Month: August 2026

Korean Court Food in Antalya

M's Adventures
Korean beef ribs.

I wrote that I would return to Antalya. I would go back for the Korean ribs and food and Kore Dimibang. Maybe it’s shallow of me, but as my friend says, “You do you, and I’ll do me.” And me is going back for those ridiculously delicious beef ribs.

Part of the menu.

On the last day I was in Antalya, I had enough of eating lamb/mutton. I found this newly opened Korean restaurant. The beef ribs are marinated for 72 hours so one has to order ahead. But lucky for me, they had some already marinated. I had one bite and ordered a second portion to go. I almost missed my flight…

Cold rice noodles with spicy sauce.

The cool noodle dish was also perfection on a sizzling hot day. The cool slippery noodles and the spicy sauce were refreshing together. The drink of the day was a tomato and basil spritzer. No alcohol. The tomatoes were peeled and sweetened so they tasted almost like jujubes. To Koreans, the tomato is a fruit (it is) so they treat it like a fruit in drinks like this one.

Tomato and basil spritzer.

Now, why would this Korean couple open a Korean place in Antalya. Through their staff, who speaks Turkish, Korean, and English, I found out that it is because this couple honeymooned in Turkey many years ago and had this dream of opening an authentic Korean palace cuisine inspired place. I wish them good luck. I do not know how they will survive with adaption their recipes even more. Note the grilled pepper on the ribs… that is very Turkish. The chef even makes his own noodles. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Turks like their pasta soft… not al dente… so they might appreciate the chew on his hand crafted noodles.

Open kitchen with hand made noodles.

But, the name of the restaurant and the flavors were Korean. The name is taken from the famous Korean cookbook from 400 years ago. This harks back to my favorite place in Dhaka.

Where the names comes from.

I told them that I wished they were in Adana and they said that if they had success, then maybe they would be some day. Sigh. One can hope.

Kore Dimibang is on a one way street near the coast in Antalya.

The Turkish Sunshine Coast

M's Adventures
The famous Roman Hadrian’s gate with a bit of Roman road.

If you can’t afford the French Riviera, why not try the Turkish Turquoise Coast? If you imagine all the sun, beaches, and ancient sites of Greece, but in Turkish.

The sunshine coast of Turkiye.

For many years, a Turkish holiday was cheaper but these days I am told it is cheaper in Greece.

Such pretty streets.

There are many charter flights to the major airports in this area. Many northern Europeans seek vitamin D vacations for their health.

I went to Antalya. What a lovely city. As I mentioned, I am done with tourism, but then again, I have to do something between eating… and sleeping…

Cool bazaar in an old historic building.

If it is possible, then Antalya has it all. Even beaches. But in the town, it has a great “exotic” holiday where one sits and sips aperol spritzes by the pool after a morning of wandering the bazaar and shopping for oriental rugs..

The Ottoman style of building is visible if you look up.

Antalya has ruins too. It is old. More than 2,000 years old. The city was founded by a king Attalus of Pergamon in 130 BCE. Antalya was the largest port city in the area back then and it still is. It seems like everyone has been here, even St. Paul on his way to Antioch. And since then, Greeks, Seluks, Ottomans, and so many others. It seems that once upon a time not so recently, there were many Russian speaking tourists because there are many signs in Russian.

The rug shops look so enticing.

There are so many instagrammable pedestrian streets and so many places to “be on holiday” that one could spend an entire week just in the old town. They even have public toilets (1 Euro/40 Turkish Lira), although in the heat of the summer, I assume one sweats most water out of the body.

The downside is that in the summer, it is very very hot. Like 110 F/43 C. It is hard to describe how hot that is, but it is too hot to think clearly. Some of us find out that we have sweat glands in the puffy bits under our eyes… even in the shade.

An inviting looking shop.

Antalya is a place I would visit again.

The GOAT of Goat Cheese?

M's Adventures

Did I mention this yet? One of the startling things about Adana is the hairy goat cheese. It’s called “tulum” and it’s an aged white cheese. Tastes good. But the packaging is a bit hairy.

A cheese waiting outside a store.

The tulum is made by filing a goat skin and letting it age. This was a practical solution in the days of yore. One does not have to buy the whole goat of cheese. As customers buy the cheese, the top is peeled down, the outside of the cheese is scraped of bits, and then the cheese is cut.

A tulum cheese being opened.

But, when I’m driving along and see one of the headless tulum cheeses with arms straight out… I’m reminded that I’m not in Kansas. Especially like the other day when the smiling cheese lady (in the photo) fed me a piece freshly cut from the goat.

Some people, mostly foreigners, find this a bit gross and reminds them of why they want to be vegan. So maybe I should have done a warning…

Escape to the Black Sea

M's Adventures
Trabzon has lots of pedestrian streets.

As the temperature started getting too hot for middle of the day outdoor activities (and frankly even too hot in the morning), I decided that I would do what the Turks did in the old days before air conditioning. They went to the Black Sea.

Giant bread larger than your head.

I went to Trabzon. For the respite from the 94-degree heat in Adana. In Trabzon, it was 84 degrees but humid. I still sweated. But Trabzon was an interesting diversion. The airport is seven minutes from downtown which they call Meydan (in Adana, most use the word, “merkez” for the center of town). There are many pedestrian streets in Trabzon, both in an area that feels like Switzerland or Italy, and then in an area that feels a bit more like Amman or Adana with covered cloth criss crossing the narrow alleys and older streets leading to Turkish baths or a mosque. Trabzon is now a tourist destination for middle easterners looking to escape the heat (84 is downright winter compared to 120) and many stores and restaurants have writing in Arabic. At one place I went to, the waiter was from Saudi Arabia and had been hired for his Arabic and English speaking skills.

Lots of metal containers for sale.

As I mentioned, I am done with touristy things unless it is food related. In Trabzon, the food specialties are a cheese cornmeal fondue type dish, gigantic bread larger than your head, a black cabbage soup, and sardines.

The melted cheese dish is called, “kuymak” and is melted cheese mixed with cornmeal. You use bread to dip into it. Very hardy food. It is nice if you can get a really good “pull” on your cheese but I went to a place where the cook apologized because she had not achieved that on my serving.

The gigantic bread is massive with the largest size weighing two kilograms (4.4 lbs). It is sourdough. The bakeries where they sell the bread can be hard to find as they seem to be all in one area. But, they sell the bread at the airport so no fear, one can take one with you last minute.

Black cabbage soup which is really kale pottage.

The soup is actually not a soup. So I was told. Apparently, one is supposed to use the cornbread as an additive and then the soup becomes a pottage or stew. This dish reminded me of the south in the USA.

I did not have any sardines but I did look for black tea as Trabzon is in tea growing country.

Overall, I felt like Trabzon was built for shopping.

It is a hilly town.

The Soul’s Ultimate Goal is to Return to the Divine

M's Adventures
Spectacular.

One day in December, I was invited to the union celebration of Rumi. In Konya. I thought this was a marriage celebration, but in fact, it’s the union of Rumi with God — the celebration of Rumi’s death.

Other than a few quotes and knowing that Rumi was famous, I didn’t know much before that weekend.

Rumi, or Mevlana as he is often called in Turkish, was a Sufi mystic and poet, born in 1207 in the Persian empire. Fleeing the Mongol hordes, he eventually settle in Konya in what was the Byzantine Empire, or Easter Roman Empire. He was called “the Roman” or “Rumi” and that is what he is known as in English. There is so much to know about Rumi but I won’t go into it here.

Rumi said that the soul’s ultimate goal is to return to the divine through unconditional love, mindfulness, and the dissolution of ego. Down through the centuries, Rumi has become famous for his poetry. Most people have heard of the whirling dervishes and many have seen them “perform” but it’s more than that. Each rotation is a delicate prayer sent heavenward. The whirling dervishes were created by Rumi’s sons.

Personal.

The cultural center in Konya makes it easy to visit and appreciate the poetry and philosophy of Rumi, both for believers and non-believers. Every night, there is a whirling dervish performance at 7 pm. But, in December, there are special prayer sessions at 8 pm. These are hard to get tickets. It must be planned years in advance. For some reason, I thought it might be a solemn experience. It was a spiritual one. But also a very human one. All around me were people live streaming the songs and prayers via their telephones, often back to a loved one who was too sickly to make the event in person. The center also had lots of stalls where one could buy inexpensive crafts, Turkish delight, tea, and souvenirs.

Mevlani’s tomb.

Visiting the mausoleum of Rumi and his family was a quiet experience. There are many items on display so the place is a bit like a museum. But, there are also people there who are praying so it’s a bit like a mosque. One has to put on shoe covers, and women can, if they want, cover their hair. Scarves are available.

Loaner scarves.

Konya is a conservative city but during Rumi tourism time in December, it’s accommodating for foreigners. But the city gets crowded so plan ahead.