Sjoerd, I dont think I saw Pierre Loti. Memories have faded a lot. I was there in the late 1970s. Food is something I remember better. Little street sandwiches with slices of feta, tomato, and hot pepper. Şakşuka (mixed vegetables in a sauce) Kisir (spicy bulgur wheat salad). Mercimek Kofte (fried lentil balls). Gozleme (a stuffed flatbread). Pide (another stuffed flatbread). My favorite was Lahmajun, which was similar in shape to pizza but thinner crust and completely different flavor. Good street food. Also Döner Kebab, like a Greek gyro only Turkish. I became vegetarian about ten years later. Some of those are vegetarian, a lot of them are meat. Maybe I should make 2024 my year of Turkish foods! I can substitute other things for anything with meat. I have tried making falafel but it's not as good as they have in food trucks. I was there for 18 months. I was pretty adventurous, and after one of those food adventures wound up with dysentery. Not the most fun, but all adventures entail some risks.
Sooooo then, you know the food. Too bad about the dysentery. Annoying. I didn’t see türlü in your list of goodies, one can get it without beef chunks in it. It is like a veg. soup…but a tad spicy. I get the feeling we could chat for hours. Haha.
Sjoerd - those are breathtaking photos. Nature is so awe inspiring. The blades of grass and the long spiked plants are incredible. And the willow - really amazing how that happened. Thanks to you and your bride for sharing.
Daniel & Sjoerd, your travels sound spectacular! My husband & I are hoping to hike a portion of the west Coast trail in Wales this spring, or barring that, the Cotswolds. What we are reading though is that it is not so simple. Many of the B&B's are overbooked or just not available. It is looking like we could sign up with a company that would transport our luggage from inn to inn, and, us as well if there is no inn available. Not exactly what we were hoping for but we might have to make adjustments. At our age, I can't see us humping our gear on our backs or sleeping rough if there's no room at the inn. Anyone have experience with this? Thoughts? We are capable of hiking maybe 10 miles a day.
Alfred Wainright has written some excellent hiking books. They are old but I believe there are new re-prints. He wrote about fellwalking. Here is a website with some superficial discussion. https://www.thelakedistrict.org/things-to-do/walks/ a couple of short teasers: Well, I am excited for you guys. Please keep us informed of this fun vacation.
Beautiful birds eye view of beautiful open vistas, canyons and grassy valleys. Thanks for the virtual visit!