Turkey Photo Diary #3: A Boat Trip and Milas Market

My strongest memories of this summer's trip to Turkey involve good, hearty meals, salty sea water and the vibrant bougainvillea that covers most of the stone walls in the area. This was especially true on the last leg of the holiday, on which we ate every meal in the open air and spent long summer days lying down with good books and deepening our tans (well, in my case, huddling in the shade after I accidentally burned my right hip at sea).

We booked a sailboat on the marina towards the end of the trip and got up early to make the most of the day. For breakfast I chose lots of delicious fruit and veg, and my standard little bowl of yoghurt topped with honey, tahini and crushed pistachios. Yoghurt was invented in Turkey - a good excuse to have it every morning!

We spent the day on a gulet boat sailing around the neighbouring bays, basking in the sun and flipping idly through books. We shared the boat with two other families with kids, with whom I spent most of my time chatting about school, interspersed with a game of UNO. Oh, to be nine again...

Sister trying out some novel sunbathing techniques. I call this The Superman...

The skipper cooked us up a beautiful lunch of fish, salad and tomato pasta. Exactly what I wanted to eat after a morning of swimming and diving!

The itinerary for the penultimate day was chosen by my mother, who had a hankering to visit the famed Milas Market - a produce market that I doubt has changed much in the past few centuries. It's a huge covered area with vendors sitting on stools, their produce laid out on blankets on the ground, and extremely hot. I saw barely any other tourists, which was wonderful. Borough Market this was not.

Milas is absolutely worth a visit if you're in the Bodrum area - a hustling, bustling old bazaar with countless things to look at, taste and smell. There's only locals there really, and as a result, the cafés and grills in the neighbouring area are great - we walked into a random one opposite the market and ate some of the best köfte we'd had on the holiday. It's pretty hard to get to - it took us a couple of hours by bus - but the colours and sights are unforgettable.

Dinner on the final night - an unctuous, rich seafood risotto drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and a deliciously indulgent Cup Jacques.

And then, all too quickly, the last day of the trip was upon us. We spent it relaxing as fully as possible before returning to the cooler climes of London, and had one last delicious meal in the hotel restaurant before heading for the airport.