Meals of Egypt, Jordan and Turkey

After three weeks of mostly plain fare in Madagascar, Middle Eastern cuisine was a refreshing and welcome surprise.  These meals consistently ranked among the best of our trip.  Fresh tomato and cucumber salads were plentiful; yogurt as a sauce for rice was new to us, but an immediate favorite.  Desert was often watermelon or pineapple, which was a perfect finish.  Alongside Vietnamese food, it was some of the healthiest fare we had around the world.  Our pictures don’t do these dishes justice, in part because, visual presentation was not a priority—flavor was.


The slideshow version:

Cappadocia

One of the things Lana really wanted to do while in Turkey, was to see the fairy chimneys in Cappadocia and take a hot air balloon ride there.  It was a Bucket List Thing.  And so, after a few days in Istanbul, we took a short flight from Istanbul to Kayceri, which is roughly in the center of Turkey, and then caught a shuttle to Göreme, where we’d be staying.  The drive took us through beautiful countryside, past snow-capped ski resorts.

Istanbul

This was one of our first sights, after stepping off the metro tram that we took from Ataturk airport into Istanbul.  It was a great introduction to an incredible city.  We were staying on the Western or European side of the city where the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sofia, and Topkapi Palace are. There was so much to see on that side that we never crossed the Bosphorus to the Eastern or Asian half of the city, or the Golden Horn to the middle/northern portion.  Although we happened to be there just as the Taksim Gezi Park protests were happening across the Golden Horn from us, the first (and only) indication we had of it were concerned questions from family and friends back home, asking if we were ok.  We had to Google for why we might not be.  The only danger we really faced was from the wonderful food.

Postcard: Cappadocia, Turkey

Fairy Chimney near Göreme, Turkey.

Postcard: Basilica Cistern

Vaulted ceiling of the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey.

Postcard: Hagia Sophia

A view through three arches from a stairwell in the Hagia Sophia of Istanbul, Turkey.

Postcard: Tiled Kiosk, Istanbul

The Tiled Kiosk, in the Istanbul Archaelogy Museum complex, on the grounds of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.