An overnight outing to Fethiye immediately puts us into holiday mood and this week’s trip excelled. We’d been told about a museum in a village just outside Fethiye, which was displaying agricultural and other exhibits used by the Yörük nomads. More importantly, we were told the family served a splendid Turkish breakfast, using only ingredients produced on the surrounding land. Planning a walk in the afternoon, it seemed the perfect opportunity to try it out for brunch.
All I can say is thank goodness we all skipped breakfast before we left!
We had a look in the kitchen, where several ladies were cooking everything over an open fire, including one of my favourites, bazlama – which is a bit like a giant English muffin, cooked on a girdle:
Soon the table was groaning under the weight of roasted vegetables, a veritable bouquet of greenery, homemade breads, jams, cheeses, eggs cooked with butter and chilli, and possibly our favourite – the most delicious fried potatoes. Turkey doesn’t have much of a potato culture, apart from its love of the chip, so these were a bit of a surprise. This was all washed down with freshly-pressed orange and pomegranate juice and gallons of tea.
So keen were we to get stuck in to our breakfast that I almost forgot to take a photo.
Fortified by mountains of food, we did have a little poke about in the museum. It housed not only agricultural tools and ploughs, but a surprisingly large display of ancient typewriters and adding machines – the Yörüks must have been fond of record keeping.
These dolls were a bit of a worry though – the state of undress and the dodgy eye gave them rather a sinister air.
The museum can be found in the village of Kargı, a few kilometres north west of Fethiye – take the Çiftlik turning at the Çaliş roundabout on the D400. It’s about 4km from the main road – look out for red and white signposts. If you prefer lunch, the ladies serve their own free-range chickens with a selection of meze.
aviewfrommykitchen.com 