Ramazan

Or better known to us as Ramadan is a big fast in the Muslim culture that i was so excited to experience while i was here! instead of trying to explain it all i am just going  to copy and paste and let Wikipedia do it :) the classic 21st century way of learning!
Ramazan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamicmonth of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexwith their partners^[2] during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God. Muslims fast for the sake of God (Arabic: الله‎, trans: Allah) and to offer more prayer than usual. The dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards by about eleven days each year depending on the moon; thus, a person will have fasted every day of the calendar year in 34 years' time. Muslims believe Ramadan to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.


Now for what i have observed....
unfortunately i have not been as involved in it as i wish i could have. The family i live with does not practice the Ramazan fast except for the last day. Which Derin was excited about because they kiss their elders hands and get gold coins, money. Once we had someone over for dinner who was fasting and we had to wait until 8:30 when the sun went down to eat. When i was staying at a hostel near Takism Square i would stay up late talking to people and such and around 2 or 3am there would be a guy who would go around the streets banging a drum to wake everyone up so that they could eat before sunrise. My friend got a video of it but i didnt get one sadly, maybe she will send it to me. The restaurants all have things going on for the fast, specials or they are just open all night. In all the main places there are big areas with booth with shops (different arts and trades and things to sell) and places to eat. This is where i got to try the art of Ebru (also known as paper marbling) which is so cool!
What it is is a sort of bowl full of plain water or sometimes they add this stuff called size to it. You dip a rough paintbrush in the paint and then lightly tap it on the soft part of your hand between your thumb and index finger. The splashes of color spread in the water and once you have enough splatters of the colors you want you draw through it making a marble pattern. (its like baking where you draw a knife through the two mixtures of cake to make a pattern or with the icing). Then you dip the end of a tool in a different paint and when you dip it into the water it spreads out in a circle, the more times you dip the darker the color will be. you used different colors and techniques to make different designs. the easiest is the tulip which is made. if you want to learn the technical stuff about it here is the Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_marbling.
here are a couple of cool videos about it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYGkGm6SaeU&feature=related
this one is long but it shows you alot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQSWmkt6-Hk&feature=related

What an amazing experience and time to be in Turkey! I love it!
Here are a few pics!

Manti

This is my favorite Turkish food, even though all of it is amazing!!! It is a kind of Turkish ravioli. It is usually hand made and takes a lot of time but it is delicious! It can either be fried or boiled although  I have only had it fried once and boiled is much better. You usually top it with Greek yogurt and then a blend of spices, tomato paste, and melted butter. Or you can eat it plain which is still amazing and i like it if the water has a bullion cube in it.

here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon water, or as needed 2 onions, peeled 1/2 pound ground beef

salt and pepper to taste 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 (8 ounce) container plain yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and water, mixing well with your hands. Add more water, if needed, to form a soft dough. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2.	Shred the onions and place them in a colander or sieve set over a bowl; drain the juice and discard. Combine the onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper; mix the meat well with a spoon until mashed.
3.	Divide the dough into two portions and lightly flour a work surface. Keep one piece of dough covered while you roll out the second portion into a rectangle, rolling the dough as thin as you can. Cut the rectangle into 2-inch squares with a knife or pastry wheel.
4.	Place about 2 teaspoons of the meat filling in the center of each square. Seal the dumplings by gathering the edges of the dough and pinching them together at the top to form a bundle. Transfer the finished manti to a floured plate, and sprinkle more flour over the manti to prevent sticking. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
5.	Heat the oil and red pepper flakes in a small skillet over low heat just until the pepper flakes have started to color the oil; don't let them burn. Remove from the heat and keep warm. Stir the minced garlic into the yogurt and set aside.
6.	Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook the manti until the filling is no longer pink, and the dough is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain well. Divide the manti among four plates. Spoon the yogurt sauce over the manti and drizzle each serving with the hot pepper oil. I got this one from all recipes but there are a lot of different versions of it. Try it you wont be sorry! :)

Some sort of confusion

In Turkish they use some words and phrases that cause confusion for me. I just want to clear up a few for those who share my feelings.

pasta means cake
corn flakes is just cereal in general
toast is grilled cheese
sic means dick
macaroni is pasta in general

thats all i can think of for now... i always seem to have so much more i want to say until i finally sit down to write it. i guess thats life. :)

take care!