonderful beaches.
I'll bet the beaches are packed in the summer.
Somewhere outside of Agva (I think) we stopped at a
small Mom and Pop restaurant up in the hills. I thought we were just
stopping for tea but the guide (never did understand his name) suggested that I
try a local pancake (he knew I liked to try things, especially local dishes)
and, of course, I agreed. A pancake as we know it it was not. Mom
rolled out some dough until it was thinner than a crepe, sprinkled some shredded
cheese on it and added some minced meat.
It was then folded in half and placed on a stove that was bubble shaped (like an
upside down wok) and very hot. The "pancake" was then fried on
both sides until cooked through but not crispy. It had the texture of a
very thin flat bread and tasted great. I have the leftovers in my pack for
a snack or dinner. Was also convinced to try a yoghurt drink. It was
ok but not as good as the thick yoghurt I had elsewhere. A great
experience.
After seeing a few more sights (nothing spectacular)
and a couple of stops for smoke breaks we returned to Sile for lunch (which I
needed like a hole in the head) because I decided I wanted some fresh
sardines. Sile has many fish (balik) restaurants. We stopped at one
while the guide went in to see if they had any sardines. While we waited
for him to return we were parked right in front of another fish market with
sardines galore in evidence. I thought to myself that if the restaurant
didn't have any all they had to do was walk across the street and buy
some. When the guide returned he said that they didn't have any but would
walk across the street, buy some and cook them for me. Well it took them
an inordinate amount of time but I finally got them and they were
excellent. I ate far more than I thought I would and finished the whole
plate. I had also ordered a cucumber, tomato and onion salad and was very
specific to state that was all that I wanted in it. When it arrived it
also had hot peppers and cilantro in it. YUCK. On top of that the
tomatoes were light pink and tasteless. What a disappointment after all of
the fantastic ones I had eaten and seen in the past two weeks. Needless to
say as soon as I tasted that the salad was left to the other two guys.
I napped on the way back to Istanbul, said goodbye to
guide and driver and now have to reorganize my suitcase and get ready to fly
tomorrow.......