Yesterday I visited the weekly outdoor bazaar (pazar in Turkish) a couple of streets from home. The bazaar (like weekly bazaars all over Turkey) largely consists of fruit and vegetable sellers with the odd clothing, spice or accessory vendor.

Over the past month, with the changing of the seasons from spring to summer (the weather is still spring weather 🙂 the bazaar offerings have changed substantially, largely for the better.

*Cherries have arrived. Yesterday I bought my first for the season. They are delicious but not yet perfect.

*The first apricots, peaches, ripe plums (not the unripe green ones so popular here), melons and mulberries have also entered the market. I haven’t bought any of these fruits yet as I am waiting for the quality to improve.

*The new season’s onion and potatoes are in. The onions are very sweet.

*1 week ago I witnessed and bought my first ever ‘capsicums’ as grown in Australia!!!

The usual capsicums (red peppers) in Turkey are not as sweet or juicy as the Australian ones. There weren’t any ‘Australian’ capsicums there yesterday.

*The other capsicums as well as the chillies and tomatoes have come into season and their taste is better than those bought into the winter.

*Fresh chickpeas sold on the bush were for sale. I had never seen or tasted them before. Their flavour is kind of nutty but nice. I guess they will soon leave the bazaar as the chickpea crop matures.

*The strawberries have peaked. I went to Silifke on the weekend and bought some from the side of the road – fantastic!

This is only my second Turkish month of May. I have little previous experience of the joy of the Turkish spring fruit and vegetables. In contrast, the upcoming summer is my fourth in Turkey!