Day 7: Dinner in Ankara

We only spent one night in Ankara because our guide, Burcu, has some strong opinions about the government capital… but one night was enough to eat the more food than I had during the entire past week in Turkey, and that's saying something because we ate A LOT, every day. 

We stayed in a nice hotel and went to the sauna and afterwards, we were treated to a feast. Thirty of us in total made for quite the dinner party. First had cold appetizers, then warm appetizers, then salad, then lahmanchu (Turkish pizza), then the main dish, and then, finally we ate dessert. And let's not forget the glass of wine, which could not be emptied no matter how much I drank. I made it through the appetizers and the salad, but after that I could barely manage a few bites from the remaining courses. I would have saved more room but that salad was sooooo delicious, and each plate had enough food to be a meal in its own right. I'm not talking about a side salad; I'm talking about a large dinner bowl full of salad. I honestly don't know how the Turks do it. I loved all the food we ate on travel from meet balls and sea bass, to lentil soup and those delightful fried cheeses things (I wish I knew what they were called).  Also, I could eat that yogurt sauce with dill all day! The Turks definitely know how to make good food and on our trip there was never a shortage, something I was very appreciative of. 

The part I enjoyed most about the night, however, was when we all took turns sharing something about Turkey that had surprised us or was different from our expectations. It's always interesting to see how each of us takes something different from our experiences on academic travel, and often, as students, we don't get to hear explicitly these views from our contemporaries. 

First plate. Cold appetizers. 

One last thing…Burcu's friend read my fortune in the grounds of my tea, which is something I have always wanted done and was very exciting for me! 

I have to say, I came away from the whole experience of the night with some very positive insights.