Greetings from Bodrum – Bodrum’dan merhaba; we have been at Turgutreis in Bodrum for a few days. It feels so good to slow down and chase the waves.. Here are what we’ve been up to and some local treats. Most of them can be easily made at home, hope they inspire or bring a smile.
We are staying at my parents’ time share home in Turgutreis; Bodrum in general is a very popular holiday destination, though it is good to see Turgutreis still retains the village feel at places. My dad gets his daily egg and freshly picked tomatoes, peppers and aubergine at the nearby farm, from Fatma Teyze. And what a delightful commute walking at the beach for 15 minutes to get the fresh eggs..
We can’t get enough of Sevgi Baci’s made to order Gozlemes, Anatolian flat breads with fillings; this time it is cheese and potato.
Have you ever tried stuffed courgette/zucchini flowers? It is a delicacy especially in the Aegean region in Turkey; courgette flowers are stuffed with aromatic rice with herbs and onions, cooked and served with a slice of lemon, so fragrant and delicious.
Stuffed vine leaves with aromatic rice and onions filling, Zeytinyagli Sarma is another delicious mezzes we have been having; served with a slice of lemon, it’s such a delicious, refreshing treat. Here’s my recipe if you’d like to have a go.
Since the weather is warm, Zeytinyaglis, that is vegetables cooked in olive oil as well as sea food are to go food items. I loved seeing stuffed mussels with aromatic rice, served at the beach in Turgutreis. Also delighted to see the kids (including my children) queuing for them!:) Mussels here are stuffed in their shell with cooked rice & grated onion with spices; red pepper flakes and a hit of cinnamon. All you need is a squeeze of lemon and the whole plateful disappears within minutes.
Karpuz, peynir, ekmek; coolwatermelon, Turkish white cheese (try Ezine peyniri, if you can) and freshly baked bread.. This is a traditional and a very refreshing lunch or snack at home, especially in hot days and we have been enjoying our fair share. A delicious, refreshing and healthy lunch alternative.

Cool water melon, feta cheese and freshly baked bread – Karpuz, peynir, ekmek make a delicious, refreshing lunch
How about eggs cooked with ripe tomatoes, green peppers, onions? Scrambled or left as a whole, they make such a delicious start for the day for Turkish breakfast. Here is my recipe for the scrambled egg with vegetables, Menemen.
Our local eatery in Avta – Turgutreis is wonderful. Kevser Teyze and Ismail Usta prepares freshly cooked casseroles, tencere yemekleri daily, using the local produce. We look forward to their food everyday!
Karniyarik, Stuffed eggplants with ground meat and vegetables, dolma, stuffed peppers, kuru fasulye, Turkish bean stew with onions, tomatoes, peppers (also with meat if you like), okra with onions, peppers, tomatoes (also with meat as an option) all freshly made. It is so good to see these local eateries around and well worth hunting for them.
We also made it to the beautiful Gumusluk. There is a wonderful art scene in Gumusluk, loved all the handmade art, crafts, pottery and tiles.
Gumusluk Unlu Mamulleri has been an amazing discovery; this wonderful bakery makes delicious boreks, pastries, simit and boreks; we got all these from them and enjoyed with cay by the harbor. Their rolled spinach pie, ispanakli borek was especially delightful.
Sunset is beautiful at Gumusluk and the walk to the Tavsan Adasi, we will be back.
These delicious lokmas; little dough balls soaked in syrup, are another specialty here; they have a light batter and you feel like you can eat the whole bowl!
How about the zucchini fritters with feta and dill, mucver? It is in abundance at the moment, and these delicious fritters are a real treat with a dollop of yoghurt aside.
One of the real treats of our Bodrum stay has been to have a chance to meet up with Alan and J of the wonderful blog Archers of Okcular. A keen nature lover, Alan’s blog inspires me a lot, as well as the wonderful projects they do, such as their Okcular Book Project. The sale of Alan’s brilliant Okcular Guide Book provides funds for the environmental and community projects in their Okcular village near Dalyan, as well as to the Okcular Primary School. It has been so wonderful to meet Alan and J in person; we chatted, ate, drank teas and coffees with my parents, who proved that language is no barrier! Happy days and thanks to them for coming over to see us.
Here is another delicious local treat we enjoyed, Sandal Sefasi, from Bodrum. This reminded me of the stuffed eggplants with ground meat, onions and tomatoes, Karniyarik – with a twist. This time halved eggplants are stuffed with cubed chunks of meat in onion and tomato sauce, topped with cheddar cheese, a slice of tomato and pepper, delicious!

Sansal Sefasi; stuffed eggplants with cubes of meat in tomato and onion sauce, topped with cheddar cheese
Time to sign off to tend the children, eager to jump into the sea.
Until next time, Bodrum’dan Selamlar,
Ozlem
. . the pleasure of meeting up with you and your family was a delight to be treasured. As for the meals of Kevser Teyze and Ismail Usta, well, a lokanta at the gateway to paradise comes to mind. Lovely day, thank you.
Merhaba Alan, pleasure is all ours, many thanks again for coming over. Mum and dad says next meeting in Istanbul or Dalyan, we look forward to it 🙂 Cok Sevgiler, Ozlem
Özlem’ciğim, What a wonderful posting. Really, it looks heavenly there and the food! Well, your photo encouraged me to go ahead and try making the okra that is in our market every week. Also, Alan and J are two of our favorite people! To Mark, Emma and Öznur, a big hug and kiss. Have a wonderful rest of your time with your family. Çoook öptük. J and M
Merhaba Jolee, many thanks for your very kind note : ) Do have a go on the okra, really is such a delicious, refreshing recipe, locals here also put chickpeas in it. With a squeeze of lemon, an ideal summer dish! We had such a lovely time with Alan and J and you two were in our thoughts, cok sevgilerimizle, Ozlem xx
what a beautiful place! and so many things i want to make. i think i will make the stuffed grape leaves using the ones growing in my garden. i never stuffed zucchini blossoms with rice. we stuff them with cheese, batter them and fry them. i might make your zucchini fritters tomorrow. thanks for all the recipes!
You are very welcome Jaz; try stuffing zucchini flowers with rice, onions and herbs, really delicious. We cook them in little water and olive oil, light and really delicious – with a squeeze of lemon over!:)
Lovely to see you relaxing surrounded by beautiful food, friends and family, Ozlem:) just the way summer should be! I love the pic of kids waiting for steamed mussels, I think it’s amazing when children eat everything…have fun! XxPeri.
Many thanks Peri, the stuffed mussels experience was very memorable, likewise, love seeing children eager to try out a variety of food. With love from all of us, Ozlem xx
Wonderful post, I feel as if I’m there. Thank you for sharing.
Merhaba Karen, you are very welcome, so glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Thank you for sharing your trip! This looks like a beautiful place, and the food is making my mouth water! Everything looks fresh and delicious, I hope you had a wonderful time 🙂
Many thanks : ) We’re enjoying it, good to be back home 🙂
Happy holidays Özlem! I have been to villages around Bodrum but don’t remember quite such fantastic food. Yum!
Turgutreis still has some village feel and local places to eat, I was happy to see it – many thanks for your note 🙂
Meehan Ozlem,
I wish that I was in Turkey with you. Enjoy your time out there. Btw, do you know of any places in the States that sell those small wooden tables that the women in the photo are using to make gozleme?
Merhaba Cali, thank you very much for your note; Turkey is a wonderful country with warm people, hope you make it here. That oval oven where gozleme is made is called Sac, it is hard to find abroad, perhaps tulumba.com or Middle Eastern markets carry it. If not, a flat, non stick wide pan would work too. My best wishes, Ozlem
Looks like you are having a great time on the Bodrum peninsula – brings back lots of memories for me. Lovely photographs and lovely looking food!
Many thanks Kath, it’s been wonderful to be back – sadly we missed Annie, I am hopeful for the next time. Hope you’re settling well!
What a fun food excursion!! I love courgette flowers because it feels good to not waste any part of the vegetable! So many people just throw them away.
Thanks for stopping by Joumana, it’s been indeed a delicious foodie excursion; everyday food so effortlessly delicious. Love courgette flowers too, so delicate and packed with flavor, nature’s wonderful gift, too good to be wasted.
I don’t know about chasing the waves in Bodrum; it looks like you’ve been eating Bodrum. 🙂 Great you got to meet up with Alan and J. Spoken to them a couple of times when they’ve been to the Christmas fayre, here. Still hoping to get to Kalkan. We’ll be in touch. 🙂
Julia
You’re right Julia, there has been lot of feasting in between chasing the waves, and how can you not? They are all out there, calling out 🙂 Do hope we can meet up! Ozlem x