Turkey has the highest per capita tea consumption in the world, at 2.5 kg per person—followed by the United Kingdom (2.1 kg per person). …

Tea is an important part of Turkish culture, and is the most commonly consumed hot drink, despite the country’s long history of coffee consumption. Offering tea to guests is part of Turkish hospitality. …

Any visitor will tell you Turkish cuisine  is one of the highlights.

Not me. I found it a bit bland. Predictable.

Restaurants all tend to have the same things on their menus. Similar ingredients are used in traditional meals.

One highlight for me, however, is Turkish Pizza.

 

Lonely Planet:

Although more than a million tourists flock to its beaches, boutique hotels, trendy res- taurants and clubs each summer, Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus) never seems to lose its cool. …

Built by the Knights Hospitaller in the 15th century, Bodrum Castle, overlooks the harbour and the marina. The castle grounds include a Museum of Underwater Archaeology …

Bodrum is OK but it was the least favourite of my stops in Turkey.

The castle and museum are over-priced and not particularly well maintained. This strikes me as a tourist trap with far too many tourists for the available space. Rats crowded into a small cage.

The very interesting Theatre of Halicarnassus is locked up. It should be a major attraction.

I finally found the Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. But it was closed.

My favourite place in Bodrum … Starbucks.

I met Rosie and Patrick from the U.K. while visiting the famed Outdoor Museum, a World Heritage site. A Byzantine monastic settlement, the monks had time to paint their caves.

We drank some wine at sunset point overlooking Göreme.

Then I recommended we go for a nice dinner — traditional Turkish food of this region called Testi.

A mixture of meat and vegetables cooked in a clay pot or jug over fire (testi means jug in Turkish). The pot is sealed with bread dough or foil and is broken when serving.

They were half way complete a cycling trip from England to China. Next up is Iran which they feel will be the best section of all.

Goal is to get home in time for Christmas.

Gözleme is a traditional savory Turkish flatbread and pastry dish, made of hand-rolled leaves of yufka dough that are lightly brushed with butter and eggs, filled with various toppings, sealed, and cooked over a griddle. …

Ladies at a hostel in Antalya hosted some sort of family reunion. They cooked Gözleme all day offering it to one and all passing by. Including the hostel guests.

I had a savoury version with cheese, spinach and meat. And a dessert version with honey.

Lonely Planet told me Central Park was the best splurge in town.

Myself and a German chap who I met on the train from the European Championships both ordered the same thing: Romanian red wine, Romanian pork & beans soup in a bread bowl and Romanian stew with polenta.

Excellent. But we couldn’t finish the meal. The bread bowl itself was bigger than my head.

I enjoyed the restaurant so much I returned the next night again ordering a traditional Romanian pork and beans dish. With pickles, onion and horse radish.

 

Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler) was born in Sighisoara 1431.