Turkish
food combines culinary traditions from the
people’s nomadic past in Central Asia with
influences of the Middle Eastern and
Mediterranean cuisine. Guests are usually able
to go into a kitchen and choose from the pots if
they cannot understand the names of the dishes.
Things to know: Turkey is a secular state and
alcohol is widely enjoyed, although during
Ramadan it is considered polite for visitors to
avoid drinking alcohol in public.
National specialities:
• Meze (starters brought to your table on
trays or chosen from glass-fronted
refrigerators).
• Shish kebab (pieces of meat threaded on a
skewer and grilled).
• Doner
kebab (pieces of lamb packed tightly round a
revolving spit).
• Dolma (vine leaves or vegetables stuffed
with pine nuts and currants).
• Turkish Delight (originally made from dates,
honey, roses and jasmine bound by Arabic gum and
designed to sweeten the breath after coffee).
Pide
is a staple Turkish food and you'll find it all
over the country. In touristy areas it's
advertised as Turkish Pizza but that doesn't
really do it justice. Pide is a long thin banana
shaped bread, rolled with some skill from a
small ball of dough. The bread is then covered
with the topping of your choice and slammed into
a large, solid fuel burning oven for about 10
minutes. The resulting pide is sliced up and
served piping hot. The most common toppings are
listed below. A normal sized pide should cost
about Ł2.
Kasarli(kasharla)
- a simple, yellow cheese topping, vegetarians
can usually get tomatoes and green peppers added
to this if they ask nicely.
Kiymali(kimarla)
- lightly spiced mince lamb and tomato topping
Sucuklu(sujuklu}
- slices of spicy Turkish sausage
Yumurtlu
- egg, usually with a little cheese to keep it
company
Karasik(karashuk}
- all of the above in unpredictable proportions
and scattered at random over the surface of the
bready treat.
Kusbasili(kushbashala}
- literally, birds heads, in reality small
chunks of lamb in a spicy tomato type context
National drinks:
• Raki (anisette), known as ’lion’s
milk’, which clouds when water is added.
Drinking raki is a ritual and is traditionally
accompanied by a variety of meze.
• Ayran (a refreshing yoghurt drink).
• Tea.
• Strong black Turkish coffee.
• Turkish beer, red and white wines.
Legal drinking age: 18.
Turkish coffee tradition & coffee houses
Coffee has always played an essential part in
Turkish lifestyle and culture ever since the
Ottoman Empire. Although apparently you may find
coffee everywhere in the world, its taste in
Turkey is authentic.
Serving coffee has been a tradition here for
ages, acquiring social, political and cultural
values for the consumers, becoming a ritual that
people cannot forget or give up, but only
improve.
The history of Turkish coffee originates in the
16th century when coffee has been brought to
Istanbul by the Syrian traders and it was only
consumed by a small number of people, namely
intellectuals. The fascinating drink gradually
conquered the hearts of the Ottoman rulers
during the next centuries and became part of all
the major ceremonies. Coffee rituals involved
the preparing and the drinking of the magical
beverage and future wives were judged by their
future husbands depending on their skills to
prepare coffee.
Many political and social discussions used to
take place around a cup of coffee. People
socialized with each other over coffee, biscuits
and sweets and a number of coffee houses were
founded to satisfy men’s needs for political
conversation, social interaction and backgammon
games.
Even today, coffee houses are places to meet and
talk being very popular with Turks and their
foreign guests. According to their opinion, the
best Turkish coffee may be found in Istanbul café-restaurants.
There are thousands of coffee houses in Turkey,
usually divided into old and new style. The old
ones stick to all the traditional rules of
serving coffee while the new ones are modern
places to go out with friends.
Let’s make a short insight into the secrets of
Turkish coffee, so much praised by coffee
addicts. It derives from the Arabica beans and
cardamom spice is added to the beans during
grounding. As to the sweetness, Turkish coffee
has several levels of sweetness ranging from
very sweet to bitter black. The majority of
Turks drink coffee with no sugar that is why
spoons are usually not needed when coffee is
served.
According to the rule, the foam is compulsory on
the face of the beverage and the coffee is
served from a special pot called “cezve”.
Though served with less ceremony today, Turkish
coffee is still top of the list when it comes to
Turkish cultural attractions, due to its rich
tradition, good favors and recognition.
Turkish coffee has always been an important
cultural means to unite people. That is why the
Turks usually say: “a cup of coffee with
someone may guarantee years of friendship”.
Do not hesitate to discover the power of Turkish
coffee right here, in Turkey, the land of beauty
and flavors.
Tipping: A service charge is included in
hotel and restaurant bills. It is customary to
leave a small tip (10 to 12%) for barbers,
hairdressers and waiters
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