Gazoz! Before Coca Cola ruled the world and hacked Turkey, most of the cities in Turkey had their own soda pop brands. Mostly vanilla, some has orange, mandarin, cherry flavors as well. Like local Schweppes. All in glass, 200ml or 250ml bottles.
I came across this one at Safranbolu, Kastamonu. Bağlar Gazoz. Vanilla taste fulls in your mouth on your sip, leaving you with the your childhood memories… Running to bakkal – the tiny market sells it all in the neighbourhood- after playing hopscotch, marble or hide and seek, pocket full of jingling sounds, covered in soil like Pig-Pen…. You throw all your money on the counter and yelling out for a bottle of soda pop. Bakkal amca, opens the bottle for you with the oldest opener imaginable, shushes you up and reminds you to bring the empty bottle back!
Memories… All locked in a bottle of soda pop, when we used to play on the streets, ride our bikes as the coolest gang, climbing trees like chipmunks…
