We thought Farmers was big

Yesterday we had the joy of experiencing our first local market. Although we are still living in a hotel room with only a mini fridge we armed ourselves with our newly memorized Turkish numbers and a few hand-crafted (Thanks Wheelers) reusable bags and set off to the Oba Market. Being a vetran of farmers markets I had an idea of what it would look like, but I did not expect there to be such a large number of vendors. Picture San Luis's Farmers with 3 times the produce. We could have purchased anything from hand sewn linens to potatoes, olives to tourist souvenirs. The people of Alanya pride themselves on the quality of the produce they grow, and I have to say it doesn't disappoint. The peaches are softball sized and just as good as those found at home (in Patterson I mean), the watermelon is so juicy that Erin suggested I take my pills with it at breakfast.

As we walked toward the market we saw many shoppers having left with carts full of fresh produce, kilos of tomatoes and bags of aubergines (did you know Americans are the only ones that call them Eggplants?). Erin and I both agreed that our favorite part of the market were the young family members trying to learn the family business by shouting the same chants their parents were shouting at potential customers as they passed. They definitely made us want to stop at their booths. Now our mini fridge is filled with an array of fruits and we are looking forward to heading back when we have an actual fridge.

I mentioned above that we memorized our Turkish letters. As you can imagine those are not the only words we have learned I though I would include some of our favorites and most used.

Merhaba - Hello

Günayadin- Good Morning

Güle Güle - Goodbye (a favorite because it makes us think of Julia Gulia in Wedding singer)

Tesekkür - Thank You

...gidecegim - I'm going to (it sounds alot like you are saying Billie Jean, Erin made a song which I quickly said we would not be singing.)

Murat, the man at our hotel's front desk has been our tutor giving us new words every day. This morning Erin said günayadin to the chef at breakfast and he was shocked and delighted to hear it come out of her mouth. It has been interesting to learn a new language especially now that we are going to be teaching children to do the same. I am sure we will have more empathy for our students.

Thats all for today, but stay tuned for our updates on the "Turkey Shore" and Turkish "Safety" Guidelines.