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.