First Snow

It has been very cold for the last week—in the teens—but there was no snow that stayed on the ground. This morning, however, we woke to 3 to 4 inches of snow! It was beautiful. In midmorning the electricity in our apartment went out, so we decided we may as well take a “snow day” and walk around and enjoy the beautiful snow. The snow was especially lovely on the berries of the pyracantha shrubs, which are very abundant here.

The school children are on their winter break, so we enjoyed seeing many snowball fights. In the park, they also slid down the hills. One of the places we visited was Kuğulu (Swan) Park, which has many swans, geese and ducks. Many of the fowl were in the little houses constructed for their protection near the pond; but many of the swans were standing on the pond, as it was frozen except for the areas where the motion of the fountains kept the water unfrozen.

After walking for nearly an hour we stopped to warm up and enjoy a winter drink that is popular in Turkey: sahlep. It is warm, sweetened milk flavored and thickened with the ground bulb of the wild orchid plant which grows on the Anatolian plateau (around Ankara). It’s very aromatic and lovely, especially when sprinkled with cinnamon. This drink was popular throughout the world in the 17th and 18th centuries, before the popularity of coffee and tea. It’s delicious!

We continue to love our humanitarian work. Currently we are working on projects for a school, a hospital, a foundation that works with schizophrenic young adults, and organizations that serve refugees.

Noah’s Pudding

Turkish food is great, and most of the desserts are delicious. “Noah’s pudding”, however, is a dessert which I probably won’t make again. It’s traditional at this time of year, and many housewives cook enough for their neighbors as long as they are making a big pot of this favorite dessert. Tradition has it that when Noah’s ark landed on Mt. Ararat in Eastern Turkey (shown in the picture below), they took the remaining dried foods and made them into a pudding to celebrate their arrival on dry ground. The pudding contains oatmeal, beans (both red and white), barley, dried fruits of many varieties, and nuts. It is boiled into a sort of glutinous consistency, then chilled. Afiyet olsun! (Bon appétit!)

We finally saw a “Van kitty” on the streets of Ankara. These cats come from Eastern Turkey, around Lake Van. They are very large and fluffy, and they have one amber eye and one blue eye (hard to see it in the picture). Most interesting of all, they are very friendly—and they love water. They seek out water and will play in it. They are highly prized, and consequently are protected; they can’t be taken out of Turkey.

Happy New Year! Mutlu Yıllar!