There seem to be three types of melons here including watermelon. The other two look like honeydew or cantaloupe. That’s what they taste like too.
But the melons are enormous. Maybe because Adana sits in a fertile agricultural area. The melon season is September. Then the plums start arriving. And nectarines hard and crisp.
The Seyhan river flows through Adana and after it was dammed, a lake was created. Now, that lake is surrounded by residences, restaurants, and boating clubs. One of these is the kayak club of Adana.
We went for a sunset kayak. The place is a bit hard to find but once you know, it’s easy. The outing cost 300 Lira per person. This included the instructions, rental, lifejacket loan, and shepherding by the staff. It was late by the time we all got there, so our time was cut short. I recommend going earlier. There were changing rooms, bathrooms, and water available (for purchase).
That said, it was pleasant to see the sun set and listen to the music thumping across the water from the restaurants.
In the middle of the lake is a small island called Love Island. I don’t know why and we were told not to go ashore.
The two young men who helped us spoke no English but we communicated via Google translate, sort of. They helped us get in the kayaks of which there were a few singles, a few doubles, and a few old school slim ones — or as they said, “you will fall” ones… our most experienced kayakers took those. They did not tip over.
Getting into the kayaks was interesting as they two young men (one was 16 and the other 18) helped people get in by stepping in sideways from the dock… then sitting down into the wet bottomed boat… I guess that the bank of the shore was too sludgy to get in from there.
Over all, an enjoyable activity.
No, not true. Well, yes, it’s that hot, but not all sherbet/sorbet is iced. Sometimes it is a drink. The original word derives from the Arabic term “to drink” (shariba) and in modern Turkiye, you can still find it as a drink.
Sherbet can be had in many flavors deriving from herbs, fruits, and other plants. Some specific flavors are famous in certain locations, such as Bursa’s peach flavor (Bursa is the old capital of Ottoman Empire) or ingredients such as musk.
I had the one in the photo at the Women’s Cooperative in Adana. We didn’t ask for it. It was offered with the coffee. I think of the sherbet drink as being similar to Ribena in Germany or fruit punch in the USA. It’s a version of electrolytes.
If you want to read more about this, check out this article from the Slow Food Movement.
The first thing one has to get used to is the ‘c’ is a ‘j’ as in “Can” is “Jan” or “Jon” — or as in Jif. Then, there are those tails on some of the letters. That makes is an es sound.
Speaking of es sounds, the word for water is “su” but it’s a fast su and not “sooo” — that is broth or “suyu”… I think that’s what I was told. The soup in the photo below is a chicken soup, or “çorba” (say “shor-ba”) with spicy oil and lemon.
Much of the food here involves lemon/lime so you can add a fresh zest to every bite. Another thing about the limes and lemons here is that they are a mix of the two but not as sour.