Adana: Ladies Handicraft Bazaar
When you come to Adana, you absolutely must experience a bazaar. In essence, a bazaar is a marketplace with multiple stalls and vendors. They are often open air, like the one I had the opportunity of visiting. I accompanied some friends to a women's bazaar in Adana. All of the vendors and shopkeepers there are women, hence why it is referred to as a women’s bazaar. The bazaar was active and full of so many sounds and smells. One half of the bazaar was full of women cooking yummy food, while the other half was full of beautiful homemade crafts. There were at least 50 different food options to choose from, as well as a variety of other small handicrafts and art pieces.
This bazaar has been up and running every Wednesday for several years now. The city allows women to set up shop for free, as long as they bring their own tables. One woman we spoke to said that her husband brought her things at 5 AM to set up.
The bazaar gives women a great opportunity to make money for themselves and their families. Women come from all over the city to set up booths of all kinds. This bazaar is also a hub of activity for the surrounding community. It often gets very busy around lunchtime, as workers from surrounding areas come to get some homemade food for lunch.
Speaking of yummy food, Becca and I had the opportunity to try a food called sıkma. In essence, this food is a tortilla type pastry, rolled up and filled with a variety of ingredients. We tried one with a potato type mixture, one with a spinach and onion mixture, and one with white cheese. My personal favorite was the potato sıkma, while Becca really liked the spinach sıkma. The sıkmas were incredibly fresh– we got to watch a woman make them right in front of us. They were a warm, delectable treat for our trip to the market. It is also a unique food to this area of Turkey. If you are in Adana, you absolutely must try one of these!
Overall, the woman’s bazaar was a phenomenal experience! There was so much to see and take in. I would definitely recommend giving it a visit next time you find yourself in Adana!
To our friends in the West, keep looking East!
Sydney Sawyer
Sydney Sawyer is a joy all-around! Although she grew up moving all over the states, she claims Huntsville, Alabama as home. She left Rocket City to study accounting at Mississippi College, which consists of lots of running, studying, and goofing off with her friends. Although Syd has only taken two accounting classes, she’s often given the label “beloved resident accountant and human calculator.” Some of Syd’s favorite things include hiking moderately-sized mountains, reading an obscene number of books, and blaring music in her car that is lovingly referred to as “Ethel.” Being Syd’s friend comes along with watching lots of documentaries, eating fajitas every other night, and giggling over the silliest of things. To know her is to love her!