Going to the Market

Each Saturday I went to the pazar, or Farmer's Market, with Renata, our host. She bought fresh vegetables and fruit by the kilo because they were so inexpensive.Imagine our good fortune, we were in southern Turkey during watermelon season! Watermelon was the first food we ate when we arrived, and we had it regularly through our time in Antalya. As you can see, there are many creative ways to display watermelon!

The watermelon farmers like to sell you the "perfect watermelon," so they slap each one in your presence. When they hear the right sound, they hand you the award-winning watermelon, even if it is 5x the size of what you want! They are the experts, so it's no use arguing.


Garlic, anyone? We saw some beautiful, fresh food displayed, and learned enough Turkish to ask for a kilo of tomatoes. That was important for survival!