The above photo is one that will instantly conjure up countless memories for every Turk that sees it, but for the rest of you foreigners: it’s an evening of çay and tavla on the balcony, in the spring night air. Tavla is played on what appears to be a backgammon board (every Turkish household has one of these), but from what I understand the rules and scoring are slightly different from how backgammon is played elsewhere (I can’t say, because I was only introduced to the game after I came to Turkey). And Turkish tea, well… it’s good enough to keep you sitting there all night. This is such an instantly recognisable way for Turkish people to spend an evening, I thought I snap a photo and share. That’s Emrah on the left, and my beloved Emirhan on the right.

Ever since I moved to Antalya this has been one of my favourite cocktails— amaretto and milk. It’s simple, but it’s very tasty, and a lot of people here drink these, especially in the summer.

I have a friend on twitter whose screen name (but not real name) is Natasha; I turned her on to this drink and she liked it so much that I decided to call it a Blonde Natasha, after her. Of course, in this part of the world, the word “Natasha” has a double meaning (other than just a girl’s name), but I assure everyone it’s just a coincidence and that if her screen name had been Jennifer I would’ve called the drink a Blonde Jennifer.

As for the double meaning, well, have a guess in the comments if you think you know what it is, what else the word “Natasha” is sometimes used for in this area. I’ll give you a hint: it’s very very politically incorrect. But don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just reporting.

Turkish Daily News informs me that British home decor chain Habitat is coming to Turkey. This adds to some worries I had last week about Turkey slowly turning into England. Koç Taş is nearly B&Q, Marks & Spencer arrived a couple of years ago, Kipa is becoming Tesco, TelSim has already become Vodafone, and now this. And of course the United States gets Boots and WHSmiths, the two British exports that are actually somewhat attractive to me.

I guess I have to accept the fact that eventually every big company will be everywhere in the world. So where’s my Krispy Kreme? Where’s my Yo!Sushi? I wish we’d get some flowers instead of all the weeds, if you see what I mean. But I’m not holding my breath. I think if they opened a Yo!Sushi here I’d run down the street screaming with joy. If they opened a Krispy Kreme I’d be in jail before lunchtime. Link