Tuesday, August 19, 2008
When we travel to a new place, one of our favorite things to do is sample the local firewater. As a predominantly Muslim country, Turkey isn’t big on drinking. Many restaurants don’t serve alcohol - especially if they happen to be situated next to a mosque - and those that do often charge an arm and a leg. Efes beer (named after Ephesus) is especially popular, but mixed drinks are not. Alcohol is heavily taxed in Turkey, a far cry from the 1.5 Euro bottles of wine that we were downing in Portgual. Needless to say, owing to our present economic situation, we have done very little drinking in Turkey.
We did, however, want to try raki (pronounced “rocky”), Turkey’s high-octane wine. With an alcohol content of 45%, this stuff will knock you down quicker than you can say “baklava.” A few years ago, bootleg versions of this potent potable were being distributed and causing mass blindness in the general population, making us a wee bit leery. But we’re nothing if not adventurous. Last night, a woman working at our hotel invited us to a friend’s cafe for live sufi music and drinks. Maikael mentioned that he was interested in trying raki, and before we knew it, a round had been ordered.
Raki is typically served as a two-part deal: one glass contains the alcohol, the other ice water. One should always dilute the raki with water, lest they fall flat on their tushes. When the two combine, a milky liquid results. Our hostess also ordered us a fermented beet juice “chaser.” We took our first sip of raki, which tasted similar to Greek ouzo, an anise-flavored liqueur. As the heat glided down my esophagus, I took a swig of the sour-tasting beet juice. Maikael preferred the beet juice to the raki, but I was quite the opposite.
In your web album you have a picture (similar to the “Rockin’ Raki” picture in today’s posting) where 3 men and 1 woman are in a room seemingly enjoying some libations and music. On the table in the foreground is a couple of cans of “Cappy”. (At first I thought it was spelled with an “r” in it but “Cappy” is correct). What is that stuff?
Cappy seems to be the national fruit juice. It comes in all sorts of flavors; my favorite is visne (sour cherry), a very popular one here.
Your pictures have made my presence in a cubicle in suburbia a little more difficult. I wrote a blog entry about how you are my heroes and used a couple of your gorgeous pictures as evidence that I lead a mundane existence. keep up the good work!
Cybele, your message came at just the right time. We had a really hard day today, reworking our ticket and calling the airlines a million times because the phone connection kept dying. It was one of those days where you second guess every decision you’ve made and wonder, “Is this really worth it?” I’m glad that I can be, if nothing else, a sense of inspiration for fellow travelers with wanderlust!