A village life - Market Day

14th January 2023

36o 17.63’N 030 o 09.00’E Finike, Turkiye

by Craig Belling

One of the pleasures of travel is the opportunity to meet and interact with different people and one of the best ways to do that is through commerce and the local market day.

The 2022/2023 winter finds Janine and I wintering in Finike, a farming and fishing community of about 12,000 people along the south coast of Turkiye. Finike is said to have been founded by the Phoenicians in the 5thcentury BC, going on to be part of the Lycian, Greece, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk Turks and Ottoman Empires. The town was inhabited by Greeks prior to the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkiye.

Today the local economy is driven by agriculture, with all sorts of fruit and vegetables grown in area making it a wonderful place for to stock up on produce each Saturday. So far mass tourism has missed this part of the southern coast allowing us to be part of a more traditional community and all it has to offer.

There is something special about market days in rural villages like Finike. It’s not just a way of getting wonderful fresh produce, but also a great way to watch the interaction of locals and visitors alike as they go about their days.

Saturdays have developed into a bit of a routine as we secure Inelsamo, take our shopping trolley to wander through the village for “Market Day” which takes place under a large shed down near the football stadium, with about 80-90 vendors selling their wares.

We usually start the day off with a Turkish Breakfast made up of a Gozleme, best

described as savory stuffed pastry turnover that come in different flavours rolled out and prepared fresh for us on order. We wash this down with either Çay (Tea) or Turkish Coffee prepared in a cezve using very finely ground coffee bean without filtering, as we watch the interactions of the market days. Today we shared a Cheese and Egg Gozleme, I had Turkish Coffee and J had a Çay, the entire breakfast costs us about $3.43 in total.

The produce here is amazing, straight from the farms down the road. Because of the warm coastal plain and the glasshouses, the growing seasons are extended and the quality of produce is the best I have seen in all my travels. But it’s the experience of wandering the stalls and interacting with the vendor that we both enjoy.

A quick visit to our preferred herb lady snags us generous bunches Reyhan (Basil), (Maydanoz) Parsley, (Taze Sogan) Spring Onions, and Nane (Mint) for $1.90 and a (Biberiye) Rosemary plant for $1.90.

We then visit the vegetable vendors with an amazing selection of colours and shapes to entertain us and ask about. One of the challenges at these markets is for me is to stay on track and buy according to our plan. Even with Janine keeping a close eye on me the trolley is quickly filled and that may or may not be on the plan but just looked too good to not be in my basket. In my defence, when the prices are this reasonable, I am sure that we will need them this week. Fifteen heads of Sarimsak (Garlic) braided together for $4.57, Mural (Lettuce) for $0.76, Havuç (Carrots) for $1.07/kg, (Soganlar) Onions for $0.76/kg, Patates (Potatoes) for $0.76/kg and whole Lahana (Cabbage) for $0.76

I find the vendors in the market to be very honest, helping me work out the prices quickly. They help me work out what to pay and when my mind has finally calculated what it should be, they have been honest and often rounding down. There is an amazing amount of Muz (Bananas) grown along the coast, in terraces or greenhouses and these sell for $1.07/kg in the markets. Elmalar (Apples) and Portakallar (Oranges) for about $0.76/kg, or you can pick up a large bag for a lot less.

The fun really starts when you move to the cheese, dairy, eggs, honey, nuts and sweets sections with vendors are keen to interact with you and give you samples of cheeses, tahini and other interesting concoctions. These are Janine’s weakness as she is unable to sample a cheese and move on, quickly loading up with cheeses to find a use for this week. You can buy your eggs one at a time, or in lots of 10, 15 or 30. One Yumurtalar (Egg) will set you back $0.45 or about $2.67 for 15.

Love the fish markets here. To be honest it has been a while since I bought fish in Australia so have now idea of the prices but here you would pay $9.15/kg for Bream or $13.72/kg for Tuna. But the whole sardines (which are large) are fabulous too.

There is something earthy about herb shopping in a market and this market does not disappoint. Some people take down containers to fill, but others come away with their spice needs in plastic bags. Not to be intimidated we finally manage with some quick transitions and lots of odd gesturing to come away with some dried Kekik (Oregano), Zerdacal (Tumeric), Kekik (Thyme), and Baharat (Mixed Spice) to enhance our culinary talents.

I love the feeling of community when we visit these markets; its a sense of belonging that is hard to explain as I am greeted with “Hos Geldin” (good you came) and reply with “Hos Bulduk”(good we found ourselves here)!