This morning I checked the food stocks and then went out to buy breakfast supplies of bread, tomatoes and cheese. The baker was asleep in the corner of his shop, and I didn’t like to wake him. Actually it felt like I had walked into an ethnographic display, and although he was real, he looked like a model. I was relieved when a boy arrived with a breakfast tray and unceremoniously prodded him, indicating my presence.
Our routine of doing nothing while Nevi prepared the food, was interrupted by the arrival of a health worker who had come to test Besime Teyze’s glucose and cholesterol levels. Nevi had her cholesterol done too and both ladies were proud that their levels were low.
Breakfast was a large tray of dishes of tomatoes, apricot ‘jam’ (which is half apricots in thick syrup), bread, olives, cheeses and boiled eggs cut into pieces, washed down with copious cups of tea. It is most substantial and as important a time for sharing food and companionship as at any other meal.
Packed and ready to go, we said goodbye to Besime Teyze and Nevi. We promised to visit if we returned to Turkey one day. With her characteristic quickness, Besime Teyze, made an aside which Metin translated as meaning, "It better be soon or I might not be here."
Metin drove us to the village bus station. He was such a genuine and kind person and we had felt very close to him. We wished him all the best with his new business venture of selling shoes from Antakya in other places, and with every aspect of his life.
Our bus to Gaziantep was a mini bus with extra stools for extra passengers. A family with an irritable toddler was helped by another passenger who gained the little boy’s attention and lifted him onto his knee to look out the window. With lots of credit now on the phone, we had been able to keep contact with Mehmet, our next couch surfing host, and he arrived to pick us up.
Mehmet is an agricultural engineer who advises farmers on their olive crops. He had been working all weekend, visiting villagers who had received government assistance with their olives. Mehmet had come with his driver in the work car, so on the way to the hotel he had found for us, we drove through some residential streets to deliver a bucket of yoghurt for the driver. Children were everywhere, with young people and adults chatting in groups in the afternoon sun. A very small boy ran onto the road from a doorway and owes his life to the quick reflexes of the driver.
Mehmet left us to settle in for a couple of hours and returned with his friend, Burhan. Burhan dropped us off at the kale (castle), which unfortunately was already closed, but we walked around it. Built on a mound, it is an imposing sight with a moat around the walls and much excavation work in progress. We learnt later that the Gaziantep Museum is working at the site, and believes the area to have been inhabited for 6000 years.
A tour of the district led us past mosques and shops. The minarets were elegant, with coloured stones incorporated into their designs.
We saw a school that had started life as a church, and like a wall we had seen from Burhan’s car, showed bullet damage from the 1921 defence of Gaziantep against the French.
We finally got to ask about the strings of dried fungi looking things outside spice and dried foods shops. 
We learnt that they were dried eggplant, capsicums and cabbages which, after soaking, would be stuffed with fillings and served as dolmas. Mehmet, who had observed Burhan’s mother cooking some earlier, rang her to see if we could try some. Apparently, not surprised to be feeding her son’s friend’s friends, she agreed.We stopped to sample some baklava; a speciality of Gazientep, and certainly a very sweet, delicious treat with its filling of pistachios.
Our walk had taken us to a park, running for about for about 5 km beside the now tamed river Alleben, part of the centre of the city. We passed the war memorial which records all the names of the martyrs who lost their lives defending Gaziantep in 1920-21. At that time, following WWI, the French were trying to expand their colonial holdings in Syria and Lebanon. They besieged Antep in 1920, finally forcing surrender in February 1921. In recognition of the heroism shown, the town, known as Antep until 1973, had its name changed with the addition of the prefix ‘Gazi’, which means ‘war hero'.A crowd was gathering for the live broadcast of the Turkish version of the singing competition which at home is called Australian Idol and here is known as Popstar Alaturka. Three entrants remained for the final night, with Gaziantep being represented by a much liked young man against another man and a woman whose popularity must be enormous since her singing talent was not. Drinking tea at an outdoor café, we could hear that the local team, Galatasaray, had scored the first goal in the final of the soccer against Fenerbahce. It was a big night for Gaziantep.
Burhan arrived with his mother, Aysel, and a pot of dolmas and some bread. The
Dolmas are stuffed with raw rice, spices and other ingredients, placed in a lidded saucepan with water in it, and cooked for 45 minutes. They were delicious so I hope to reproduce them at home.
The soccer finished with a great win, so the drive to Aysel and Burhan’s house was exciting, with flags flying from vehicles and much tooting and victorious carrying on. Burhan was getting into the mood, and although I couldn’t understand the words, it seemed that Aysel was asking him to settle down.
Burhan’s family lives in an upstairs apartment. His brother, Murat, greeted us warmly, and we all sat down to watch a bit of Popstar Alaturka. The female contestant was in tears, apparently complaining that the others had live crossovers to their towns and that she did not. This was interpreted as an attempt to win the sympathy vote and dismissed as a conniving ploy by the experts in our group. She seemed to be arguing with the judges over her performance as well, so all in all, we agreed with our experts, although we wouldn’t have expressed it as strongly as Aysel, who said that she hated her. The Gaziantep man sang and was excellent. One of the judges was carried away with his performance, swaying and mouthing the words with obvious appreciation. Burhan handed around Turkish coffee in beautiful little cups. At last it was time to go, with the result unresolved and the show continuing with the kind of filler that makes a night out of a brief event.
The soccer celebrations on the roads rolled on and that inspired Burhan to put his favourite Russian CD on at top volume. We arrived at our hotel having had a very varied and interesting introduction to Gazientep. Mehmet was just delightful – good fun and with a quick sense of humour, and very considerate and thoughtful.
The memorial to the defenders of Antep against the French seige of 1920-21.
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