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Food

Turkey has an excellent cuisine. It can measure itself with other great food cultures in the world. Food is a celebration in Turkey, especially during weddings, religious festivals and other special days. Abundant food is made with most delicious taste. In general food is a social event, from the preparation till the consumption.

It varies from the home cooking like dolma (stuffed peppers/vegetables) and Imam bayildi (the imam (=Muslim priest) has fainted, an eggplant dish) till the fancy restaurants and the stands on every street corner selling kebaps and simit. Every area in Turkey has its own specialties for instance, Adana is famous for its Adana Kebab. Tandur ekmek is the typical bread Kurdish people make in the east. Sanli Urfa is known for its Lahmacun and so are many more examples possible.

Water and Bread is always served with the food. A Turkish stomach won't be filled without a piece of bread accompanying the meal. And of course there is çay - tea! Offered to everybody everywhere at any time of the day, served in the typical Turkish tea glasses. The glass will be immediately filled after you emptied it. When you had enough please put the spoon on top of the glass.

Home cooking and Restaurant food are different in the way what they cook and how they consume it. In the villages and more traditional families, often a table is not used. A cloth is spread on the floor and food is served in several communal plates. Everybody eats from the plates closest to him or her, generally using a spoon and piece of bread to scoop up the food.

The Turkish kitchen requires fresh ingredients. These are easily obtained from the markets seen everywhere. Stands of delicious fresh fruit and vegetables follow each other, one even more colourful then the other. Also the spices and herbs stands are a lust for the eye. As with the food, Every part of Turkey produces its own special fruits and vegetables. Izmir is known for its grapes, Diyarbakir for their huge watermelons, Malatya for its apricots just to mention some.

So by the time you are in Turkey waiting for a delicious meal, the only thing left for us to say is:

Afyet olsun!