Ankara update

I have been in Ankara for 4 weeks now and thought it was time for an update.
It was foggy and chilly almost every day the first 3 weeks.  Ankara is built in a series of valleys and this is classic valley inversion with smog included.  Good thing I grew up with fog and don't mind it. The fog lifted and we had sunny warm days last week, it felt almost like Spring.  It has been raining this weekend with temps in the low 40's F, and that's cleaned the air (and the streets).
Where to start...... We had a busy first week getting me a phone and buying a new, much needed softer mattress for our bed.  Then the washer in our apartment broke again - it had given Roy trouble just before he left in November, so we decided to buy a new one.  Many thanks to Roy's deputy Doruk, who drove us around one afternoon and negotiated deals for us in what seemed like very rapid Turkish.

Doruk 

Oh help...... controls in Turkish...... AND the owner's manual.  Did not consider that....

Found a comparable model online with a downloadable owner's manuals in English.  Whew!   Electricity is very expensive here so almost no one owns a dryer.  Every family owns a small, portable drying rack or two and together with the low humidity clothes dry quickly.  My new machine is both a washer and a dryer but I rarely use the dryer.
Everyone here apparently drinks bottled water.  I wasn't exactly sure why but recently read the water has a heavy chlorinated taste.   We have 5 gallons (20 liters) delivered to our door once a week for about $4.70US or $9.40TL (Turkish lira).  Right now the Turkish lira is running roughly TL2.16/$1US.
Our household garbage is put outside our front door in the evenings and magically disappears (the building janitor picks it up).  I am happy to report Ankara recycles.
The language is definitely the biggest challenge since I don't read or speak Turkish and 75% of Turks don't speak any English.  I understand it is different in Istanbul and over on the West Coast near Izmir, which has more tourists.  For the most part, the locals are very friendly and patient and will try to help find what you need.  You would be surprised how much can be accomplished with sign language and gestures.  Thank goodness numbers are readable the world over.
Much of my grocery shopping is done by pictures and/or with the Translator App on my phone.  Sister Weaver, a senior missionary who's been in Turkey over a year, put together a list of common household and food translations and she was kind to give me a copy.  There are hundreds of small markets, I would say, one every two blocks or so.

notice the loose eggs in the basket on the right

 Finding a larger market or a supermarket with more selection took some doing.  Kipa, Carrefour and Migros are the food chain stores near us.  We recently learned the Migros store size is determined by the number of M's in front of the name.  A 3M store is equivalent to our average supermarket.  Last weekend we found a 5M Migros at the huge Anka Mall - yes, right in the Mall - and it was almost the size of Super Walmart.  The nearest store to us is a one M.

This is equivalent to a large 7-11 and the one I run to if I've forgotten  an ingredient; all the while hoping they have it. 

 There are very few, if any, American brands.  Milk, or süt, is $1.25/liter, only sold in liters, and so far I have only been able to find whole milk.  Like Australia, there are shelves of non-refrigerated "shelf-stable" milk, which has undergone an ultra-pasturization by heat, then sealed, and has a shelf life of 6 - 9 months.  There is also an abundance of plain yogurt and I mean 20+ different brands.  I assume yogurt is a staple in Turkish meals.  Produce and vegetables are very basic.  Not many canned goods, especially fruit.  I've only seen pineapple and fruit cocktail.  Fruit juice, on the other hand, is plentiful by the liter in cardboard boxes, none frozen. Cherry, apple, and peach juice seem to be popular.  Soup is dry powder in packets rather than canned, and whole sections of store shelves have only cooking oil; olive, sunflower, vegetable and more.  I'm not sure what they do with all of it, but they must use copious amounts, bought in gallon cans.  Since we don't have a car, I usually go to the market every few days or take a taxi home if I buy too much to carry on foot.  Oh, and no nice courtesy clerks to bag your groceries.  So you have to be fast and start stuffing your food in bags, quickly pay, then finish grabbing your food, hopefully before the next customer's food is mixed up with yours.  Grocery shopping is quite an experience for us new comers.
Jewish and Muslim dietary laws are similar in some ways, as both do not eat pork, so bacon, ham, etc., are nearly impossible to find.  One does not realize how much you love bacon and pork chops until they are no longer available.  The very thought of Rudy's, our favorite Texas BBQ, is literally making my mouth water as I write this.  Devout Muslims also consider alcohol consumption sinful but there is a great deal of wine and hard liquor available in large markets and restaurants.  Interesting.  More on Islam another time.
 What have I not been able to find?  Dry onion soup mix, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce (found one bottle in one store), white vinegar, and vanilla to name a few.  Sister Weaver is going to help me make brown sugar with molasses and white sugar tomorrow since I don't yet have a mixer.  I just read online how easy it is to make homemade ricotta cheese, so I may try that.  Thanks for the idea Katie, I had no idea!  They have dozens of different kinds of cheese here, all yummy, but no ricotta or cottage cheese for lasagna.  Living outside the land of huge supermarkets and Coscos one must learn to adapt and/or improvise.  Flexibility is a must.  I have also discovered Crock Pots are unavailable.  Period.  No, I could not bring mine because all the electricity outside the US is 220 volts.  Bummer.
I can now count to ten in Turkish and know about 50 words.  I'm sure my pronunciation leaves much to be desired.  I regularly go on adventures using taxis and fortunately we live across the street from the Ankara Sheraton hotel and every cabbie in the city knows how to find that place.
Can you guess the available American fast food restaurants?  McDonalds, of course; worldwide.

Burger King is also very popular.  Arby's and KFC in food courts in the large Malls.

Only two Subways in the entire city, which surprised me.  Starbucks by the handful; the Turks love their coffee and especially tea.  In fact, did you know that Turkey is the #1 tea consumer in the world?
Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Dominos are common.  The one that surprised me and made me laugh out loud was Popeye's - Louisiana Kitchen.  Really?  Very few Chinese restaurants and sadly, cannot find an Indian restaurant.  There were no Taco Bell's in Australia so I didn't expect to find any here either. You know you are craving Mexican food when even Taco Bell sounds good.