ANTAKYA / Itty Bitty Bites To Munch On (Part 2)

Unbelievably delicious tepsi (tray) kebab

Getting our kebab prepared at the butcher

Making of the dough for kunefe

A business owner's just protest against the war in the region

Harbiye, Antakya

Arab Orthodox Christian funeral home / it's a tradition to serve Turkish coffee to the funeral attendees

Caretaker of the funeral home Cathrine

Our feast at Huseyin's home, complete with homemade raki and game

Huseyin's father

Huseyin's mother

Behold infidels, Huseyin is coming!!

Olive trees in winter time

A dessert similar to churros

We started the new day at Uzun Carsi (Long Bazaar). It provided us with the perfect excuse to get hungry again with all the streets full of colors and smells. Our stop this time was Poc Butcher Shop. Butcher shops in Antakya all function as a restaurant at the same with a couple of tables thrown in the back. They either barbeque the meat you buy by the pound, or get it baked at a bakery close by and all there’s left for you is to enjoy the most delicious kebabs, while surrounded by the meats hanging on the hooks around you. We learn another interesting fact about the butchers from our beautiful friend Hüseyin. Meat from any female animal is inedible according to Arab Alawi belief. Therefore all meat in the displays are hung with the testicles still attached and showing due to the large Arab Alawi community living in the city. After finishing off the last bits of one of the most delicious kebabs I had in my life we topped it with the most popular dessert in Antakya “kunefe”,  sold at many shops in the bazaar area. Although, I have to confess that growing up in Istanbul, I’m more used to the fake Istanbul style kunefe and prefer it over the true Antiochian one.  We spent the rest of the day in a recreational suburb area of the city called Harbiye.  After visits to the silk shops and waterfalls, we returned home with nightfall. Since we had stuffed ourselves with kebabs and kunefe during the day we decided to skip dinner, and were about the leave the house with Can to get some wine from the store when the girls decided to come along with us. On our way back from the store after purchasing some wine, Can asked a question he shouldn’t have. The answer to his question of whether we were hungry or not was same as always: “no, but! We could have some itty bitty bites to munch on.” In Antakya all the kebabs, kibbehs,and  kunefes are eaten as snacks, therefore each little munching turns into a big feast. We went to yet another butcher and ordered some of the sac oruk Bambina had been craving for since we got there. Sac oruk is the flat and round version of a kibbeh cooked over a flat hot surface. After finishing our mezes and oruks we headed over to Samandag beach to enjoy our wine. As we drove in circles around a tomb of some muslim saint I don’t know the name of, we found out about another interesting local tradition. It was a tradition to walk around the tombs of saints three times while praying to their soul. But the modern-day believers keeping up with the times fulfill this ritual by driving around the tombs three times with their cars!!

The next day we drove over to Huseyin’s village, this time following the mountain route. After stopping by a Turkmen village to have a picnic with delicious bulgur salad (kısır) made by Sevgi along with some wine, we also visited the one and only remaining fully Armenian village in Turkey, Vakifli, and purchased some home made flower and fruit liqueurs from the villagers. At another village along the way we were hosted at the house of an Arab orthodox christian woman named Catherine, who is the caretaker of the funeral home of the village, and tasted some of her homemade wine, not forgetting to stock up a few bottles before we left. At Huseyin’s home we were welcomed to a feast prepared by his mother. The table was flowing with milk and honey, complete with little birds hunted by Huseyin’s nephews and cooked in our honor. Others decided to skip the birds for some reason, therefore I engorged all three quail-like birds myself. Another special treat at the table was homemade raki (a popular anise seed flavored drink in Turkey) that was accompanying the dishes.  Although illegal, homemade drinks are still very common and popular in Samandag, and they distill raki either from raisins or figs and flavor it with anise seeds. After a good night’s sleep at the village surrounded by green mountains we spent the next day first visiting a monastary dedicated to famous stylite Simeon, then not to bring the wrath of Muslim saints over us we also visited a local muslim shrine and walked around it three times as for the custom, and later wandered in the orchards and gardens.  When we returned to Can’s house in the evening, Antakya style marinated sea bass was waiting for us. Even though I like my fish plain grilled usually, we thoroughly enjoyed the sea bass marinated in a lightly spiced tomato and pepper paste. After dinner we were invited to Can’s brother’s house, who had been living in Northern Syrian town of Latakia until recently. After terrorism erupted in Syria they had to move to Antakya with his wife of Syrian origin. Even though we had just gone for a cup of tea visit, his wife Abir with her warm smile had prepared a table full of food, we had no choice but to munch on itty bitty bites…

We spent our last day in town by walking the streets, shopping for cheese, spices and such, and enjoying last drinks with friends. Of course we purchased a bottle of “medicine” for Gamze to overcome her flight anxiety, and headed to airport while sipping the medicine on the way…

ANTAKYA / Itty Bitty Bites To Munch On (Part 1)

A delicious Antakya breakfast prepared by Can

Arched streets of Antakya

Just two of the many beautiful doors found in Antakya

One city suffering the most from Taksim protests of last year was Antakya as many of the young man killed were natives of that city.

A street corner where one of the killings took place is marked in their memory

Street where Ahmet Atakan was murdered

A church bell and mosque minaret are in the same frame, one of the most famous frames of Antakya

Famous Haytali dessert at Affan Coffee House

Staples of Antakya cuisine: Mashed broad beans, hummus, salted yogurt, muhammara

Interesting window frames and Bambina

Coffee is consumed in tea glasses in Antakya and called "suvari"

We arrived in Antakya (ancient time Antioch), which is the best place to walk around with just a t-shirt on in February while having orgasmic culinary experiences, after a decision made during yet another happy hour beer. Saying is easy, but getting there was actually a little harder, because my travel mate Gamze (a.k.a. Bambina) had developed a flight phobia lately. But as one should never forget, there’s a solution to every problem, and it was something called Cointreau in this case. After a bottle of it, there wasn’t the slightest trace of any phobia left at Bambina, who had taken off herself before the plane did itself. She was so relaxed and casual about it that she decided to have a smoke in between the ten feet walking distance from the shuttle bus to the steps leading up to the plane. As she striked her lighter and lit her cigarette all the cabin and ground crew rushed towards her. After a much enjoyed drag, she put off her cigarette carefully with her foot, without blowing up the plane, and we ascended into the plane under the grumps and head shakes of 138 passengers and crew in disapproval. We arrived in Antakya and met our beautiful friends Can and Sevgi after a flight full of emotional eruptions and chatter. Even though we weren’t that hungry we wanted to utilize every moment we were there to savor the famous culinary offerings of the city, therefore stopped at Abdo Doner for itty bitty bites to munch on. We were way over the clouds still to really appreciate the taste of anything, but at least we had a start to our four day eating marathon,and  then headed home for a rest.

We woke up to a grand breakfast table prepared for us by our beautiful and talented friend Can. After devouring the food with the eagerness of an animal stocking up before hibernating for the winter, we went downtown to explore the city. Perhaps “exploring the city” is far stretch of a claim, because after our short walk to downtown we immediately had a quick food stop to regain the calories we had burned during the walk. Saray Street is the equivalent of Istiklal Ave. in Istanbul, the center for shopping, eating and drinking. Towards the end of the street we found a place overlooking the serene courtyard of an Orthodox church to have some meze and beer. Even though hummus and mashed broad beans are dishes still consumed in large amounts in the area, there’re only two old fashion shops selling it by the pound left in the city, I advise you to stop by them before they close down as well. After visiting the Catholic church where Can and Sevgi had their wedding photos taken, and also Habib-i Neccar Mosque, which is believed to be the oldest mosque in Anatolia (Asia Minor)(current building is dating from a later period) we stopped by another historic shop, Affan Coffee House, to have a taste of their famous dessert called Haytali. We ended the day sipping our drinks and listening to Blues music at Cabaret Bar, which is located in a renovated traditional Antioch house.