I often refer to our flat in Antalya as being “in town” but actually, it is right outside of the Antalya city limits, just off the highway that heads north to Ankara and Istanbul. It’s not super convenient for going into central Antalya, but we don’t have much cause to do that – we prefer to skirt the city and head straight out for the garden. And our location means that we are near a small, agricultural town with a population of about 10 thousand.

Dosemealti has two weekly markets (Tuesday and Friday), three post offices (go figure) and a utilitarian aesthetic (or lack thereof) that reminds me of China. I immediately took a liking to the place.

Unlike a neighborhood in the city, this is a place where you can easily find such elusive items as canning jars and firewood. And they have a good feed store. That’s where Kaya and I were headed yesterday evening. On Tuesday, as we were leaving the garden to go back into town, our neighbor flagged us down and asked if I might pick up some feed for her goats. I was afraid of forgetting, so thought I had better not leave it until Friday.

Kaya got excited when he saw where we were going. He loves the chickens or quails that are often for sale there, and the cats that prowl among the sacks. Today, he found an electric bike to sit on, and its owner kindly turned it on so that he could beep the horn. This seemed to cause some consternation among passing motorists, though, so I made him stop.

With the sack of feed in the back of the car, the chickens admired and the cats left unpursued, we headed back to the flat, where Baki would be joining us shortly and our evening would begin.