Author Archives: disco

Turkish food, me gustas tu

Yum.  Turkish food is quite the delight!  On a sunny day or on a moonlight night.  Your shapes and colors are a joy to see.  Your tastes and textures sit well in me 🙂 Turkish food is full of great tastes.  In the photo above, you can see a meze (small plate dish) of eggplant

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Istanbul’s Historical Landmarks

Istanbul is full of history and culture.  It is a very old city.  Istanbul witnessed great nations such as the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Ottomans.  Here are some of the most famous historical landmarks in town. Blue Mosque.  A beautiful, magnificent building built in the early 1600’s.  The “blue” in the name is due

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Life in Istanbul

Life. You can find it everywhere you go in Istanbul. In America, we are often shut off from the world – hiding in our cars, our houses with large yards, our malls. In Istanbul, life takes place in shared public places. Here’s life with religion: Life at the marketplaces: Life for the young and cool

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Merhaba (hello), from Turkey!

Merbaha, my friends!  How are you?  Jeff and I are having a most excellent time in Turkey.  We’re almost halfway through our trip.  We spent three days in Istanbul so far.  Then we took an overnight bus last night to Kapadokya, in Central Turkey.  I’ll hopefully post a few blog entries, so let me start

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On the verge of leaving for Istanbul…

Living in a northern climate is funny. After Christmas and New Year’s die down, you are stuck with at least three months of bitter cold. You freeze your buns off, you don’t feel like doing anything, and you constantly think about either moving to a tropical island or killing yourself. Then one day (you never

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Chinese recipe: Lao (Hot Pot)

Have you ever had Chinese Hot Pot? It’s a great dish. Very popular amongst Chinese. We Vietnamese also make it, but not as often. In Chicago, perhaps the most well-known Hot Pot place is in Chinatown, called Lao Sze Chuan. The Mecca for Hot Pot is in Beijing. I had opportunity to enjoy it firsthand. 

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