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Two days out of Istanbul, we arrived at Osmaneli – a small town at the bottom of a tough climb up to the city of Bilecik – where we stopped to replenish our energy with lunch. Whilst looking for a restaurant in town (most of which were closed for Ramadan) we were accosted by Ozan, who had seen us whilst having a shave at the barbers, and run across the street to invite us in for refreshments at his family’s mini-market.
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We accepted his kind offer, as we were tired of pushing the bike around looking for somewhere to eat. Within minutes we had in front of us cold drinks, two Turkish pizzas (called ‘pide’) which were ordered and delivered to the shop. This was followed by tea, brewed by the shop owner’s mother who lived in the flat upstairs – however the tea turned out to be a huge kettle accompanied with a big tray of helva, olives, tomatoes, jams and bread! She also complained that we should have phoned ahead as she was rather unprepared for guests!
They would accept no payment for any of the food and insisted that Nic (or ‘eniste’ as they liked to refer to him – a fond name often adopted by Turks for the other halves of Turkish women) should have a full Turkish shave and massage in the barbers next door!
So thoroughly fed, watered, pampered, and shaved, we realised it was now too late to attempt the big climb ahead of us and asked about hotels in the vicinity. Hearing this Ozan kindly insisted that we stay at his family’s two storey house in town and would not take no for an answer! So we were whisked off to the Efir family house where we had time to freshen up before the big family Ramadan meal at sunset. We managed to sneak out just before dinner to buy a box of baklava – our own contribution to the dinner table and a thank you for the family’s generosity and hospitality.
The meal was absolutely fantastic – in fact it was a veritable feast! Having eaten at restaurants for the last 2.5 months we gobbled up the lovely home cooked dishes and Turkish specialities on the table. It was market day in town so the mother had bought a lot of fresh produce and prepared a meal with lots of different courses. We only hope that they didn’t think we were greedy as we ate rather a lot!!
Having slept like babies after this amazing feast, the next morning we joined the family at the breakfast table. It was a typical Turkish breakfast with bread, cheese, olives, home made jam, sausages, and eggs – just what we needed before getting back on the road! We were overwhelmed by their generosity and friendliness – they not only looked after us for almost a day, but also insisted on giving us two neck-pouches to carry our valuables, camera, ipod etc. during the day whilst we cycle (just the thing we have been looking for for weeks in fact!).
Once again a big thank you to the Efir family, with whom we hope to keep in touch!
