What to eat in Baden: Flammkuchen, Schwarzwälder Schinken (Black Forest Hams), and Feldsalat

Of all the historic regions of Germany, the district traditionally known as Kaiserstuhl, a beautiful wine-growing valley tucked away between the east bank of the River Rhine and the western fringe of the Black Forest, is considered by many food critics as the culinary capital of Germany.

In this part of Germany, food and wine are taken very seriously, and people in general pay far more attention to the quality and taste of their food, as well as how and where foodstuff are produced and farmed. Organic farming is not a new concept in this part of Germany at all; when I was a student at the University of Freiburg throughout the 1990s, the local population was already very much into 'Bio-produkte' - namely foodstuffs produced by organic farming methods. Anything that has been certified by relevant authorities to be a genuine produce of an organic farm in Germany can fetch a far better price than products produced on a conventional basis. 

When it comes to local specialities, the first thing that comes to mind is the well-known Black Forest Ham (Schwarzwälder Schinken), which is a smoked ham produced in the Black Forest region of southern Germany. The ham was first salted and seasoned with various spices, then left to cure for several weeks before being cold smoked in room temperature with the smoke created by burning a mixture of fir and sawdust, a process which lends the ham its beautiful deep red colour and its smoky flavour.  

What and where to eat in Bodrum? Some Places where Discerning Locals Go

Being someone who has spent almost a decade living in Bodrum, it is interesting to note that compared to maybe a few years ago, some of the restaurants preferred by locals are starting to serve a more innovative kind of Mediterranean Fusion cuisine which aims to combine the elements of Turkish Aegean cookings with those of the neighbouring Greece and South-Eastern Mediterranean region. More and more restaurants in the chic part of Bodrum, frequented by Turkey's affluent yacht-owning jetset class, begin to experiment with different styles of food preparation whilst using fresh ingredients locally available from the gardens and fields of the Bodrum Peninsula. Instead of the usual 'Turkish cuisine' that can be found all over the place, an increasing number of restaurants in Bodrum are offering both traditional-regional and Mediterranean dishes with a twist.

To start with, it is important to note that to a certain extent, the cuisines of Bodrum have always been unique, especially when compared to the rest of Turkey. Culinarily speaking, traditional cookings in Bodrum Peninsula have been influenced by the neighbouring Greek Dodecanses islands, as well as by the recipes of the Muslim refugees from the island of Crete who were resettled in this part of Asia Minor from the mid-19th century onwards, whose culinary tradition involves routine use of wild herbs, spices such as cumin, fresh vegetables, seafood, and olive-oil based dishes. In day-to-day Bodrum cookings, the use of fish, seafood, olive oil, herbs, spices, and seasonal wild greens available from the fields and valleys of the Bodrum Peninsula are paramount in importance, and the prominence of these ingredients in the preparation of day-to-day food is what makes Bodrum regional cuisine stand out from amongst the rest of the field.

Gümüşlük: Tree in the Water, Romantic Seaside Dinner, and the Sunken City of Myndos

About 45 minutes by car northwest of Bodrum is the seaside village of Gümüşlük, known for its (pricy) seaside fish+seafood restaurants, splendid views of sunset over the Aegean, and the Sunken Underwater City of Myndos. 

Being the site where the ancient city of Myndos once stood, modern Gümüşlük is accorded the status of a designated protected area, which has helped to prevent the beaches and hillside surrounding this little village from falling prey to the watchful eyes of property developers. Besides the fish restaurants and taverns that lined the waterfront of the harbour which made the little fishing village appearing more Greek than Turkish, the main attraction of Gümüşlük is of course the sight of the ruins of ancient Myndos, which lie in part submerged in the shallow waters, in part on the Rabbit Island right across the narrow stretch of sea directly facing the small fishing harbour.

Traditional Aegean Cuisine: the Meyhane Culture of Bodrum

It is interesting to note that not a great deal of tourists who visit Turkey know about or have experience with the meyhane culture, which has been the trademark of traditional cuisine in the Aegean region for several hundred years. If kebab,durum and pide are the fastfood of Turkey, then meyhane and meze represents the slow-food culture of Turkey's Aegean coast.

The term 'Meyhane' literally means 'wine house', a culinary institution that has its roots in the multi-ethnic social composition of the Ottoman Empire. Most meyhane during the Ottoman era were owned and run by ethic minorities living within the realm of the Empire, such as Orthodox Greeks, whose religion did not forbide the consumption of alcohol. Over the years, the meyhane culture has come to symbolise a kind of cultural norm that defines the slow, lesiurely and refined culinary lifestyle which is prevalent along the little fishing towns and villages of Turkey's Asia Minor coast. A typical meyhane is a place where friends and family gather for some drinks and snacks - in the form of various mezes freshly prepared on the day - before treating themselves to some fresh seafood or fish dishes, while engaging in lively conversations or listening to live music performance on the premises.

Erzurum: the Town of Snow and Mountain Honey

I cannot really say why, but I like cities in Turkey with names that start with the letter 'E'. Such as the likes of Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum etc. That was why I decided to travel onward from Diyarbakir to Erzurum, in spite of the weather warning that temperature in Erzurum could fall to as low as -20 degrees Celsius. 

Even prior to arriving at Erzurum, I could already see how severe and harsh winter in this part of Turkey is. The bus from Diyarbakir to Erzurum via Bingol and Karliova had to stop en route and deploy the snow chains before crossing the mountain pass at Cat because of the heavy snowfall. All along the way, numerous cars and trucks were forced to stop at the roadside due to poor visibility and heavy snowfall. When the bus arrived at Erzurum's main intercity bus station, the temperature outside was already at -14 degrees Celsius, and it was so cold, it just makes you want to escape into the nearest heated room available as soon as you can. Usually I choose to use the free shuttle service provided by the bus company whenever posssible, but in such extreme temperature, I give up on my principles and decided to dish out 10TL and take a taxi to the hotel, instead of utilising the bus company's free shuttle service to the city centre.

What to eat in Baden: Authentic Black Forest Cherry Cake - Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte @ Cafe Schmidt, Freiburg

Amongst the most well-known of German culinary products all around the globe is the Black Forest cherry cake, the heavenly desert made of layers of fresh cream, chocolate cakes and plenty of sour cherries soaked in traditional Black Forest Kirschwasser, a clear colourless doubled-distilled cherry brandy produced in the Black Forest region in southern Baden, Germany.

The secret of a truly remarkable and delicious Black Forest cherry cake lies in the clever use of authentic Kirschwasser. Too little of it would not bring out the delicate taste of fresh cream and dark chocolate; while too much of it would drown out the fruity flavour of the sour cherries and overshadow the light texture of fresh cream and chocolates.   

What to eat in Baden: Hausbrauerei Feierling, Freiburg

Germany is famous for its beer, but not all beers are brewed the same. And each town or even village in Germany has its own beer(s), with an individual flavour and one-of-a-kind taste unique to the place. The beer produced in one particular village in northern Germany will taste completely different to the beer brewed in a mountain village somewhere in the Alps. 

For beer lovers, any trip to Freiburg, the university town in southern Baden, is incomplete with a visit to the private brewery known affectionately by locals as Feierling. This place serves arguably one of the best home brewed beers in southern Germany, and is a popular meeting place for residents of the university town as well as incoming visitors. Me and my classmates used to hold our weekly Stammtisch gathering at this place, and whenever friends came to visit, Feierling is always an integral part of the city tour programme around Freiburg and the environs. 

The main attraction of Feierling is the in-house brewery with two giant brass beer vats in the centre of the building, which also houses a restaurant. During my student days in Freiburg, this place is the regular meeting point of fellow students after seminars, and its outdoor beer garden, under the chestnut trees with gravel ground, provides the ideal set-up for some mind-provoking post-seminar intellectual discussions - an experience which makes life in a German university town so special compared to other university towns in other European countries.  

Strasbourg Revisited: the European Metropole on the Rhine

During the 1990s, I used to visit Strasbourg on a frequent basis, as the city is about 2 hours by train from Freiburg, where I used to live. Beside being a pretty city with an impressive cathedral, picturesque old town with scenic medieval timber framed houses, Strasbourg also offers good shopping opportunities, with many French supermarkets, French departmental stores stocked with French clothing labels available only in France proper, and high-end haute-couture boutiques which make my knees go weak and my bank accounts empty during its summer sales and winter sales periods. Sometimes I even went to Strasbourg with an empty suitcase, only to return with it filled to the brim with French delicatessen and fashion booty from the latest sales in town.

Along the Waterfront of Izmir: From Konak Square to Alsancak

If you ask me which are my favourite cities with more than 1 million inhabitants in Turkey, the answer is Izmir and Antep. Antep makes the shortlist because of its cultural ambience, its cafes, the friendliness of its inhabitants, and its wealth of medieval architectures. Izmir because of its location on the sea and its liberal lifestyle philosophy. And the advantage of Izmir over all other coastal mega cities in Turkey such as Istanbul, Antalya, Adana or Samsun to the north is, the city of Izmir, in spite of its three million inhabitants, still has a very laid-back and relaxed pace of life, unlike the stressful and hectic Istanbul, the over-touristic Antalya, or the industrial and gloomy-looking Adana.  

The most famous landmark of Izmir is the Konak Square with its clock tower. This place is also one of the most important transport nexus in Izmir, with a ferry terminal that connects districts such as Bostanli and Karsiyaka on the northern gulf of Izmir with Konak; a metro station with trains to Basmane train station and Bornov; and a bus depot from where buses to the regional districts of Narliedere, Guzelbahce, and Urla depart. 

Alacahoyuk: the Hittite Ruins off the Beaten Track

Alacahoyuk is, after the Hittite capital of Hattusa-Bogazkale, the second most important Hittite site currently under excavation in Turkey. It was already in existence in pre-Hittite times, probably as early as 4000BC.

Alacahoyuk was once the most important city during the pre-Hittite times, before the arrivals of the Hittites and the rise of the Hittie capital of Hattusa. After the demise of the Hittite Empire, the settlement of Alacahoyuk also went to into decline, and the site was only re-discovered in 1839.

Vanilla Lounge, Antalya: Trendy Fusion Cuisine and the Best Risotto in Turkey

A few years ago, it was probably easier for the English national football team to win the FIFA Football World Cup than for ordinary tourists to find a restaurant in Antalya that served western food which are up to international standards. I have always wondered why, for a country with more than 31 million foreign tourists every year, it has been virtually impossible to find restaurants which conjure up some kind of decent international cuisines in major tourist cities such as Antalya or Istanbul. In fact Antalya is probably the only major holiday city in the world without any palatable French, Italian, Thai, Indian or Japanese restaurants, even if you are willing to spend a fortune for your dinner.

And it seems this lack of variety in terms of foreign cuisines is endemic to 99% of towns and cities in Turkey. Even in Ankara, the capital of Turkey and home to a large number of foreign diplomats, one struggles to find a good restaurant with authentic Asian or European food. But why is there such a dearth of foreign restaurants in Turkey? Does it have anything to do with the general Turkish populace's apathy or outright reluctance to try out anything which is non-Turkish?

Fortunately, in the last 2-3 years, there has been an increasing number of Turkish restaurateurs who are willing to jump into uncharted territories by investing huge sums of money to open up chic restaurants that serve international cuisines at prime locations in some of Turkey's top tourist destinations. One of them is the Vanilla Lounge in the old town of Antalya, situated in a beautifully restored old Ottoman mansion, right across the street from the main building of the elegant boutique hotel Alp Pasa. 

Worms: Home of the Nibelungenlied and the Oldest City in Germany?

I remember very well that, during my first semester as a freshman undergraduate at the university, the topic of my very first lecture in Early Modern European History was about the 'Diet of Worms'. At first the name 'Worms' sounds really funny, for it reminds one of the crawling non-arthropod invertebrate creatures, instead of an important imperial Holy Roman Empire city and a strategic stronghold of a place on the bank of the River Rhine. But this city actually witnessed some of the most decisive moments in the history of modern Europe, and is in contention with Trier and Cologne to vie for the title of the oldest city in Germany.   

The city of Worms is best known in Germany for the following few things: the place where the 1521 Diet of Worms, at which Martin Luther was summoned to appear before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to recant or to defend his 95 These, took place; as the backdrop of the medieval epic saga Das Nibelungenlied; and the city where some of the most famous Romanesque architectures from the early Middle Ages can be seen.

Trier: the Border Town with a Long Roman Past

Life is really a strange thing. I had spent more than a decade living and working in Germany, spoke the language, know its people, culinary traditions and customs very well, but I had visited far fewer places in Germany than I had in countries such as Spain, Greece, and Turkey. Although there are many places in Germany which are worth a visit, it just does not seem to arouse my interest enough to induce me to book that flight or train ticket online and get my suitcase ready. While many overseas visitors spent quite a bit of time and money to visit those places which I could have easily travelled to on any weekend, I simply ignored them unless I was there on a subsidised trip.

That was the case with Trier, the Roman city on the Moselle and arguably one of the oldest cities in Germany. The city is famous for its UNESCO inscribed Roman monuments, its wines and scenic boat tour up the valleys of the Moselle all the way up to the border with Luxembourg, and is known throughout the world as the birthplace of Karl Marx.

Corfu Revisited (Part One): Corfu Town

It always surprises me how relatively unknown the island of Corfu has remained outside of Europe. In 2005, when I visited the island for the very first time in April, I was really impressed by the beauty of Corfu Town, so much that for someone who usually is far too lazy to write anything while one holidays, I sent several postcards to friends all over the world telling them how enthralled I was by this beautiful city. A few weeks later, I got a reply from one of those on the receiving end of my mailing list. In her letter, she - a travel-savvy Japanese lady - thanked me for the postcard, and said she had never ever heard of Corfu before, and had to look the name up on a map to determine its exact location. Now that was really some news.

And the Japanese are not alone when it comes to the 'never heard of Corfu' crowd in the Far East. While most Asians would have known the likes of Santorini, Mykonos, or even Crete, Corfu is outside the range of their surveillance radar. Which, I must concede, is not such a bad thing after all. The reason I detest Santorini of now is, the whole island has become such an over-priced Disneyland-sque playground for tourists of all breeds and colours, who seem to think that Greece consist of only Athens and two other islands -  Mykonos and Santorini. In addition, there is nothing more frustrating in the world when all the menus and signposts on a supposedly Greek island are written in English, Russian, French, Japanese, or even Korean and Chinese. What is the point of visiting Greece if you meet no Greeks at all but only fellow foreign tourists?

The Walls and Gates of Old Diyarbakir: a Brief Introduction

For those who are interested in a visit to Diyarbakir but are not sure of what to expect, here is a brief introduction to the Old Walls and Old City Gates of Diyarbakir.

First of all, I want to dispel the myth that one could see the Tigris while standing on the top of the wall. Wrong. It depends on which section of the City Walls you are standing on top of. One cannot see the Tigris while standing on the section of the City Wall next to Dag Kapi or the Urfa Gate. The only place where the sighting of the Tigris from the top of the wall is possible is the section on the Tigris' side, right next to the Mardin Kapisi. But even then, do not expect to come face to face with a mighty Tigris; most of the time, the Tigris that flows past the city of Diyarbakir is just a small stream, if not a trickle; and those who come to Diyarbakir expecting to see a huge river would inevitably go home disappointed. 

Datca: Almost the Land's End

The first time I visited Datca was all the way back in the summer of 2003, during my very first visit to Turkey. As that first visit to Datca lasted just one afternoon, I had a hazy but pleasant memory of a peaceful little fishing village at the very end of the Datca Peninsula, surrounded by olive groves and almond trees.

 

At that time, Datca was a small place with just a handful of houses, a small fishing port, and some lovely bays with crystal clear waters. It was that few leisurely hours in the afternoon spent sitting on an old wooden pier that extended into the shallow crystal clear waters of the Aegean around Datca that give this unremarkable fishing village an out-of-the-world feel.

Kilitbahir: 'Dur Yolcu' and the Fortress on the Dardanelles

One of the most familiar and most clearly visible images of Turkey is the giant “Dur Yolcu" memorial carved onto the hillside above Kilitbahir, depicting a 1915 Turkish soldier holding a rifle in one hand, while pointing towards the inscriptions in Turkish with his other hand:

                                                     'Dur yolcu!

                                                     Bilmeden gelip bastığın
                                                               Bu toprak, 

                                                      bir devrin battığı yerdir.'

These two lines are roughly translated by some as:

                                                 'Traveller halt!
                                                         The soil you tread
                                              Once witnessed the end of an era.'

This inscription is actually the first few lines of a poem by Turkish poet, Necmettin Halil Onan (1902-1968):

                                             Dur yolcu! Bilmeden gelip bastığın

                                             Bu toprak, bir devrin battığı yerdir.

                                              Eğil de kulak ver, bu sessiz yığın

                                               Bir vatan kalbinin attığı yerdir.

                                            Bu ıssız, gölgesiz yolun sonunda

                                           Gördüğün bu tümsek Anadolu'nda,

                                             İstiklal uğrunda, namus yolunda

                                          Can veren Mehmed’in yattığı yerdir.

                                          Bu tümsek, koparken büyük zelzele,

                                             Son vatan parçası geçerken ele,

                                            Mehmed’in düşmanı boğdugu sele

                                               Mübarek kanını kattığı yerdir.

                                          Düşün ki, haşrolan kan, kemik, etin

                                           Yaptığı bu tümsek, amansız, çetin

                                            Bir harbin sonunda bütün milletin

                                              Hürriyet zevkini tattığı yerdir.

                                                                               Necmettin Halil Onan (1902-1968)

Heybeliada: Naval Cadet School and Defunct Greek Seminary in the Middle of the Sea of Marmara

A while ago, a Turkish friend of mine had had the fortune (or the misfortune?) to do his mandatory military service at the Naval Cadet School of the Turkish Navy on the island of Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands about an hour away by ferry from the harbour of Kabatas. While this friend constantly complained about his wasting six-months of his life performing army duties on this island, I joked that at least he got to stay on this famous holiday island for six months, all free-of-charge.

Indeed, many people from Istanbul and other parts of Turkey have to pay to spend their holidays on Heybeliada. Possibly the second most well-known island of the Princes' Islands after the crowded Buyukada, Heybeliada is much less crowded than Buyukada, even on weekends. 

Sozopol: The Identical Twin of Nessebar

This essay is about Sozopol, the identical twin of the more famous town of Nessebar on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. The reason I visit Sozopol is, after spending one day each in Burgas, Nessebar and Varna, I did not want to spend the rest of my one-week stay in Bulgaria in the area of Sunny Beach, so I woke up early, took a bus to Burgas, and changed onto another bus from the municipal bus station next to Burgas' train station to Sozopol.

Like Nessebar, Sozopol is another thriving Black Sea town known for its Bulgarian-Balkan style architecture, with a base and ground floor made of stone and an upper-part made with wood. The old town of Sozopol is full of them, but just as in the case of Nessebar, I must say I did not find Sozopol particularly interesting either.  For some reasons the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria always seems to have that gloomy, enclosed and unhappy feeling, characteristic which are in stark contrast to my own personality. I have always preferred sunny bright towns in Turkey, Greece and Spain, and I did not know what to say about Bulgaria's Black Sea towns.

Didim: Altinkum and the Temple of Apollo

Didim is a seaside resort very popular with British holidaymakers visiting Turkey's Aegean coast. The town is famous for two things: the Temple of Apollo, located about 5 minutes by bus from Didim's modern city centre; and the beaches of Altinkum, a long stretch of golden-coloured sands that give the beach its name.