We were hunting coffee at Kumluca, tho’ without success, when we noticed activity beyond the norm. There looked to be some sort of ‘cultural do’ happening in town, as crowds were gathering in the city park, so in we wandered for a peek, and ended up buying the most delicious lunch, from some amusing vendors who insisted on posing to have their photos taken.
We tried our first vegan çiğköfte here, which is usually made with raw meat like a steak tartare, but ours, we think, was made using walnuts, bulgur, onions, tomato, hot paprika and other spices. A huge platter of the çiğköfte was prepared, then small bits were pressed into rippled meze shapes by squeezing it tightly through the fingers to form a mouthful. To eat each piece you wrapped it in a lettuce leaf and popped it all into your mouth. This is so spicy and delectable we will have to try making this at home as an appetiser.
We ate delicious smoked, barbecued chicken prepared on the spit, followed by some wicked honey laden pastries and cakes sold at another stall. The honey in Turkey is divine; so light and lovely, not at all heavy, or sickly sweat, or syrupy, as it can be elsewhere.
Lo and behold, the Beledeyise, the local council, along with the Jandarma, the police, then attempted to organise a parade: a very very long parade, which eventually went right through the main street of town when it eventually got moving. Hours later this caused chaos when we were trying to drive out of town with all the accumulated traffic that came to watch, but we eventually found a way through the back streets and byways.
The festival, we think, was the annual Agricultural and Greenhouse Festival. Something like the Harvest Festival in England. It was a worrying time for some folk who took out their prayer beads. Agricultural workers were walking bedecked with their tools, and leading their work animals, including decorated camels, packed mules, tasselled horses, sheep and goats. Children, wives and grandmas were decked out in their finery and Turkish band music drowned out the megaphoned Adhan.
Lots of folk were in traditional clothing. We particularly loved the traditional Ottoman shoes, charik, that many of the men in the parade were wearing. These are only made in Turkey. Different layers of the soles and uppers are made from oxen, calf and goat leather, while the insoles are of downy sheepskin. The leathers are soaked for 15 to 30 days to be softened, and to remove the hair, then rubbed with wool to oil the hide before it is cut. The yarns to join the cut pieces together are made by hand from pure spun cotton, then waxed, so they last and are waterproof. Everything is completely natural, including the dyes. Red dyes are from pomegranate, black from the soil, yellow from walnut, green from a mixture of salt and the roots of olive trees, purple and blue from sea sand and crushed glass beads. The fair day in Kumluca was a fun day for all.
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