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Scott Westerfeld
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Turkish Delights

December 11th, 2009

Here in Istanbul, researching Book 2 of Leviathan. Busy with travel, but I will say two things:

The place is beautiful (this is the Haggia Sophia) . . .
sophia

. . . and the food is amazing:
FOOD

Click here for more about food from Justine.

36 Responses to “Turkish Delights”

  1. 1
    Paul
    December 11th, 2009 16:52

    From a culinary and photographic point of view, I am extremely jealous!

  2. 2
    Amanda
    December 11th, 2009 17:38

    Hi Scott! I’ve never commented here before, but I couldn’t resist after seeing that plate of food. See, when I was really young (maybe 7?), some neighbors of mine went to Turkey and brought back “candy” which they then gave to me and my sister. I remembered it had a really funny taste that I’d never experienced before. I wasn’t sure if I liked it. Twenty or so years later, I suddenly got a craving for this candy, and started researching Turkish food. Everyone thought maybe it was Turkish Delight, but on seeing/tasting it, I vetoed that. It wasn’t until two years ago that I realized they were apricots (possibly candied, I’m not sure).

    Ironically, I’d been getting dried apricots for my kids for years, but I’d never connected the two ideas in my head. The “candy” I’d had from my neighbors had been far stiffer than the limp dried fruit that I gave to my boys. I’m not a particular fan of dried fruit (probably why the neighbors told me it was candy when I was a kid), but on a flight home from Palestine, they served me a meal with stiff, dried apricots on the side. That’s when I made the connection. I tried one out, and while it didn’t taste quite the same as it did when I was a kid – I wouldn’t expect it to – it did taste close enough to know that it was definitely an apricot of some kind that they’d fed me.

    So…yeah. Seeing your picture above that includes dried apricots (as well as the one on Justine’s page) just adds an extra layer of confirmation for me. And now I’ll go away and stop babbling about my childhood in your comments section. :)

    Amanda

  3. 3
    Suki
    December 11th, 2009 18:33

    Hehehehe. It’s Istanbul, not Constantinople y’know Scott?

    …how did Constantinople get the works? It’s nobody’s business but the Turk’s!

  4. 4
    Ellen
    December 11th, 2009 19:53

    I’m reading Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian right now, and it’s really making me want to see the Hagia Sophia. *is jealous*

  5. 5
    Saira-la
    December 11th, 2009 22:09

    Oh i am so jealous right now I wish I was in turkey it looks so beautiful!!!

    Hope your having Fun ^_^ :P

  6. 6
    Cy
    December 11th, 2009 22:11

    Ooohh, minarets~~ They look so fairyland to me… *__* Lucky you being able to be there and actually see these things in person. Istanbul’s on my looooong list of places to visit someday. Seeing these pics is making me bump it up a few spots. ^^ Please keep posting pics while you’re on your lovely vaca–that is, research trip! ;-)

  7. 7
    Lauren-wa
    December 11th, 2009 23:05

    all I can say is Whoa

  8. 8
    Kelsey-wa
    December 12th, 2009 02:41

    Wow. That looks beautiful. And yes, I’m talking about the food as well as the buildings. And may the research pay off and Behemoth be fabulous!!! (I have no doubts about this happening). And I’m in the same boat as Cy and I want to see all of the amazing pictures. So go ahead and amaze us!!!

  9. 9
    Talie
    December 12th, 2009 03:23

    ooh la la!!

    wish i was there… :)

    good luck with your research!!!

  10. 10
    Jessica-la
    December 12th, 2009 04:06

    W

  11. 11
    Jessica-la
    December 12th, 2009 04:07

    oops I ment to say wow iv never even been out of the US before!!! One day I want to go to Germany thats were all of my dads side of the family are from!!! Have fun Scott-la!!!

  12. 12
    gabfra
    December 12th, 2009 04:16

    wow thats absolutely gorgeous. it looks like a painting from a fairytale.
    and that food looks delish makes me hungry!

  13. 13
    Zane
    December 12th, 2009 05:10

    Mmm. Everything looked so good on Justine’s site. *melts with a sigh* I love exotic foods, especially if it’s spicy. And some of those desserts? Wow, talk about delectable!

    Now I don’t want to eat any boring American food. *pouts* Wish I could travel somewhere fun and eat amazing foods. Guess I’ll have to get rich.

  14. 14
    mirla
    December 12th, 2009 06:48

    Oh, wow! This is beautiful!

  15. 15
    blogstalker
    December 12th, 2009 07:56

    wow crazy architecture … hope to see coolness like this in the pictures of the next book :D

  16. 16
    Team toshi banana
    December 12th, 2009 08:39

    Cool pics! :)

  17. 17
    Julie-wa
    December 12th, 2009 09:16

    honestly, when I hear/see Turkish Delight I think of The Chronicles of Narnia…

  18. 18
    JoJoLindsey
    December 12th, 2009 10:10

    Scott-la you are totally amazing!! :) Can’t wait to read the next book to Leviathian cause it was absolutely amazing i loved it!!

  19. 19
    Tally & Zane
    December 12th, 2009 22:30

    That’s amazing. O_O : D So, we’re reading All Quiet on the Western Front in my English class. (brilliant book, in my opinion) We had a test on the background information a while back, and the teacher asked us when giving us information for notes if anyone knew one of the major causes of WWI. I was like ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE FERDINAND OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I was the only one that knew. Thankyou Scott for Leviathan!!! XD

  20. 20
    Eva-la
    December 13th, 2009 03:33

    that is soooooooooo cool!;D

  21. 21
    Kailey-wa
    December 13th, 2009 10:39

    I read about the Haggia Sophia….but I don’t remember it’s story! Gosh dang it.

  22. 22
    ecem
    December 13th, 2009 21:24

    You really loved my country… Yeah,here is great… There are a lot of historical places. Even my school ( İstanbul Lisesi ) is a historical building. Have fun and come again…=)

  23. 23
    Trish-la
    December 14th, 2009 17:15

    Wheehee… The sights in Istanbul is so beautiful and so rich in history, I would love to return there someday.

    However, I’m not a big fan of the food. Maybe I just don’t happen to like really sweet things, and even though those pastries with pistachio tastes so yummy (I did try them), I felt that the syrup kind of drowned out the delectableness after a while.

  24. 24
    Trish-la
    December 14th, 2009 17:34

    Sorry for double posting, but I just saw from your twitter (I don’t have twitter) that you’re in SG, so I want to tell you Welcome and enjoy your stay here!

  25. 25
    sonia
    December 14th, 2009 23:06

    i’ve always wanted to see the haggia sophia especially because of it’s changing religious history…wow…really
    as for the food – the colours are just inspiring :)

  26. 26
    The OTHER Tally Youngblood (be afraid...)
    December 15th, 2009 00:01

    I LOVe mandrin oranges in a flowery shaped pattern!!! :D

  27. 27
    Faraday
    December 15th, 2009 02:06

    Ooooooh, research for the new book. This is exciting.

  28. 28
    Amy~la
    December 15th, 2009 05:31

    the title of this post reminds me of my school’s play. we did the lion the witch and the wardrobe and could never find or make turkish delight for edmund. we ended up using candy corn.

  29. 29
    Madysen
    December 15th, 2009 18:36

    The Haggia Sophia is absolutely gorgeous! I’ll have to add it to my list of “Places I Must See Before I Die”. :-)

  30. 30
    lizzy-wa101102
    December 26th, 2009 05:15

    i bet that food waz good.lol

  31. 31
    Sami
    December 28th, 2009 22:32

    I. Am. So. Jealous.

  32. 32
    Abby-wa
    December 31st, 2009 08:55

    Gosh, now I want some Turkish food :( And by the way, I do not know how I will survive the second book. That stupid song keeps popping up in my head.

    Istanbul was Constantinople
    Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
    Been a long time gone, Constantinople
    Why did Constantinople get the works
    That’s nobody’s business but the Turks

  33. 33
    Gwyn-la
    January 29th, 2010 02:58

    haggia sophia is totally awesome!!!! also that food looks good…….:-P

  34. 34
    Gwyn-la
    January 29th, 2010 02:59

    also, abby-wa………………..that song is stuck my head too!!!!!!!!!!! i really like they might be giants…………………

  35. 35
    Jon P
    May 10th, 2010 04:58

    Hey Scott.
    I have an old lantern slide of what I believe, now, is the Haggia Sophia. I bought it at a tag sale, and never knew what it was, just that it looked cool.

    I really enjoyed Leviathan, I got for Christmas, on CD. Can’t wait to read the next book.

    -Jon

  36. 36
    Child abuse laws in Philippines
    July 4th, 2011 07:36

    These guys are often dead on their political commentary. They remain as a fresh view. I pray The Young Turks will continue be brave enough to tell it like it is and counter the GOP funded Fox Network propaganda.

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