My first stop in Turkey is Antakya, better known as Antioch. But before I get to the sights of Antioch, the highlight so far has been the food of Turkey. No surprise. If, to date, China has shown the most variety and complexity in terms of "Silk Road cuisine", then Turkey is so far coming a close second just after a brief 48 hours on the ground here.
Landing in Istanbul early in the morning, I have a 9 hour layover. So, first - a quick breakfast of cheese, eggs, bread and honey in Ortakoy in Istanbul before a walk around the Dolmabahce Palace and then hopping on a plane to Antioch. Ortakoy is a charming seaside “village” on the northern end of the Bosphorus (but “village” only in the sense of talking about Kensington or the Hamptons being “villages”). Ortakoy seems to have a fair share of cafes, cobblestone squares and pigeons. The sort of yuppy-fied place where the food isn’t necessarily authentic but still, the smart set turns up for Sunday brunch.
The flight to Antioch is quick, just under 2 hours, but by the time we got to our hotel, it is dark and drizzly. Thankfully, I am staying at a special boutique hotel which greets us with its fountained courtyard and warm yellow lights. Antioch has been known for making soaps for over a century and our hotel is a boutique hotel on the main road (Kurtulus Caddesi) on which several soap factories used to be located. Our hotel has been converted from one of the old soap factories, and has retained the original stone edifice, arched interiors and arched windows. Laurel soap (Defne) is a traditional must-buy product from Antioch. Nearby our hotel is the old factory site of Verdaa (now an office and showroom) which makes laurel soaps, olive oil soaps and other products in Antioch itself.
Apart from our hotel, Antioch has been on a preservation drive over the last few years in anticipation of the cross-border tourist traffic with Syria. Buildings in Antioch are rarely over 4-5 stories and are either in the Ottoman style (wooden windows) or French style (stone with decorative embellishments; the French occupied from the mid-19thC until Turkish independence). Some of these buildings on the main street are starting to be renovated. It seems the government pays for the restoration of the façade whereas the owner is free to handle the interior. One of the restaurants I visited in Antioch is housed in such a traditional building where the owner has kept the wooden window shutters, stained glass windows and the original beautiful blue, green and brown patterned tile floors. The restaurant serves typical Turkish mezzes (warm or cold appetizers) including the usual hummus and babaganoush, but also some new discoveries such as a fresh thyme salad (very bright and fresh, almost like eating grass). In addition, the menu also includes some Syrian fare (I tried the Naneli Kofte – a “kebab” of lean meat with a light sauce of mint, lemon juice and olive oil). An amiable old Syrian gentleman sits at the entrance of the restaurant, greeting the guests and warming himself by the heater although it is a good 17 degrees. I was told he isn’t the owner, nor does he work there, but he is a Syrian immigrant displaced from nearby Aleppo (just 90km away) because of the fighting.
At this traditional restaurant, I tried a very tasty local Antioch dessert: “kunefe”. Kunefe is basically cheese melted between crispy vermicelli and soaked with a sugar syrup. My description really doesn’t do justice to this delicious dessert which combines different textures – crispy, creamy, hot, sweet. The kunefe is the word for the vermicelli - which is dough that is made into threads and then quickly semi-cooked onto a hot flat pan. This semi-cooked vermicelli dough, which has a noodle-like texture, can be sold readily in shops everywhere. I have been really lucky to be allowed into the kitchen of the restaurant to watch the whole process of making the dessert (all steps documented in the posted photos). One first butters a metal pan and then puts a layer of the semi-cooked vermicelli on it. The second step is to thinly slice the cheese (it is a special unsalted cheese available only in the Antioch region) and put slices on top of the vermicelli. The next step is to put another layer of vermicelli on top of the cheese, and so creating a sandwich of sorts. Finally, one drizzles some liquefied butter on top of the top layer of vermicelli and then the metal pan is put on top of the stove. As the vermicelli is fried on one side, the pan is spun around to create an even layer of heat on all sides of the dessert. Finally, another metal plate is put on top of the pan (like making omelettes or pancakes) and the whole thing is flipped over to cook the other side of the vermicelli. And in the meantime, as the vermicelli is crisping up on both sides, the cheese is being melted. Just before eating, sugar syrup is swirled over the dessert. The end product is a hot creamy cheese sandwiched by crispy vermicelli with a touch of sweetness (or a lot of sweetness depending on the sugar syrup). I’d give a lot to be able to have kunefe when I return home…
