Family, Food & A Farm
The day after Christmas we flew from Vienna to Istanbul where we took two days to visit Senol’s family in Luleburgaz, a town just a few hours outside of Istanbul. Russ and I had not visited them since Chrissy and Senol’s wedding in 2009 (best trip ever!) and we were excited to bring Rosie and Jordan, and meet the newest young Akays as well. Nothing says love like food, and if you don’t show up hungry and leave a few pounds heavier, it’s your loss. I showed up with a stomach bug but we’ll skip that part.
Senol’s sister-in-law, Dilek, and Mother, Rukiye, are both fantastic cooks and knitters. They can feed ten people at every meal with multiple main dishes and make it look easy. Rosie pronounced the chicken noodle soup the best she’s ever had and she never misses a chance to remind me that my çorba is inferior. Jordan put a serious dent in the homemade baklava that Dilek and her mother made, his fast consumption contrasting with their hours of labor rolling out thin sheets of phyllo. Between the food and gifts, I think the kids would have liked to be raised by Turks.
Rukiye and Ismael have a beautiful farm right outside of town where we spent a sunny winter day admiring their harvest and wondering how they can possibly keep up (I suspect it’s like the cooking, somehow it just happens.) The kids loved their dog, Tarçin (Cinnamon), who guards the hens and Jordan spent hours building a city in the reeds by the lake. Rukiye told my fortune from my Turkish coffee grounds and saw both a snake and a fox, and I’ve spent the last two months with a good idea of who’s who. But, my clouds are clearing and sunny days are coming. No doubt as soon as we can move on the boat….
Rosie made fast friends with Eçe, the daughter of Senol’s youngest brother Errol and his wife Hiçran. She is nearly Rosie’s age and speaks good English. The girls enjoyed playing Barbies and visiting the New Year’s decorations in town (similar to Christmas decorations), and decorated a small Christmas tree for New Year’s that Dilek had stored away.
It was a quick but wonderful visit and their Turkish hospitality and love of family is unrivaled. We parted with handknit sweaters, hats and gloves, and Ismael gave us magnums of red wine made from the grapes he grows (delicious), and two large jars of honey from their bees, plus more jars of a red pepper spread Chrissy helped make when she was there in August. I thought we would have to leave some Christmas toys behind in order to fit in these delicacies, but luckily for the kids, our suitcases, like our stomachs and hearts, expanded.
We arrived back in Goçek full of the Christmas spirit, stuffed with love and food and family, and ready to greet all things sailing the New Year would hopefully bring.
