angara galesi

Today was a special day. We had a walk around the old Ankara castle and went for a long lunch at Golbasi where the weather was beautiful. But what happened even before in the early hours of the morning opened a new page in my life. As I'm getting ready to move back to Brussels, I'm going to need more of these barbecues. Good weather is rare in Brussels, but I'm going to rent a apartment with a terrace at least to make barbecues a weekly event...

ankara

 

fire

 

Today, we had a close call with a forest fire. An airplane and 2 choppers were constantly bringing water from the sea, our neighbors had left their homes and we were about to as well when suddenly, the wind quited down and the fire was taken in control. It's a scary feeling when you're thinking about what you definitely want to save from being burned in your house and what can stay...

kordon

 

beyoglu at night

 

Interesting night in Istanbul. I had only a few hours when I postponed my flight to Izmir to the next day. This way I was able to see my brother and a friend who was also in Istanbul only for 2 days from the US. The night started with hamburgers at Kizilkaya, continued at Nevizade, and ended with hamburgers at Kizilkaya :) The friend caught a taxi to go the airport and I got a few hours of sleep before continuing on my trip myself. The city that never sleeps was able to provide impromptu entertainment.

downtown again

 

a gift from Morocco

 

Here's a pair of Moroccan slippers I received as gift on my last week here. They're the ubiquitous flash yellow type and I'm entertaining the idea of taking them everywhere I go and have a photo taken wearing them all around the world...

essaouira

What a great place to spend a weekend! Old town, beautiful castle, long and wide beach, wind/kite surfing during the day and live music at night. Already made some friends here and hoping to fly over from rainy Brussels on long weekends...

my hammock

 

taking a moment to rest by the water

 

principles

 

It's important to have principles and one that I've acquired over the years is not to travel without my box of kadayif...

potluck

 

getting ready for the feast, the giant pot is sighted on the conveyor belt...

the view after lunch

 

aliens are attacking

 

and they start with the landing troops...

keep me from the rain

 

There's nothing more romantic then the hen and the favorite chicken in his harem, spending a private moment under the eav of a house, keeping dry from the rain...

let's have fish tonight

 

The more I stay in Izmir, the more I love this city and I want to keep coming back. Stay in Urla, feel like eating fish and go down to the port, and finally call friends to go out at night in Cesme...

working hard again

 

bulgurca under water

 

This was the small town called Bulgurca. We used to take this way to our summer house years ago. That would usually be a Friday afternoon. We would stop by Bulgurca, buy bread and groceries. Now, the town is under dam waters and the only thing left is the minaret of the mosque. Well, at least part of it because it looks like they decided to recycle the top and the alem...

memories from a year

 

memories from a city

 

the tuareg from the desert

 

I made great friends from Merzouga. They cooked for me and even shared the recipe which I'll try first thing when I move back to Brussels. But I need to find some 'real' safrane, not the fake safrane made of brick dust that's sold in some places...

a ring for a fish

 

This fish didn't find its finger yet...

lace work

 

recollections

 

this is where I write when ... well, when it feels like it needs to be written.