TRIP: Beypazarı

Beypazarı was the first glimpse of actual Turkish life that we got to experience during Orientation. After nearly a week of living in Turkey, I was exposed to the sights, sounds, and smells of the true Turkey...just a two hour drive away from Ankara. It was the kind of trip I had been anticipating, patiently, as I have a very deep commitment to exploring the states of developing areas. Here is a glimpse of Beypazarı: its people, its food, and its way of life..

Almost there. Pit stop for food!

This watermelon was delicious. It was softer and had more texture than any watermelon I have ever tasted.

We are here! This is the beautiful pathway to the outdoor restaurant which served us some lentil Anatolian soup, Lamb and rice, and stuffed grape leaves, all with a yogurt drink...simply delicious.

How many chickens do you spot? This restaurant, as all, was home owned. It raised its own poultry. I kind of felt bad for eating here after seeing the chickens talk to each other..

This was the "city" part of Beypazar. This picture was, in fact, taken atop a hill, so I was looking down to this view. The actual living quarters and village area of Beypazar was only approachable after we went through some stairs and hills.

What you see are dried fruits, packaged nuts and grains..all up for sale for just 1 Lira per bag

Some of the hand made gifts that the villagers sell to tourists

Now we are finally entering the village portion..there are many, many stairs. Do you see that small house in the upper center of this picture? We went even further down than that.

Here, we are making our way to the bazaar area. Some of these "houses" are abandoned, others are simply living in abandoned conditions.

Just a cute picture, I couldn't help myself :)

Chilis are drying in front of so many windows. It seemed like every other window had chilis hung to dry!

We are finally in the bazaar portion of the city. What do you think the city is known for?...Here's a hint: look straight at the center of the picture!

It took A LOT of will power to not buy out this scarf store.

You don't know how ecstatic I was when I drank some fresh carrot juice. This is organic in its purest form! It was so delicious I downed two bottles..risking diarrhea while at it!

I paid 2 Lira to see what was stored in this museum, which was a preserved house of a Turkish couple some 100 years ago.

This was the "soup kitchen" that was attached to the house. It was a separate construction just in the front porch of the house that had a built in kitchen. It was used to prepare food for the less fortunate members of the community.

Members of the community, namely the poor, would come pick up the food prepared in that kitchen from this turn-table door. They would then take the food down the stairs and eat.