Sunday Brunch at Degirmen Restaurant

We made a date with Tom and Val for brunch, so this morning they picked us up, all 5 of us crammed into one car which Tom backed all the way down our narrow gravel street, at least a block of backing, and off we went for today's adventure.

We drove up into the hills, through craggy rocks and past ancient farms nestled in green meadows and then up and up to the little village of Islamlar. There we parked the car and as we got out the restaurant owner waved and called hello to Tom and a welcome to all of us. Tom is very friendly and gregarious and seems to be on a first-name and back-slap basis with everyone in a 50 mile radius of Kas.

We walked along a path and over a little bridge where there were big pools teeming with trout. The stream rushes down the canyon, past the restaurant, and the pools are set off to the side of the stream. Then we went up some stairs to a rooftop dining area with a beautiful view down the canyon, all the way to the sea. The weather was warm and dining al fresco seemed just the thing to do.
Of course we didn't need to look at the menu, the host knew just what we wanted. It was the Turkish version of the "full English". First came our coffee and the big basket of bread along with butter, tahini spread, honey and jellies. Then there was a plate of cheese fried in olive oil and sprinkled with paprika. This may sound questionable, but take our word for it--it is delicious! Then came plate after plate of food--fried eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, green olives. We ate until we were stuffed, and then our host offered us seconds. Oooooh, so good, but no room in our tummies.

As we were making our way back to the car I bought 3 fresh trout, scooped right out of the stream, to cook for our dinner. Yum.

The route home was a pleasant and interesting ramble through the hills, canyons and meadows. We passed through quiet little villages where the buildings were in various states of disrepair. An ancient woman with 3 teeth, dressed in her traditional baggy pants of black with small printed flowers, stopped to chat with Tom as we were slowly moving our car through her herd of goats. Between the teeth, tongue and back country accent I am not sure how much of the chat was actually understood, but it was nice to meet another friendly Turk.

The Turkish people are very friendly and helpful. Out here in the country few speak any English, but in Kas, and most towns of any size, the shop clerks, ticket takers at points of interest, and many of the locals have some English. There seems to be no animosity towards Americans and usually when they find out we are American the first thing they say is, "Oh, Obama" and when we say we are from California they say, "Ahhh, Schwartzeneger". Everyone smiles at us and shakes our hand.

Our tummies were full the rest of the day, but we did have our fresh trout for dinner that night and it was very good.

Don's Pictures