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Karagöz

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    • Turkey pt. 2
      111
      Day 6

      KATMER DAY

      May 16, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

      Noisy as heck boutique hotel, didn't sleep well. After breakfast, we walked around for a bit and found an outdoor bazaar. During Can's meeting, I talked with one of the other hotel guests who is a lady from Croatia who lived in Germany for a while, so we spoke German. She gave me the tea on how she doesn't like the woman she is traveling with and I felt bad for her. After that, Can and I finally went to get katmer from a nearby place! Interestingly enough, we seemed to be in the middle of a crime scene. There were police inspecting a car where supposedly the owner of the car's brother shot 2 bullets through the windows. We were literally sitting there eating katmer and drinking tea as they inspected the crime scene hahaha. Other curious onlookers unashamedly walked right up too. Strange but funny. After that, we walked around the Gaziantep castle, I learned some history, saw some views. Then during Can's next meeting, I chatted with both the ladies in German. It was an interesting interaction. After that, we got juice, explored the city a bit, then I checked out the indoor bazaar and the copper bazaar. Later on, we got chicken dinner from a Syrian place and then got katmer from a restaurant. Yessss, more katmer! Finished off by getting pistachios for the road tomorrow.Read more

    • Türkiye 2021
      Day 44

      Panorama December 25 Museum

      October 18, 2021 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

      After completing our spice shopping, we found a courier company to ship the boxes to those who had placed orders with us. Then, it was time for more sightseeing.

      The Turkish War of Independence (May 1919-July 1923) was waged to rid the country of foreign forces that occupied parts of the Ottoman Empire following its defeat in WWI. At the conclusion of this war the Republic of Turkey was born.

      The Istiklal Madalyası (Independence Medal), awarded to those who went above and beyond the call of duty during the war, was also awarded to four cities for their overall valiant efforts in ridding the country of the enemy. Gaziantep, which managed to overthrow the French forces that had occupied the city, is one of those cities. Such efforts were further recognized by awarding the city the title of Gazi (Veteran) to the city that used to simply be known as Antep.

      The story of the occupation and overthrow of the enemy, and the heroism of the people, is told at the Panorama December 25 Museum. There is an overwhelming amount of information to digest at this museum, which is operated by the municipality. Oversized paintings and an amazing panorama complete with 3D details help to bring the story alive.

      We spent over an hour here, focusing our attention on the pictorials as attempting to read even a small portion of the written material would have kept us there not just for hours, but for days. I’d highly recommend the museum … with the caveat that a basic interest and understanding of the general story of the Turkish Independence War is essential to doing even a tiny bit of justice to the museum.

      By the time we left the museum and walked back to our hotel, we were all ready to call it a day as our feet were protesting all the walking we did today. As none of us was hungry after the filling meal we had for lunch, we just called it quits to rest up for what promises to be another busy day tomorrow.      Read more

    • Türkiye 2021
      Day 45

      Hamam to Mutfak to Mosaics

      October 19, 2021 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

      After our visit to the Gaziantep Castle, we wandered around the downtown streets, visiting a couple of boutique museums.

      The first one we went to was the Hamam Museum, which has exhibits describing Turkey’s hamam culture. The museum is housed in the Paşa Hamamı, a public bathhouse that is thought to date back to 1577, and which was built in the Ottoman style.

      These bathhouses consisted of a cold bath, a warm bath, and a hot bath, and had a variety of other rooms that served as changing rooms, a water reservoir, etc. Some had men’s and women’s sections, while others had specifics days of the week designated for the different genders. They also served as a place for get togethers where people could eat, chat, and otherwise socialize during the extensive bathing rituals.

      Not far down the street was the second museum we visited — Mutfak Museum. The literal translation is the kitchen museum, but its purpose is to explore the culinary culture of Gaziantep. I thought this was especially appropriate since the city was inducted into the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2015 for its gastronomic history and has many trademarked dishes that are known around the world.

      Our last stop before lunch came about as a happenstance as we were walking to the café where we planned to take our midday break. You all know my interest in murals and mosaics, so it should come as no surprise that we stopped at what I thought was a center for mosaics along the way.

      Inside, we were welcomed by Gülçin Sökücü, coordinator of the center and a mosaic artist of some renown. She gave us a brief description of the process of making a mosaic piece, including a demonstration of how natural stones and rocks are chipped into appropriate sizes. We walked away with a much deeper appreciation of the work that must have gone into the creation of the room-sized floor and wall mosaics that we’d seen at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum yesterday.      Read more

    • Türkiye 2021
      Day 45

      Gaziantep Castle

      October 19, 2021 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

      After a good night’s rest, a beautiful blue-sky morning invited us to begin our day with a walk into downtown Gaziantep. Our destination: the castle that sits atop a rocky mound that dates back to 3600 BC.

      The castle was originally built by the Romans in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD as a watchtower. It was expanded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian during the 6th century. It took on its current shape during the Mameluke Period in the 13th century … and further expanded by the Ottomans during the 16th century. As one might expect, the fortress saw heavy action during the Turkish War of Independence.

      Mui and I first visited the castle in 2018. The docent who accompanied us on that visit was a little long-winded and we ran out of time to see the upper reaches of the castle since our friends had made lunch reservations for us at a popular restaurant. As Deniz had not been to the castle, it made sense to go there once again to finish what we began three years ago.

      Today, the fortress also serves as the original museum where the story of the city’s defense during the War of Independence is told. In fact, if you ask to be directed to the Panorama Museum, it’s more than likely you’ll be given directions to the castle. Unlike at the new museum, the pictorials here consist of a series of bronze bas-relief panels that line the long tunnel that takes visitors to the top of the castle.      Read more

    • Einmal rundherum - Teil 1
      Day 125

      Gaziantep

      December 4, 2021 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

      Weiter geht es Richtung Osten nach Gaziantep. Die Stadt wurde von der UNESCO für ihre Gastronomie ausgezeichnet. Hier sollen die Baklava erfunden worden sein und die Stadt schreibt sich auch sonst eine einzigartige Küche zu, da hier die kulinarischen Einflüsse der Türken, Kurden, Armenier und Syrer zu finden sind.

      Wir besuchen heute als erstes die Burg, die direkt neben unserer Unterkunft steht. Auf dem Weg nach oben zeigt uns ein Museum die Wichtigkeit der Stadt beim Widerstand gegen die Besetzung der Franzosen nach dem Ersten Weltkriegs. Oben angekommen haben wir eine schöne, wenn auch etwas dunstige Sicht auf die Stadt.

      Neben dem Burghügel wurde ein alter Hamam in ein Museum umgewandelt und gibt Einblick in diese Jahrtausende alte Badekultur, die auch heute noch in der Türkei und im arabischen Raum seinen Platz hat. Hier werden die verschiedenen Wasch-Praktiken erklärt und mit vielen Ausstellungsstücken veranschaulicht

      Ein weiteres Museum, das wir uns ansehen, ist das Zeugma Mozaik Museum. Aus der in der Nähe liegenden antiken Stadt Zeugma, die inzwischen zum grossen Teil durch den Bau eines Staudamms überflutet wurde, konnten viele Mosaike freigelegt und gerettet werden, insgesamt eine Fläche von mehr als 1'700m². Ganze Häuserböden sind hier ausgestellt und es ist imposant, in welcher Grösse und Detailfülle dieses Kunsthandwerk ausgeführt wurde.

      Zurück zur Kulinarik: Als Stärkung nach unserer Ankunft probieren wir einen Dürüm Nohut, ein Fladenbrot mit Kichererbsenfüllung. Beim Frühstück wird uns auch Katmer serviert, ein Gebäck mit Frischkäse und Pistazienfüllung. Baklava besorgen wir uns von der Kocak-Baklavastube. Hier wird selbst der hauchdünne Teig noch von Hand gerollt und die Baklava sollen angeblich die besten der Stadt sein. In der Türkei haben wir bis jetzt immer gut gegessen und hier ist natürlich auch Gaziantep keine Ausnahme.

      Übrigens: Pistazien werden in der Türkei "Antep fıstığı" genannt, "Nüsse aus Antep".      Read more

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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Karagöz, Karagoz

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