Today we will explore the places where I go to find tasty treats, to collect medicine, and to pick up beautiful colors to adorn my home (or that of a friend’s). Again, all of these places are located within walking distance from my apartment–two to seven minutes max, for the most part.
For most Americans it is a single family home that is the most common type of domicile. Here in Turkey, for those living in the cities, it is apartment life that is the norm. Families have “summer homes” that are not generally apartments, but stand alone homes (or duplexes) with a yard or garden. But this is a place where they go for a few weeks or a couple of months in the summertime. Everyday life is lived in an apartment in the big city.
Turkey has NO SHORTAGE of delicious desserts. I first tasted baklava at the Sugar Bowl restaurant in Gaylord, Michigan, as a teenager. It was introduced to me there as a Greek dessert; I have learned that it is also a Turkish dessert. Baklava seems to be a treat that is made and served all over this part of the world–across the Mediterranean and Balkan regions. If you want to read more about the roots of baklava, I found this online post about the long contested history of baklava. There are numerous baklava shops along most streets in Turkey. I purchase from a new shop from time to time and try to determine which is my favorite. This is an on-going task–though I do know that I prefer baklava made from walnuts and not so much the kind made with pistachios.
In addition to baklava, I have a few other favorites. I love the cevizli dolma (pastry made with finely chopped walnuts inside) from Tinnan, a place that my Turkish teacher introduced me to; and I also love donuts and cinnamon rolls from another bakery a little farther down the way (Angelique Desserts). It was also brought to my attention by my Turkish teacher–I guess you could say she, and her husband, each have a dedicated sweet tooth. Then, let’s not forget to talk about all of the dairy-based desserts that are also delicious, such as fırın sütlaç (oven fired rice pudding) and kazandibi (also like rice pudding, but with a caramel blackened top). However, I tend to order those while I am out at a restaurant or have them delivered from the well known chains such as Hasan Usta.
I haven’t even talked about the wonderful flavor and texture explosion that IS künefe. But that is a dessert for another day and not something that you have delivered or pick up to take home. You eat it at a restaurant or cafe, and preferably in a region for which it is known. I’m sure I’ll have opportunity to tell you about that soon. (wink-wink)
Now let’s talk a bit about the pharmacy which is called an ECZANE (edge-zan-ee) in Turkey. The letter “c” is pronounced as an English “j”–for example “Can” in Turkish is pronounced exactly like “John” is in English. Pharmacies and eczanes operate much the same way–one can walk in and purchase over-the-counter medications as well as pick up medicines that a healthcare professional has prescribed for you. In Turkey you can spot a pharmacy easily because the storefront is always in the colors of red and white. I have snapped pictures of two that I have used–they are probably just 300 meters from one another and located on the same side of the street.
I recently asked our school doctor to write scripts for the allergy meds I use in early spring for seasonal allergies. This included a box of Sudafed (30 count), Desloratadin (30 count), and Flixonase nasal spray. Two of those medicines were covered by the social health insurance that I am automatically afforded by the nature of working in Turkey. The other one cost me 70 TL or about $4.60. One additional nice feature of the social healthcare system here is that a doctor writes an e-script which attaches itself to an individual’s Turkish ID number. I can then give the e-script number to any eczane and, assuming they have the product in stock, I can collect it from there. Pretty much every block of a busy street has an eczane on it! The only other detail to note is that generally they are NOT open on Sundays; however, within each region/neighborhood of the city there is ONE that is appointed hours on Sundays so that citizens can get what they need in an emergency. This is a rotating appointment and citizens can either research online to find which shop is open, or most eczanes will post in their window a note that tells people where to go on Sunday should they need something.
Lastly, for this mini tour around my neighborhood, I want to share about the local flower sellers (florists) that pop up along the streets–in Turkish they are called ÇİÇEKÇİ (chee-check-chee). There are actual flower shops and one can have flowers ordered for delivery just as we do in America. But these situational stands are my favorite. I do sometimes seek flowers and plants (customary housewarming gift), but more often I walk past a stand of stunningly bright gerbera daisies and simply purchase them for myself. The last time I did so it cost me 50 TL (about 3-4 USD) for a diversely colored bouquet. I love seeing what the new arrivals are as well as what the seasonal delights can be. Around the winter holidays there is a holly-like offering that has green stalks and leaves with little red balls growing on the ends. I just asked a colleague to learn this plant is called KOKINA.
This post scratches another three shops/services off my neighborhood list. We are only getting started on this topic. If you missed the first installment, you can click here to go back to it. I’ll leave you with another random cat photo–this feline was resting on a box inside a tekel shop (I’ll cover tekels in a later post–think mini mart with alcohol and tobacco included). Most shop owners allow/invite the street animals in for respite!
