Karen Phillips

The Old Koy Laws – village guards, stinky fruit and be careful where you put that graveyard.

On 3rd May 2012 the Turkish parliament debated and then passed an amendment to the land buying laws here in Turkey. The new amendment isn’t in effect yet, it still needs to be signed and then published in the official gazette but I received an…

The Old Koy Laws – village guards, stinky fruit and be careful where you put that graveyard.

Traditional food, stunning views – Olive Park Koy Sofrasi, Kusadasi

Restaurants come and go here with surprising regularity as volatile Turkish business partnerships explode, implode, merge and feud, chefs come and go, sky high rents drive businesses into the ground and menu’s get changed to meet the, often incorrectly, perceived desires of international guests. It…

Traditional food, stunning views – Olive Park Koy Sofrasi, Kusadasi

A new kitchen for the studio

My husband had this thing about designing houses, he wanted them to have “value added” and be, as far as possible, “future proof”; in other words whatever we designed had to be more than ordinary and preferably capable of generating income and it had to…

A new kitchen for the studio

Optimum Outlet Mall, Gaziemir – worth it for the macaroons

One thing Izmir is not short of these days is shopping centres. From the open air Forum Bornova to the huge Agora down on the bay and the sprawling malls of Karsiyaka. They are all teeming at weekends as families take to hobby shopping like…

Optimum Outlet Mall, Gaziemir – worth it for the macaroons

More campaigns than Napoleon – Phones and Internet in Turkey

The whole phone/internet/data package for your mobile can get a bit confusing here, not helped by the fact that the big communication companies have more special offer campaigns going than you can shake a stick at – when I last looked there were 19 different…

More campaigns than Napoleon – Phones and Internet in Turkey

Sunday Drives – Alacati, Illica and Karaburun

It was sunny (bloody hell!) and the temperature was due to reach 20 degrees (about time!) and we’d been working hard all week (honestly!) so we decided to take a drive up the Cesme peninsula, continuing our endless quest to find a bit of Turkey…

Sunday Drives – Alacati, Illica and Karaburun

Buying Village Houses – househunting in Turkey off the beaten track

If you are interested in living in a village in Turkey and in owning an income generating property please see our house for sale at Kirazli Village House for sale This rare stone villa is an established and lovingly maintained home having been lived in…

Buying Village Houses – househunting in Turkey off the beaten track

The back roads of Turkey

I may have mentioned this is the worst winter I have ever known here, but one pleasant side effect of that is the scenery is even more spectacular and dramatic than usual. There is something so enticing about back roads, about the thin ribbons that…

The back roads of Turkey

House Hunting

Sometimes people write asking me about moving to Turkey and along with pretty much everyone else who cares to venture an opinion I normally tell them to rent first. I was quietly painting the courtyard wall the other day, enjoying the sunshine and happy in…

House Hunting

It’s a blokey bike thing

You know the classic Bat out of Hell album cover, beautifully designed by Richard Corben (geek alert sounds), where the motorbike bursts out of the ground with some long haired (yuck) Adonis astride it? Yes? Well, in my experience, said Adonis will have spent two…

It’s a blokey bike thing

The Worst Winter

This is my seventh winter in Turkey and it is the worst I remember. The old ladies in the village say it is the worst in living memory – and then sneak up on you with a snowball. When the electric storms aren’t having tantrums…

The Worst Winter

Owning a vehicle in Turkey

November was all about banks and money, December was all about vehicles as Nick finally got himself a suitable motorbike after a three year search. As a result the next few posts are about vehicles in Turkey. After all these years in Turkey I still…

Owning a vehicle in Turkey

Custard Tart with Cranberries

Thursday was market day in Fishguard when I was a child and my Gran would buy us custard tarts from the brilliant bakery stall; individual ones, with thick sweet pastry and a creamy wobbly filling of vanilla and nutmeg spiced custard. We weren’t allowed sweets…

Custard Tart with Cranberries

That was the year that was – 2011

Another Turkish year has passed in Kirazli village – very quickly – and here is a roundup of pictures from my Turkish Yearbook for 2011. January – A frothy start A slight mishap in January with the pool chemicals and the waterfall meant new year…

That was the year that was – 2011

Frequently Asked Questions – Banking in Turkey

Following on from the previous post here is a quick FAQ on banks in Turkey. Who can open a bank account in Turkey? Basically, anyone who has a Turkish Tax Number can open an account. A tax number is quickly obtained from the local tax…

Frequently Asked Questions – Banking in Turkey

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