"Doing a Picnic"

When we first arrived in Turkey, I found it strange when I asked Turkish friends what they did over the weekend and they responded with, "piknik yaptık" (we did a picnic). It was strange to me because a). Who says we "did a picnic"? and b). Where I grew up a picnic was a somewhat spontaneous event where one would find a nice grassy knoll, spread out a blanket, munch on sandwiches, chips, and fruit, and relax for an hour or so. It would hardly rank as special enough to be the sole answer to the question, "What did you do this weekend?" It wasn't until the spring of 2009 at our first Turkish-style picnic that I gained some insight into the activity. When Turks say they "do a picnic," they ain't kiddin'.

Today, we headed out to Mavi Göl (Blue Lake) to do a Turkish-style picnic with our Turkish, Faroese, and Danish friends. By "Turkish-style picnic," I mean an ALL DAY affair with board games, lounging, and food that is much more impressive than sandwiches, chips, and fruit.

Here we are, packed to the gills, heading out to the lake. You know, sometimes, when little kids become super fond of certain articles of clothing and want to wear them all the time (like rain boots even when it's not raining, or a pink tutu over blue jeans)? Yeah...that's kind of what we've got going on with the bike helmet.    

 Zach was our master griller for the day. Here he is prepping the barbeque.

Our Danish and Faroese friends waited anxiously for the food.

 The Radio Flyer wagon is like a bassinet on wheels.

 Sizzling meat

 Eli & Co.

 My Turkish friend, "Seh Mah."

 Here's a decent shot of the spread: 3 different flavors of chicken wings, köfte (spiced meatballs), sucuk (spicy beef sausage), potato salad, eggplant salad, a walnut/yogurt spread, lettuce salad, fresh bread, and lots of fresh veggies to top the meat.

 In Turkey, a meal is not a MEAL unless there is tea. The Turkish teapot goes into the barbeque after the meat is done. 

 See the spots on Eli's nose? He had a rumble with the concrete this week and the concrete won.

 This group of people occupied the picnic area next to ours. I enjoyed watching them and SO wish I could have taken a closer picture, but I was trying to be inconspicuous. For much of the morning one half of the women sat on the ground and knitted while the other half chopped vegetables and sorted a strange looking plant-type thing. The men smoked cigarettes and chatted. Then, after the food was cooked, the women sat with the children (on the left) and the two men (I'm assuming they were married to two [if not more] of the women) sat at their own little table (on the right).  

 Here's a closer look at the mens' set up. That metal thing to the right of the bag is a "travel teapot." Sometimes we see Turks stopped on the side of the highway, using one of those to prepare tea for themselves.

 No Turkish picnic is complete without a competitive game of Backgammon.

It was a very enjoyable SEVEN HOUR picnic.