Last Day of 2007 - Shopping in Pendik

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What better way to celebrate New Year's Eve than with a delicious meal at home?! To prepare for our New Year's feast Cenker's parents and I went to Pendik - a bustling seaside area with shops and restaurants. A thick throng of people gathered around a guy doing or selling something not legal, could've been a card game, because when some official looking men in uniforms carrying clipboards circled around the area on foot, the crowd quickly dispersed. Only to spring up again in about 15 minutes on the other side of the pedestrian area! The first stop was the money exchange, where Cenker's parents got some New Turkish Lyras for Cenker's dollars. Our next stop was a little shop down a quiet side street. An older guy was sitting in the storefront of the sewing machine shop - Cenker's mom was buying a part for her sewing machine. One of the great parts about visiting Cenker's mom, besides having a great meal every night is the fact that all the pants I buy in the USA which are too long for my short frame, get a professional hemming. Cenker's mom is an expert sewer. Next we stop by a specialty bakery to get delicious treats - baklava for dessert. At the fish market, we buy some fresh Hamsi - little fish about 3.5 inches long - which Cenker's dad grills to perfection. The fish market is a semi-circle of about 7 or 8 stands which offer frech fish on a daily basis. Since it has been snowing recently in Istanbul, the price of Hamsi has increased from 2 YTL to 5 YTL per metric unit. YTL = Yeni Turkish Lira = New Turkish Lira. Weak to fight the impending weariness, all of us were ready to sleep before midnight. After watching many live entertainment shows, especially traditional Turkish singers, on TV for the New Year, as well as, Let's Make a Deal - Turkish Style entitled "Var Misin. Yok Musun.", the tired arms of the clock showed 11:50pm. Fireworks visible from the bedroom window heralded the new year's birth. I swear I heard some guns shots, which Cenker confirmed the next day could have been actual shots, since there had been a custom that people fire guns to welcome the new year. As I watched the green and red sparkling bits of light fading as they sparkled to a descending non-existence, my eyes became heavy, ushering in my peaceful slumber in a new year.

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Photos

Buying Baklava
Cenker's Mom seen through the window buying Baklava for Cenker - what a treat!

Cenker's Mom after purchasing Burmakadayif
Pistachios, butter, flaky dough stuff, honey = yummy goodess, aka Burmakadayif - one of Cenker's favorites. Cenker's mom after buying the treat for our post dinner sweetness.

Fish Market
The fish market at Pendik.

Fresh Fish anyone?
Let's see what's for dinner.... Hamsi is picured here in the bottom left.

Cekirdek
Cekirdek - sunflower seeds are a favorite snack. You will see friends of all ages usually male huddled on a bench in a park or walking, with hands in a paper bags, reaching for the cekirdek, cracking the seeds with their front teeth and throwing the shells on the ground. Cekirdek is seriously addictive! We enjoy the snack watching TV in the evenings.

Comments

[Janet]

new year's eve
Yummy! Please bring back the leftovers. I especially like the pistachio filled baklava. Seems only the walnut version makes it to the States. Our New Year's Eve was quiet too. Carolyn brought some friends home and they went into the woods to ring in the New Year. Dan and I went to bed at 11:30.

[HelenZ]

Pistachio Baklava
Janet, the baklava Cenker and I brought to your party had pistachios! There are couple of Turkish bakeries in Paterson, which sell baklava with pistachios. I will try to remember to get some the next time I see you! Happy New Year! -Helen