Was it really only 2 weeks ago that it was Thanksgiving? Even though this post is a bit late, I wanted to put up pictures from the 2012 Yalova Turkey Blast. There were no turkeys, of course, (that would be somehow blaspehmous) but there were 5 roasted chickens, lots of friends, and many a bottle of Efes consumed. We had a great party and ate too much delicious food.
Strangely, Turkey does not recognize the day that the American pilgrims shared their bounteous harvest with the Native Americans who ensured their survival as a national holiday. This meant that yet again, Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Americans here on the weekend. My Dilko friends who I was co-hosting the party with have Fridays off, and they wanted to have the guests at their place, so we made Friday night the big night this year.
I finished teaching at 11:15 on Friday, so I rushed home as fast as I could to get cooking. Colin and I had already made the cinnamon rolls, but the green beans, chickens, salads and dips still had to be made. We got to work right away, though, and had everything we needed. Our cooking happened without a hitch and we were done with everything and twiddling our thuımbs until the guests started to arrive.
When they did get there, we chatted and caught up and we muched on the annual onion dip and ruffles, before heading out to Semanlı for the party. Laurel (on the left) was so pleased to see us arrive. Within minutes of us walking in the door, the buffet was set and the dinner line commenced. Mashed potatoes, 5 loaves of bread, spicy bulgur meatballs, stuffing and gravy were all gobbled up, in addition to the things we'd brought from our kitchen. I think our total number of guests ended up being 17, and it was a really great--and totally unique--Thanksgiving. I wonder at how many other Thanksgivings I could have Turks and Brits and Americans--some of whom I've known for 2 months and some who I've known for 2 years--all gathered around the same table, with tea lights in Turkish tea cups glimmering happily all night long.
Clockwise from left: Fırat, Erol, Hilal, Devin, Rachel (tounge), Clive and Oğuzhan having a great time after dinner.
The party was great and lasted longer than I think anyone expected. We got back to our apartment (all 6 of us) at roughly 2 am, and no one was sleeping until well after 4. The next morning, though, everyone was a real trooper and we headed out (around 2 pm) for a morning hike. We took the dolmuş out of town to Uvezpınar--a town near Yalova's thermal hot springs--and then commenced a 7 km hike to the waterfalls there, which turned out to be a 5 km hike to a vista where we met a really nice Turkish couple who offered to drive us the rest of the way. :-) While walking, though, we met a sweet little pup we named Pedro. Here we are with her and (from left) Greg, Sarah M (St. Olaf '12!), and Russell.
The waterfalls themselves (Su Duşen Şelale--'Water Falling Waterfall') turned out to be gorgeous. They're down in a ravine and have a beautiful stream twisting out below them. They're not geothermally heated (I never should have believed that one), but they were totally gorgeous and something that I'm so glad to have finally seen. After scambling around on the rocks below the cascade, we used this picnic table for a hikers meal of fresh French bread, nutella and apricots, and then we got a ride back into town with our new Turkish friends.
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