Category: art

A Nutty Fairytale

M's Adventures
I think it’s tea.

Once upon a fairytale, I had read to me stories of far away lands where boys in baggy Turkish pantaloons chased each other through markets with silk draped souk stalls, knocking over giant baskets, all while the colors of a thousand (and one) spices wafted through the hot sunny air…

Spices in drawers.

Stereotypes are hard to break. Adana is a modern city. But, I keep looking for that souk experience of my fairytales. Obviously without the humidity. And icky smells. Just colors and brightness.

Fresh sumac.

But, do you know where I find that in Adana? In the nut stores. And in the spice shops. While one can buy spices in the normal grocery store chains, it is still possible to find speciality stores with an “exotic” flavor. Often there are spices that I have never heard of or ever seen in leaf or bark form. In the nut stores, the sale of nuts is serious business often with a roaster outside (to attract custom with the aroma), but these stores also sell Turkish delight, candy, and other snacks. Mainly confectionary.

I don’t know. Potpouri?

The spice stores sell many kinds of spices but also often function as apothecaries, carrying olive oil shampoo, or baldness remedies. Some of the products are to be steeped as a tisane, or smoked, or applied as a salve.

I would like to say that these stores are located in the souks of my imagination. They are not. For that I may have to go to Izmir. Or Istanbul. Adana is too practical, I guess.

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.

The Good Things About Life in Adana

M's Adventures

As I have done for all the places I’ve lived these past 15 years, I write about the pros and cons. This is the good stuff about living in Adana as a foreigner.

It’s a chill place even though the weather is hot in the summer. People are fairly relaxed here about dress code, lifestyle, smoking, drinking, etc. Live and let live. Cover your hair if you want. Wear shorts if you want. Hijabs next to mini skirts.

There are lots of coffee shops open late into the evening so that one can go out without going to a club.

Cups for sale.

There are thousands of restaurants in all price ranges. Every place will serve Turkish breakfast (kahvalti). Just ask.

A local eatery.
A fancier restaurant.

The locals are friendly. Everyone has a phone so they can use a translator app.

There are no tourists. I mentioned that already in another article.

The great things about living in Adana are that it’s a vibrant city full of people going about their lives. Food is fresh and good. People are friendly. Taxis are cheap.

Hidden Chinese Reflexology from AW

M's Adventures

One day when in Flushing, Queens, I felt the need to find a foot rub. Maybe Chinese reflexology. After all, I was in one of the largest Chinatowns in the world.

I looked at the map and there was a place nearby with a 5-star rating. I eventually found it in a high rise behind a bakery (to the left of the green awning in the photo).

The reflexologist was a gentle soul who bathed my feet first before working on my meridian lines. Luckily my Mandarin-speaking friend showed up so she could do some translating. Not that I remember very much as I was too busy feeling relaxed.

Ms. Annie Wong was a treasure. I wish I lived nearby. Because I was the first customer of the day, I got my 90-minute foot massage for around 50 bucks.

I highly recommend finding places like AW Spa when in Chinatown Flushing.

Souvenir Shopping in Adana

M's Adventures
Adana’s area code is 01.

Since you can’t take an Adana kebab as a souvenir, one has to (has to) find a magnet or mug as a souvenir. Recently, I was at the women’s cooperative, Adana Kadın kooperatifleri Birliği, for brunch and it turns out that they also have a shop (one is sitting surrounded by things to buy) so that is my recommendation for where to buy souvenirs.

Adana is famous for its clock tower, orange festival, Roman bridge, and the kebab. This shop, located conveniently in old Adana (just down from the clock tower, on the side of a park, Ziyapaşa Parkı), is a nice reprieve from the heat and bustle. Or cold and wet.

The orange festival is the biggest event of the year in Adana.

Aside from souvenirs like magnets, they also have handmade items and food for sale. And as I mentioned, you can eat there. The staff are very nice. It is hard to not buy a basket or hammer pants (which is the baggy style that many people wear here).

The other place I would recommend for souvenirs is Starbucks. Sounds odd? The Adana mug is adorable.

There are also other places to find souvenirs but one has to search. Or stick to the main touristy street.

Four Dollars a Brew

M's Adventures
The leaves when reconstituted.

When a cup of tea costs $20, then you might as well get as many brews out of it as possible. The tea tasting I did in New York seems a world away from Adana, and centuries ago.

One of the pours.

When I went to Chinatown Flushing in New York, I went on a tea tasting at Fang Gourmet Tea. After selecting two teas (at $20 each), the tea connoisseur explained the tea, washed the miniature cups in hot water, and brewed the tea. Five times for each tea. After each brew, we tasted the tea again.

The tea changed color with every brew.

I’ll admit that this may be too subtle for me. After a while, it just tasted like ‘tea’ to me. I could see the change in color, but I started to hallucinate that I was making up flavors and aromas just because I was supposed to be able to detect them… actually, what I found most interesting was the tea person. She had worked there for decades. She was calm and deliberate with all her movements. She really sensed every nuance in each brew… and I think she found our obtuseness a bit amusing.

The skein of a filter.

After the tasting, we could buy the teas. These are not cheap. Nothing below $45. The shop was filled with tea paraphernalia that we could buy.

A selection of the cheaper teas.

And photos were not allowed of the shop…

The outside of the teashop.

In Sri Lanka, I went to a tea shop and did a tea tasting. I’m a simple person and I like my Earl Grey…

Fast forward a few centuries and I live in Adana where tea is offered at every meal. And in between. But here the tea is the color of mahogany. (Turkiye has the highest per capita of tea drinking at three kilos per person, per year.)

Mom’s (Meat)balls

M's Adventures
Cig kofte are uncooked balls, here made with wheat and served like a lettuce wrap.

It seems at times like everything has the same name. The word, “köfte,” is the word for meatball. But, it’s not always made of meat. And it’s not always a ball. It seems like köfte refers to a ground meat formed into a ball, lump, or along a skewer (to make the famous Adana kebab).

A really famous dish of köfte is more of a hand formed polygon? I was out to eat at a local cafeteria and I ordered the Çiğ köfte which is raw meat balls. Most places do not make them with meat. They are made with bulgur, which is cracked wheat. This is because eating raw meat involves a higher risk and many restaurants do not want to take that risk. But, at the local place that we went to, one of my colleagues was a big cautious about the raw vegan balls because they are formed by hand.

The ones in the photo were delicious. Slightly tangy and spicy. Served in a lettuce wrap, they become a vegan or vegetarian raw food ball. It’s actually very modern food even though the history goes way back.

İçli köfte made by a Turkish mom.

Stuffed meatballs are also famous. Called İçli köfte in Turkish, these stuffed balls are called kibbeh in the middle east. One can make them with the pointy ends so that they look like lanterns or as perfectly domed balls like the ones made for me by a Turkish mom.

The ones I got were the kind that one boils like a dumpling. They were stuffed with ground meat. The exterior was made of bulgar wheat. These can also be fried.

I look forward to more food made by Turkish moms.

Turkish Towels At a Local’s Price?

M's Adventures
100 Lira per blanket

Turkiye is famous for its cotton towels. Some places sell these for 30 or more dollars or British pounds. Some are small and made for wrapping around the waist. Others are for using as blankets, beach towels, tablecloths, etc. I found a place where the small ones cost 100 Turkish Lira ($2.39) and the large ones cost 300 TL ($7.17). Should I have bargained?

200 Lira per tablecloth/beach towel/throw.
100 for these small ones.

The owners name is Serkan (There was someone else who worked there too but he seemed a bit giggly at the notion of a foreigner in the shop). Serkan spoke no English but was friendly and helpful. The store is located in old Adana city. It is not on Google maps. It is across the street from a shop called, “Demir organizasyon adana” which sells wedding stuff.

Serkan in front of the store.

I inadvertently bought quite a few things. I do not know if they take credit cards. I paid cash.

It’s So Hot My Sherbet Melted!

M's Adventures

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 of rosehip? With Turkish coffee and cookies.

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.

Shop Local in the Big City

M's Adventures

You might wonder how, in a big place like Washington, DC, if it’s possible to shop local. Washington is a touristy place, just like Rome or Istanbul. While the shopping is not on the level of Istanbul’s market, there is shopping to be found here.

Made in DC is a local chain selling items about Washington, DC, or by artists from the greater metropolitan area of Washington, DC.

Made in ALX (made in Alexandria) is a local shop in Alexandria, Virginia. They feature items by local artists from the greater metropolitan DC area.

Shop DC, located in Adams Morgan in DC, is sort of the same type of shop, but they do not exclusively carry locally made items.

Eastern Market is the farmers market on Capital Hill and features items by local artisans. There is a food hall and market as well.

Farmers markets abound in the DC area and many feature art by local artists. There is probably a farmers market for every day of the week, but most are on the weekends.

Free Shows at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

M's Adventures

Maybe it’s one of those things that everyone knows about, but it bears repeating. The Kennedy Center has free shows (reserve a ticket online) Wednesday through Saturday at 6 pm at their Millennium Stage. The schedule is at this link. That is the long area out in the waiting area by the giant head of John F. Kennedy.

The shows are also livestreamed.

Bespoke Tours Tailored to You

M's Adventures

Did you know that you can request a tour on a particular subject at the National Gallery of Art? One of my friends organized a tour on fashion in art.

Our tour was all in the west wing (non-modern art) of the National Gallery of Art in downtown Washington, DC.

We learned about society, economics, history, painting techniques, and a few saucy elements of fashion.

Tours last about an hour. If you want to have a tour, contact the Smithsonian.

Before or after your tour, you can stop by the cafe and enjoy the ambience a bit more while having a treat or much needed cup of coffee.

Other than this tour, you can also ask for tours on women in the arts, IM Pei, or “dress like art” which I have to say was lots of fun.