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You are here: Home / Archives for Destinations / Middle East

How Jill put out the eternal flame

August 30, 2010 By Jillian

IMGP5759Above the cliffs of Olympos flames of volcanic methane gas burn throughout the day and night. “Like eternal flames,” a Canadian backpacker told me. “You can’t put them out.”

We walked nearly 8km from our hotel to the Chimera thanks to some mis-information. Finally arriving at the site after about an hour and a half walking in the thick humidity, we were drenched and not exactly happy to see more heat. That was until I remembered that the flames supposedly couldn’t be put out and for research purposes only of course, I decided to try my hand. My first attempt, splashing a little water on a small flame, put the flame out momentarily, but it quickly returned. Thinking it would make a great video for the blog, I moved to a slightly larger flame and instructed Danny to film. Sprinkling water on the flame, it didn’t even flicker and Danny urged me to splash more on. Slowly at first and then with a little more zeal, I splashed water out of my Nalgene onto the flame. Sure enough it went out with a loud sizzle. IMGP5755 We waited….and waited. Embarrassed, although you can’t hear this on the video, I decided the best thing to do was to stop filming and walk away quickly and silently. At this point Danny and our Turkish friend Baris were audibly laughing at me claiming I had doused the eternal flame. For the record, we left 20 minutes later and the flame still had not returned, but to be fair, I did see some match like pieces at the base of one of the flames.

You’re probably thinking, Chimera, Chimera, where have I heard that name before? High school, Greek Mythology. The fire breathing monster appears in Homer’s the Iliad as a creature of Lycia: “a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire.” The Greek myth is said to have been inspired by the “eternal flames” (or are they) above Olympos on Mount Chimera. No one will ever know the truth, but its safe to say that spotting of the Chimera in ancient times was seen as a bad omen. Likely because you were about to hit shore.IMGP5764

If You Go: Tours run every night from Olympos for about 20TL. The walk is relatively flat, but prepare to ask for directions as signage for “Yarnartas” is few and far between. It’s about 7km from Olympos to the Chimera, and you should bring a light for the rocky beach. We took a taxi from the entrance back to the beach and walked back to Olympos from there.

Filed Under: Europe, Headline, Middle East, Turkey Tagged With: fire, myths, ruins

Foodie Friday: Baklava

August 27, 2010 By Jillian

Call the dentist! Baklava is probably the only dessert in the world that I can have just one piece and walk away. It’s seriously sweet. A combination of phyllo dough, honey and nuts, baklava is a national dessert here in Turkey. But don’t tell that to the Syrians, Lebanese, Greeks or pretty much anyone else between here and Mongolia who also claim baklava as their own.

IMGP6452Made in enormous trays, cut and sprinkled with pistachios, baklava is decadently sweet. Ramadan’s evening meal, Iftar, seems to always include dessert. It’s no wonder given how delicious they are here in Turkey, and I swear since Ramadan started I’ve seen more and more Baklava sold on the streets. It is advertised in nearly every shop window, and by late afternoon the smell of baked goods is wafting through the street. Don’t ask me how Muslim’s keep their fast after walking by a pastry shop! Yum!

Baklava looks like it’s a little intense to prepare, but here’s a recipe that will hopefully make it easier!

Baklava

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 1 (5-inch piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2/3 pieces or 2 tsp ground
  • 15 to 20 whole allspice berries
  • 6 ounces blanched almonds
  • 6 ounces raw or roasted walnuts
  • 6 ounces raw or roasted pistachio
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon rose water
  • 1 pound phyllo dough, thawed
  • 8 ounces clarified unsalted butter, melted

For the syrup:

  • 1 1/4 cups honey
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 (2-inch) piece fresh orange peel

Directions

  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Place the cinnamon stick and whole allspice into a spice grinder and grind.
  • Place the almonds, walnuts, pistachios, sugar and freshly ground spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pasty or powdery, approximately 15 quick pulses. Set aside.
  • Combine the water and rose water in a small spritz bottle and set aside.
  • Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 9 more times for a total of 10 sheets of phyllo. Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture and spread thinly. Spritz thoroughly with the rose water. Layer 6 more sheets of phyllo with butter in between each of them, followed by another third of the nuts and spritz with rose water. Repeat with another 6 sheets of phyllo, butter, remaining nuts, and rose water. Top with 8 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each sheet. Brush the top generously with butter. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cut into 28 squares. Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours before adding the syrup.
  • Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a 4-quart saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick.
  • After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Recipe courtesy of The Food Network and Alton Brown, 2008

Filed Under: Cooking, Europe, Food, Headline, Middle East, Pastimes, Turkey Tagged With: dessert, recipe

Cruising the Mediterranean

August 26, 2010 By Jillian

IMGP6283Cruising the Mediterranean should conjure up imagines of deep turquoise and blue waters, yachts, drinks at sunset and fresh grilled fish. Add in a few Italians, a cadre of Australians, some itsy bitsy man bikini’s and lots and lots of ice cream and you’ve got our cruise along the Med.

Needless to say the four days on the cruise weren’t exactly the hardest days on the “road.” Joined by our friend Baris, we sailed from Fethiye to Olympos, stopping at nearly ever beautiful blue, turquoise lagoon along the way. Our boat was crowded, the temperature was hot and no matter how many times we swam in a single day, usually around four, we couldn’t get enough. We lingered in the water until the meal bell rang, ate traditional Turkish food, and jumped right back in.IMGP6284

From blue lagoon to blue lagoon we went, exploring little inlets along the way, cold spring fed lagoons, a sunken city, small fishing villages and finally arriving like refugees at the treehouse village of Olympos. We slept under the stars, the waves rocking us in to a blissful sleep.

It’s hard to describe the pure relaxation on the cruise. The only concerns we had were to apply sufficient sunscreen, swim back to the boat before the Australian water polo team finished our lunch and whether the Italian in his little white calvin klein’s would catch a fish. For the record our Turkish friend Baris caught the biggest tuna on the boat.

Despite all the rest and relaxation, four days was about all I could take of bobbing in the Mediterranean. Although we looked somewhat like an overcrowded refugee boat with all our luggage piled on the dingy, we were glad to be back onshore.

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If You Go: Turkish “blue cruises” go from Fethiye to Olympos or in reverse. Go prepared for a lot of sun, even with the sunshades there isn’t much shade on deck. We went with V-Go Cruises. Our boat was slightly overcrowded with little room to sleep on deck, but overall it was a good experience. Check with your company to see if beverages are included in your package price- usually they are not. After four days even water adds up, so ask if you can bring your own on board. The practice was discouraged on our boat but some people did anyway.

Filed Under: Europe, Headline, Middle East, Turkey Tagged With: boat, cruise

Foodie Friday: Kumpir

August 20, 2010 By Jillian

Imagine a stuffed baked potato with everything you can imagine inside of it: cream cheese, real cheese, bacon bits, whatever else you want to put in. Now imagine a hot dog with all the fixins: relish, ketchup, onions, chili sauce, and the list keeps going. Take your hot dog, remove the bun, and put it inside the potato.

I’ve just described what might be the American version of the Kumpir.

IMGP5588There are a few differences obviously but the general pictures is of a baked potato stuffed with all the goodness you can imagine. Start with your potato wrapped in foil, cut one side and open it up. Next whip shredded cheese and butter into the potato within the potato’s skin. Now add whatever else you can imagine being cooked in a Mediterranean kitchen. Our options were as follows: Yogurt sauce, beet sauce, chili sauce, peas, couscous, chopped hot dog, corn, pickles, black olives, green olives, shredded chicken, potato salad, and the list goes on. Once you’re done making choices go ahead and add some ketchup or mayonnaise and enjoy with a spoon.

Since you’re curious here is what each of us had in ours:

IMGP5590Me – Everything but beet sauce, olives, and chicken.

Jillian – Chili Sauce, corn, pickles, green olives, couscous, shredded chicken (unorthodox) and that’s about it. She refused, understandably, to put potato salad on a potato. (which was interestingly referred to as American Salad)

To all friends and family, this has the potential of becoming a staple of our future Fourth of July celebrations. That is if Jill lets me, of course.  Editors Note: Jill says no.

Filed Under: Europe, Food, Headline, Middle East, Turkey Tagged With: foodiefriday

Hierapolis and Pamukkale

August 18, 2010 By Jillian

IMGP5625One part natural wonder, one part thermal bath, one part ancient roman ruins that’s the recipe for Hierapolis and Pamukkale. Built in an area of significant thermal activity, I can only imagine what ancient people’s thought when they arrived at the site. Huge fields of cotton looking calcium deposits formed by mineral rich thermal water, Pamukkale is an impressive natural wonder even today. Like something out of ancient mythology, the pools look like hot springs in a cloud from the ruins of Heirapolis situated above. It’s not hard to imagine the pantheon of Roman Gods soaking in the pools. The ruins themselves are still actively being excavated and unlike Ephesus they have hardly been rebuilt. If Disney created an Ancient Roman water theme park, this is what it would look like.

IMGP5611Although you’re no longer allowed to swim in the actual calcium pools, they’ve done a really good job creating artificial thermal pools on site which give you the feeling of swimming in a cloud. Shallow and warm from the thermal spring water that flows down the hillside, the pools themselves are sort of surreal. Or maybe that was just the itsy, bitsy florescent speedo bathing suits being worn by a ridiculous number of former USSR citizens. Ahem. Like I said, thankfully the water was cloudy and the formations are bright white- harshly reflecting the sun.

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Thankfully there were fewer fluorescent man bikini’s in the antique pool. Having damed the thermal spring at Hierapolis at its source atop the mountain, in the middle of the ruins,the ministry of tourism has created a surreal little ancient feeling swimming pool. See I told you it was like Disney. Complete with pieces of fallen columns and buildings, bushes overflowing with fragrant flowers and lined with palm trees the pool felt like a secret oasis of the roman empire. The pool itself was warm (about 90ºF) and fizzy, due to the high mineral content. After an hour and a half of lounging on the columns, swimming over the ruins feeling like roman royalty we got out. Ok actually, they were closing otherwise I could have spent more time pretending to be Esther Williams bathing in hot seltzer water.

IMGP5649The ruins themselves aren’t as impressive as Ephesus mainly because they haven’t been restored and are still actively being excavated. Using your imagination at this site is easy, you already feel like you’re in an ancient castle in the clouds. Although most of the site is in ruins, the theater however is rather intact. It is absolutely magnificent and well worth the steep hike up. Much of the decoration remains in good condition, including architectural designs in the choral area and statues on the stage. Between this theater and the library of Ephesus it’s clear there was a lot of money coming through Asia Minor to Rome.
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If you go: Most tourists come only on a day trip, but we spent a very pleasant night in Pamukkale village. The archaeological site is open all night as are the artificial pools of Pamukkale, but the ancient pool closes in the evening. Like other sites in Turkey the entrance fees are steep and the ancient pool is additional. Sunset from the artificial pools at the top was magnificent and we highly recommend sticking around or not heading up to the site until the evening. Bring sunglasses as the glare from the white calcium formations is harsh. Unless you are a huge history buff you don’t need a guide for Heirapolis, the site is enjoyable on its own. Buses connect Pamukkale to all nearby sites (Feithye, Selcuk, Bodrum, etc) with almost hourly service.

Filed Under: Europe, Headline, History & Culture, Middle East, Turkey Tagged With: ancient sites, natural wonders, pools, ruins, water

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