Ted. Judy and I do not know many people who have visited Turkey. Most of the folks who have been here have come more than once. When we ask what they like about Turkey, the most common response is “The food!” Frankly, the only Turkish food I ever remember eating is a doner kebab in Germany so this was a new experience.
We have found that Turkish people love fresh fruits and vegetables and a variety of salads, especially featuring cucumbers and tomatoes. Our vegetarian buddy, Ben loved that. Dinner is usually preceded by a variety of mezes (tapas) which can be cold or hot. They will eat anything cooked on a grill. We've had wonderful seafood including the most tender calamari I've ever eaten. The Turks enjoy many forms of bread (leavened and unleavened). I do, too, so the first word I learned was ekmek.
And oh, do they love sweets.
Sadly for the locals, the local currency has plummeted in recent months. The upside for us is that we could typically afford to eat lunch (our main meal of the day) in a restaurant. This way, we have explored a variety of dishes and it usually costs around $10 for two. That’s with tax and tip but excluding alcohol. Our limited knowledge of Turkish led us to visit lots of restaurants with photographs on the menus. Still, that didn’t stop us from experimenting (the grilled lamb kidneys were great!). Here are snapshots of a few of the dishes. You can find recipes on the internet if interested.
 |
Adana kebap (Spiced meat grilled on a sword)
|
 |
| Börek (stuffed phyllo pastry) |
 |
| Gösleme (stuffed crepes) with tea |
 |
| Kulakli Corba (dumpling soup with extra spices) |
 |
| Lamb kebap |
 |
| Tahinli piyaz (cold bean soup with tahini) |
 |
| Yeast rolls for breakfast |
 |
| Our neighborhood baklavaleri (baklava shop) |
For me, two lasting memories of this fascinating country will be the kindness of the people and the great food.
No comments:
Post a Comment