Overview
A perfect city for a weekend getaway. It's worth watching your diet before you go, because the food is so good that gaining weight is guaranteed.
First of all, the city is well accustomed to tourists, almost excessively so. You don't get those "who the hell is this" stares you'd get in other Anatolian towns and villages. Quite the opposite: since tourists are good for the local economy, the locals genuinely appreciate visitors.
Food & Drink
- On the recommendation of local acquaintances, we ate chickpea durum at Recep Usta. This dish was originally created as a cheap, filling meal, but it has taken gastronomy to a completely different level. Chickpeas simmered for hours in meat broth taste like you're eating kebab. Instead of wrapping cheap potatoes in bread or lavash and selling it as "patso" in Istanbul, it's hard to understand why nobody has brought this concept there and popularized it.
- After the baklava and shobiye we had at Kocak Baklava, we decided that what we'd been eating in our hometowns wasn't actually baklava. It didn't overwhelm with sugar, and it didn't give us heartburn afterward. After these incredibly light and delicious baklavas, eating baklava anywhere else might be impossible.
- We didn't try Imam Cagdas ourselves, but local acquaintances told us they find it overrated.
- The menengi coffees are wonderful. Even though they say it's made purely from menengi, nobody can convince me there's no milk powder in it.
- The patlican kebab we rolled into lahmacun at our friends' home is indescribable. Normally we eat lahmacun with parsley and greens, but putting meat and eggplant inside was a real eye-opener. Beyond that, the icli kofte, butter, olive oil, and everything else we had at their home was each delicious in its own right.
What to See
- The Coppersmiths' Bazaar was quite enjoyable to explore, and prices are cheap compared to Istanbul and Izmir. Great for shopping.
- The castle and its surroundings are lovely for sightseeing. Don't skip the antique puzzle and brain teaser stand right in front of the castle. They have beautiful products.
- The famous Tahmis Coffee House had a nice atmosphere, but we didn't see anything particularly extraordinary about it. If you can find a seat, sure, sit down.
City Observations
- Traffic in this city is a disaster. Incredibly crowded with senseless congestion. The city clearly can't handle this many people. It's worse than Istanbul.
- Urban planning is terrible. The city simply isn't built to accommodate this population. As you move away from the center, the buildings first start looking like La Paz, then like Moscow. Massive apartment blocks plastered across the entire city. Yet if you look at the older settlements, you can see low-rise, more horizontally spread homes. In an earthquake zone like this, it's truly hard to understand this much vertical construction.
Culture
- Culturally, it's quite different from the Aegean and Marmara regions; you could almost say it's a different country. All cemeteries are family cemeteries; every extended family has claimed a large plot. Municipal condolence houses are everywhere; funeral mourning takes place there. Since there's so much coming and going and families are large, houses simply can't fit everyone, so this extra system has been developed.
- The hospitality toward guests is extraordinary. This is a tradition across all of Turkey, really, but in this region it's been taken to another level. That kind of hospitality naturally makes you feel incredibly welcome.