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Published: January 25th 2013
I went to Izmir to visit my friend, Megan and since she was going to be working all week, I decided to take a cooking class! But more about that later. I used to live in Selçuk, near Izmir, but I didn't see all there was to see, so Megan and I decided to visit the ruins at Bergama, about 100km north of Izmir.
The Acropolis at Bergama is yet another example of extraordinary Roman ruins in Turkey, although I was a little surprised that it was 20TL, which is the same price as Ephesus, yet it is definitely not on the same level. What made this day great was spending it with my friend and two of her friends who I enjoyed getting to know. I have a lot of pictures of the Acropolis at Bergama, so I will let them speak for themselves. We didn't visit the Red Basilica in Bergama, but I kind of wish we had. It actually looked more interesting to me than the Acropolis, but we had to return our rental car, so we didn't have time to see it. There sure are a lot of restaurants in Bergama and they are pretty cheap.
I'm not sure how they can sustain that many restaurants, especially in winter, but every one of them was open for business!
I didn't do much the rest of the week, except for the cooking class I took in Urla, which is not far from Izmir, but it takes a bit of navigating to get there. From where my friend lives in Izmir, I took the car ferry to Uçkuyular, which is still part of Izmir, and then a bus for one stop where I got off at the bus station (garaj) and took a mini bus (dolmuş) for 3.5TL to Urla. This took two hours and was totally worth it.
When I arrived at the bus station, Filiz was waiting for me. Filiz is half of the cooking team at Aegean Senses and I don't think I could have spent my day having more fun that I did with Filiz and Mehtap. You can check out Aegean Senses at www.aegeansenses.com. I found their cooking class through another website that offers classes in Istanbul, but I didn't have time to take a class there, and I am so glad. Because this is low season, I had the expertise
of Filiz and Mehtap all to myself in Urla and we had so much fun and so much good food. These gals really know their way around a kitchen!
Filiz met me at the bus station and we drove to a local farmer's market in Urla to buy some artichokes, mixed greens, and a few other veggies we needed for our menu. On the way to the market, Filiz explained that part of Urla are built on an old Roman city, like Ephesus, so some people can't change or renovate the outside of their homes because they are built on top of these Roman ruins. Excavations have begun and she showed me some small areas that have been uncovered. I wonder what will become of the modern homes that are on top of these ruins.
After we went to the market, we headed out to Mehtap's house to start cooking. Mehtap lives in a gorgeous house outside the town of Urla. She greeted us with coffee and homemade coconut cookies (yum!) and after some coffee and a chat we donned our aprons and started cooking! Filiz and Mehtap took time to explain how to cook the dishes and
what I should look for, like how to tell if it was time to add more water or add spices or veggies. Mehtap showed me how to prepare the pastry for börek and Filiz showed me how to prepare the mixed greens and cheese to go inside the pastry. Börek is a very popular breakfast food in Turkey and I was so excited to learn how to make it and it was so easy!
We made a total of six dishes and I chose three of them in particular. I tried to choose more traditional dishes. So here is a list of what made and a description of each one. They gave me recipes for all of the dishes they make, not only what we made.
Karnıyarık - eggplant boats with beef filling - This was my favorite and it is a very traditional dish. I had seen it on a Turkish cooking show but I had never had it. It looked so good and I wanted to try it. I am not even a big fan of aubergine, but this is my new favorite Turkish dish.
Artichoke hearts with fava bean puree - I had never
had this before either and it is delicious! And I learned to how to clean an artichoke.
Zetinyağlı biber dolma - zetin means olive, yağ means oil or fat, but zetinyağlı refers to any vegetarian dish really and these dishes always contain a teaspoon of sugar. I had made dolma (stuffed peppers) before but just could not get it right. Now I really know how to make them.
Börek with mixed greens - börek is made with yufka which is a bit thicker than filo dough. We cut it into triangles and brushed it with a mixture of olive oil and soda water which makes it really crispy. It was stuffed with mixed greens, cheese, and spices and rolled like a loose cigar then rolled up like a cinnamon roll. This kind is called rose börek because it looks like a flower. It was so easy and so good!
Rice pilav with orzo - because we had to have it with the karnıyarık, of course
Fırın Sütlaç - caramelized rice pudding - This is a very traditional Turkish dessert and one I have had many times. We made it with Mehtap's neighbor's fresh milk and it
Bergama Ruins
North of Izmirwas fantastic. Fırın means oven. We broiled it in the oven to caramelize the top.
After class, we ate! Everything was so good and I was so full. Luckily the class includes a tour of a local winery, so we went to Urla winery which is really beautiful. No detail was left out in the planning of this winery. We tasted three wines and Filiz and Mehtap treated me to a bottle of red of my own. These two women are so lovely and I really enjoyed spending the day with them. I said goodbye to Mehtap and Filiz took me back to the bus station for my two hour commute back to Mavişehir. It was a good day. Check out their website at www.aegeansenses.com and their facebook page at Aegean Senses. They can accommodate larger groups as well as they have several kitchens to work in. I know they have a group of 12 coming in April.
One last thing that I really enjoyed this week was a bit of shopping in the bazaar in Izmir. I didn't buy much, but I did enjoy lunch at a fish restaurant with a friend from Selçuk who came to
visit. And I got some evil eyes to incorporate into my garden at my house in Arizona. I bought them from a wholesaler outside the bazaar actually, so they were less than half the price they are in the tourist shops. Yay for me! That was a complete accident.
The rest of my time was spent walking by the water, enjoying a coffee and just relaxing while my friend was at work. We went out for waffles one evening, which is a favorite of ours. Waffles with nutella and fruit and Turkish ice cream. Yum!
Hope to see my friend again soon. I always enjoy going back to visit Turkey and my friend.
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Filiz
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Come and cook with us again!
Mary, I loved reading about your experiences in Turkey... I feel lucky to have met you and had the opportunity to share my favorite pastime, cooking, with you... Thank you for the wonderful comments... Please come back and visit us soon... Happy cooking...