PLEASURES OF A SUNNY SUNDAY BY IZMIR BAY AT CESMEALTI
Mehmet, Kezban and I decide to leave the city and go to Cesmealti after breakfast. It is a beautiful morning after apparently they had a severe cold front last week. Cesmealti is the shoreline quarter of a quaint little town called Urla located in the southwest of Izmir Bay. The shoreline is lined with small cafes, fish restaurants that are almost on or even in the water, in some cases. The one that we choose not only has an added patio-like platform extending into the water slightly above the sidewalk, but it also sprawls onto the rock pier stretching into the little cove. The cafe owner has scattered small wooden tables on the crest of the pier; it is so enjoyable, so casual, and natural that, although I doubt they have license to do that, I also doubt anybody, including the city officials cares about this violation of ordinance. Is there some bribing going on to keep the status quo, your guess is as good as mine. This is Turkey. As much as I like the societal organization in the US to protect everybody's rights, sometimes I miss this kind of benevolent breaking of rules and regulations if there is no financial gains behind it.
Cesmealti
We sit at a table right at the tip of the crest of the rocky pier. I am savoring the unique experience of being surrounded with the Aegean on all three sides. The chatty crowd of Izmirites is behind us. It is lovely to feel how cheerful everybody is, upbeat conversations, chuckles, laughter within the hiss and fuss of the waves is all the audio stimulation that reaches my awareness. As we sip our tea, I can't help feeling awed with the size of the ducks around, some swimming in the water and some strolling casually among the tables or on the beach. They look like Canadian geese, and I know that that species doesn't visit this side of the ocean! I ask my sister-in-law to take a picture of some of the ducks while Izmirites are feeding them with bread or gevrek. As the sun starts her journey down toward the skyline, we decide to visit the open farmer's market, which is famous for its wild greens "horta", that Cretans like me and my mother appreciate greatly.
Huge ducks by another lakeside very similar to those I saw in Cesmealti
Farmer's markets "pazar" in Turkish, are different than those in the USA. One thing is that, for an approximate population of 100,000 or so a market is held at least twice a week on an assigned space covering at least 2 acres or so. The vendors start arriving around 5 am, unless they have camped out at the market place or in their trucks from the night before. By seven am, most vendors have arrived and are ready to go, with all colors of produce displayed in huge heaps underneath their canvas awnings. There is no set beginning time for the shopping, which is totally dependent on when the local crowd wakes up and start flowing into the market place. During the early hours of the day, many more, unofficial vendors arrive, spreading a canvas spread onto the asphalt at the periphery of the market place, extending the market into the surrounding streets, doubling, sometimes tripling the surface area of the farmer's market throughout the day. And, there is no official ending time to these markets, either. Whoever runs out of goods to sell is more than welcomed to leave. But majority has brought much more than they can sell and most of the market remains alive until after sunset. During the final hours before dusk, vendors become generous, reducing their prices by 30-80% and sometimes you may get a bunch of tomatoes, or beans, or whatever, for such dirt cheap, the peak of the crowd is usually during the afternoon. When majority of the vendors start loading their trucks with their tools and whatever they couldn't sell, the poor arrive and they start picking up, at no cost, the goods that are just dumped by some of the vendors, who don't want to take back what little is left.
A corner from a farmer's market, with true farmers selling their greens, "horta" in Cretan
Kezban and I start our expedition in the market. this is one of my most favorite times in Turkey, going to an authentic farmer's market, where I can find lots of peasant women, who bring their own produce, that most likely was picked just the night before, if not the very morning. Urla has a significant immigrant population from Crete, we know we will find lots of horta, wild greens that we Cretans steam and treat with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and sometimes with garlic and serve as salad/side dish along with fish or meat dishes. And, we do, too. I buy a few different kinds of horta, since we are planning to buy barbun, a special kind of salt water fish found in these waters, a delicacy for fish lovers. I know my mom will love it as well. On the way out of the farmer's market, we take a peek at the old olive oil mill, that is being renovated by the municipality. It is heart-warming to see Turkish local governments becoming more interested in preserving the old and authentic.
As soon as we meet with my brother, we head toward the fish market, which is another unique phenomenon in Turkey. Each coastal town has a fish market, the size of which varies depending on the size of town. This town hosting tens of thousands of Izmirites each weekend, when the weather is good, has a fairly large one, two acres of covered area with hundreds of small open-front shops displaying all kinds of fish and seafood. We buy two kilograms (more than four pounds) of barbun, the favorite of most fish "connesouir" in Turkey and half a kilo of tongue fish for my mom. I have a feeling, 8 people, whom I will host for dinner at my mom's house tonight will not leave a single bone behind. And, that turns out exactly to be the case at the end of the evening. Everybody fills up their bellies with this crisply fried delicacy to the max, the last couple nobody wants anymore find their way to my, already full but eager-to-except-these-extras tummy, knowing that I won't be able to have them again until at least March, when I will return for my niece's engagement party.
A corner from a fish market, the orange fish is barbun
The rest of my visit to Turkey is job related. I will attend a conference related to a research project exploring the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and sexual abuse in Balkan countries including Turkey, for which I have been scientific consultant and ethics committee member. I will meet with the Izmir Child Abuse Task Force to discuss their contributions to and expectations from the newly established Child Protection Center of Izmir as part of the second wave of pilot centers being established in the entire country to respond to child sexual abuse on a multidisciplinary basis. I will finally spend a day at the said center and provide peer review to the wonderful and extremely enthusiastic and dedicated members of the center. Full three days of work before I leave to go to Portugal, and what wonderful three days they turn out to be. After I am done with my work, my belief in Turkish people has been renewed one more time; the good in them, the talents in its intelligent from its researchers, to its physicians, to its administrators, to its prosecutors, to its psychologists, to its victims, to its families wanting to help their children is shining through them in all they have done since my last visit. Good is everywhere, if only people with know-how do their part trusting their people with no hidden agendas solely with the purpose of helping who need our services. It was so gratifying to hear from the prosecutors, who have become part and best advocates of the Child Protection Center model say "this is the best project we have seen being implemented in Turkey for decades." What else do I need for all the hard work we have been doing for 11 years now to get to this point?
Mehmet, Kezban and I decide to leave the city and go to Cesmealti after breakfast. It is a beautiful morning after apparently they had a severe cold front last week. Cesmealti is the shoreline quarter of a quaint little town called Urla located in the southwest of Izmir Bay. The shoreline is lined with small cafes, fish restaurants that are almost on or even in the water, in some cases. The one that we choose not only has an added patio-like platform extending into the water slightly above the sidewalk, but it also sprawls onto the rock pier stretching into the little cove. The cafe owner has scattered small wooden tables on the crest of the pier; it is so enjoyable, so casual, and natural that, although I doubt they have license to do that, I also doubt anybody, including the city officials cares about this violation of ordinance. Is there some bribing going on to keep the status quo, your guess is as good as mine. This is Turkey. As much as I like the societal organization in the US to protect everybody's rights, sometimes I miss this kind of benevolent breaking of rules and regulations if there is no financial gains behind it.
Cesmealti
We sit at a table right at the tip of the crest of the rocky pier. I am savoring the unique experience of being surrounded with the Aegean on all three sides. The chatty crowd of Izmirites is behind us. It is lovely to feel how cheerful everybody is, upbeat conversations, chuckles, laughter within the hiss and fuss of the waves is all the audio stimulation that reaches my awareness. As we sip our tea, I can't help feeling awed with the size of the ducks around, some swimming in the water and some strolling casually among the tables or on the beach. They look like Canadian geese, and I know that that species doesn't visit this side of the ocean! I ask my sister-in-law to take a picture of some of the ducks while Izmirites are feeding them with bread or gevrek. As the sun starts her journey down toward the skyline, we decide to visit the open farmer's market, which is famous for its wild greens "horta", that Cretans like me and my mother appreciate greatly.
Farmer's markets "pazar" in Turkish, are different than those in the USA. One thing is that, for an approximate population of 100,000 or so a market is held at least twice a week on an assigned space covering at least 2 acres or so. The vendors start arriving around 5 am, unless they have camped out at the market place or in their trucks from the night before. By seven am, most vendors have arrived and are ready to go, with all colors of produce displayed in huge heaps underneath their canvas awnings. There is no set beginning time for the shopping, which is totally dependent on when the local crowd wakes up and start flowing into the market place. During the early hours of the day, many more, unofficial vendors arrive, spreading a canvas spread onto the asphalt at the periphery of the market place, extending the market into the surrounding streets, doubling, sometimes tripling the surface area of the farmer's market throughout the day. And, there is no official ending time to these markets, either. Whoever runs out of goods to sell is more than welcomed to leave. But majority has brought much more than they can sell and most of the market remains alive until after sunset. During the final hours before dusk, vendors become generous, reducing their prices by 30-80% and sometimes you may get a bunch of tomatoes, or beans, or whatever, for such dirt cheap, the peak of the crowd is usually during the afternoon. When majority of the vendors start loading their trucks with their tools and whatever they couldn't sell, the poor arrive and they start picking up, at no cost, the goods that are just dumped by some of the vendors, who don't want to take back what little is left.
A corner from a farmer's market, with true farmers selling their greens, "horta" in Cretan
Kezban and I start our expedition in the market. this is one of my most favorite times in Turkey, going to an authentic farmer's market, where I can find lots of peasant women, who bring their own produce, that most likely was picked just the night before, if not the very morning. Urla has a significant immigrant population from Crete, we know we will find lots of horta, wild greens that we Cretans steam and treat with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and sometimes with garlic and serve as salad/side dish along with fish or meat dishes. And, we do, too. I buy a few different kinds of horta, since we are planning to buy barbun, a special kind of salt water fish found in these waters, a delicacy for fish lovers. I know my mom will love it as well. On the way out of the farmer's market, we take a peek at the old olive oil mill, that is being renovated by the municipality. It is heart-warming to see Turkish local governments becoming more interested in preserving the old and authentic.
As soon as we meet with my brother, we head toward the fish market, which is another unique phenomenon in Turkey. Each coastal town has a fish market, the size of which varies depending on the size of town. This town hosting tens of thousands of Izmirites each weekend, when the weather is good, has a fairly large one, two acres of covered area with hundreds of small open-front shops displaying all kinds of fish and seafood. We buy two kilograms (more than four pounds) of barbun, the favorite of most fish "connesouir" in Turkey and half a kilo of tongue fish for my mom. I have a feeling, 8 people, whom I will host for dinner at my mom's house tonight will not leave a single bone behind. And, that turns out exactly to be the case at the end of the evening. Everybody fills up their bellies with this crisply fried delicacy to the max, the last couple nobody wants anymore find their way to my, already full but eager-to-except-these-extras tummy, knowing that I won't be able to have them again until at least March, when I will return for my niece's engagement party.
The rest of my visit to Turkey is job related. I will attend a conference related to a research project exploring the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and sexual abuse in Balkan countries including Turkey, for which I have been scientific consultant and ethics committee member. I will meet with the Izmir Child Abuse Task Force to discuss their contributions to and expectations from the newly established Child Protection Center of Izmir as part of the second wave of pilot centers being established in the entire country to respond to child sexual abuse on a multidisciplinary basis. I will finally spend a day at the said center and provide peer review to the wonderful and extremely enthusiastic and dedicated members of the center. Full three days of work before I leave to go to Portugal, and what wonderful three days they turn out to be. After I am done with my work, my belief in Turkish people has been renewed one more time; the good in them, the talents in its intelligent from its researchers, to its physicians, to its administrators, to its prosecutors, to its psychologists, to its victims, to its families wanting to help their children is shining through them in all they have done since my last visit. Good is everywhere, if only people with know-how do their part trusting their people with no hidden agendas solely with the purpose of helping who need our services. It was so gratifying to hear from the prosecutors, who have become part and best advocates of the Child Protection Center model say "this is the best project we have seen being implemented in Turkey for decades." What else do I need for all the hard work we have been doing for 11 years now to get to this point?
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