Mami-Eggroll: Doner Kebabs in Istanbul and fresh seafood in Fethiye fish market

The first night in the hostel was ok, the bed and pillow was comfortable but it was hot. Our German roommates were afraid of the misting fan and thought it was smoke and asked us to open the window instead.

Although it was cool outside, the noise from the large trucks kept waking me up. I was also awoken by the morning prayer service blaring from the Blue Mosque nearby. We woke up and went upstairs to the roof deck to take advantage of the free breakfast. It was just ok, the usual Turkish breakfast consisting of an assortment of breads, tomatoes, eggs, olives, cucumber and watermelon. It did the trick and got us through the morning.

After breakfast, we had an hour to kill before our airport shuttle to Fethiye, a beach resort town in Southern Turkey. Helen and I decided to take a morning stroll in the neighborhood and grabbed a chicken doner “to go” for lunch since we wouldn’t be at our hotel for another 6 hours.

After an hour drive to the airport and unpacking our things, it was too early for us to check in so we ended up eating Popeyes at the airport and got the wrong thing due to the lack of understanding between the Turkish employee and myself. We wanted chicken breasts and thighs and she gave us wings and refused to change it.

We sat around for about 3 hours in the airport and took advantage of the outlets and charged our phones, ipad, kindle and laptop and later found out that our flight was delayed for another 45 minutes.

After our driver met us at the airport, I was unpacked and in the pool within an hour. The outside temperature was really hot and humid but the sun was going down since it was after 6 PM so the swim was a bit too cool for me.

Our room was extremely nice and new for what we paid for through booking.com. The guy at check in pretty much told us we paid 50% less than what he usually charges. He seemed a bit bitter about it but regardless, we had a sweet room with mosaic tiles, full closet and a vanity area. This is definitely not what we are used to on our backpacking travels. In fact, our room is the one they use to feature in their brochures. Kinda like switch and bait if you ask me since all the other rooms are pretty basic and mediocre.

We got showered and took a shuttle into downtown Fethiye to find a place to eat. It has only been my 2^nd day in Turkey but I was already getting bored of the grilled mixed meats and the doner kebab and we wanted to try some fish.

I had my heart on a fish market where you can purchase your fish and have it prepared in a nearby restaurant within the same courtyard. The restaurant would cook the fish to your liking and only charge 6 liras which is about $3.50. They also include a salad and garlic bread with the prepared fish.

We decided to do a “family style” dining tonight and bought a kilo of small fishes that would be fried, squid and prawns to be grilled and a larger fish to be grilled with lemon garlic sauce. I wished someone would have told me that our eyes were bigger than our stomach! In addition to the fishes, we also ordered a few “mezes” Turkish appetizers that were fried cheese rolls and a sardine salad with oils.

I could barely make it to the last entrée as the foods kept coming out in courses at different times. Everyone agreed that the dinner was their favorite meal on the trip so far. The meal was about $23.00 per person including 2 appetizers, bread, salad, 4 fish main courses, and 2 rounds of beer, not bad at all! We were definitely stuffed and had leftovers, but who really packs fish in a doggie bag?

We took a stroll through the fruit and vegetable market and by the marina towards our hotel. It was a beautiful night to walk along the ocean and take in the sea breeze. We even found lime/orange trees along the street. I have to admit that I’ve never seen a lime tree ever!