Phillip and Rebecca Mefford

photo borrowed from one of the original Iskender Kebap restaurants in Bursa  (http://www.iskender.com.tr) We love Turkish food. Turkish food is not weird. Olive oil and flavorful seasonings come to life in Turkish food. But, what is the best food in Turkey? If you could only eat one Turkish meal ever, what should it be? The answer, without a doubt is the İskender Kebap , a dish which is believed to have been handed down from Alexander the Great himself to nourish his hungry army. As such, the İskender Kebap is a hearty and satisfying repast of thinly sliced grilled meat served over lightly toasted pide bread, drenched with a devilish buttery tomato sauce and accompanied with Turkish yogurt…or Greek yogurt if it really was Alexander the Great’s gastronomic legacy. Almost every restaurant sells this popular variety of kebab, but if you want the real deal, you need to visit Bursa, hosting several restaurants claiming to be home of the original İskender Kebap.

Phillip & Rebecca during our first year in Istanbul, Turkey Eight years ago, this month, Turkey became our home. Now, as always, this land continues its dynamic movement through history. Teachers have become friends, neighbors have become sisters, and strangers have treated our children as their own nieces and nephews. The nation’s sorrows have become our sorrows. And we wait with eyes wide open to see the trajectory Turkey will take. Some foreigner friends of our have had to leave, others have chosen to leave. But we hope to stay. For a long time. Perhaps you have come across our blog because you know us and want to know what is going in our lives. Maybe you have a particular interest in Turkey. Just maybe you are thinking about moving here…And if you are I’m sure people on both sides of the globe are asking, Türkiye’ye mi gelmek istiyorsunuz ? (You want to come to Turkey?). In case you do want to come to Turkey, we hope to pepper our blog with posts