• General Information
• Turkish Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Drinks
• Turkish Delight
• Tipping

Turkish cuisine is accepted as one of the three famous kitchen of the world. Its richness with its unique kitchen tools and equipment besides its exceptionally rich meal variety, cooking methods and dining and service order makes Turkish cuisine valuable.

Turkish cuisine, which has developed and enriched through its splendid products, reflecting the traces of different traditions and customs of various civilizations such as Hittite, Persian, Byzantium and Mediterranean dominant in Anatolian Region, constitutes another dimension of Turkish national culture. Early historical documents show that the basic structure of the Turkish Cuisine was already established during the Nomadic Period and in the first settled Turkish States of Asia. Culinary attitudes towards meat, dairy, vegetables and grains that characterized this early period still make up the core of Turkish Cuisine.

Anatolia is a Region coined as the "bread basket of the world." Turkey, even now, is one of the seven countries in the world which produces enough food to feed everyone and then some to export. The Turkish landscape encompasses such a wide variety of geographic zones, that for every two to four hours of driving, you will find yourself in a different zone with all the accompanying changes in scenery, temperature, altitude, humidity, vegetation and weather conditions. The Turkish landscape has the combined characteristics of the three old continents of the world: Europe, Africa, and Asia, and an ecological diversity surpassing any other place along the 40th latitude. Thus, the diversity of the Cuisine has come to reflect that of the landscape and its regional variations.

A traditional dinner begins with meze dishes (appetizers), a dazzling variety of cold and hot treasures, ranging from salads to savory melons.Many Turks make a meal out of these appetizers. Vegetables cooked in olive oil and served cold, make up a large category of meze dishes, such as stuffed-green peppers, tomatoes, grape-vine leaves and mussels.

Other salads are also available, such as: coban (shepherd's salad), piyaz (white beans) and karisik tursu (mixed pickles). Diners at traditional Turkish food restaurants should sample the more complicated imam bayildi (literally the priest fainted), a whole eggplant stuffed with onions, tomatoes and swimming in a sweetish olive oil dressing which is often eaten as a main dish.

The main meat dish can be a mixed grill combining bonfile (Turkish T-bone steak), pirzola (lamb chops), ciger (liver) and bobrek (kidneys), served with pilav or sis kebab, made from chunks of lamb.In Adana, the fiery hot mixture of ground meat grilled on a skewer called, Adana kebab is a must. If a less spicy version is desired, Urfa kebab is also popular. Iskender kebab, named after its creator, the Iskenderoglu family in Bursa, is another Turkish specialty of layered pide bread, slices of doner, spicy tomato sauce, yogurt and burnt butter. Many kebab dishes are cooked in the oven (firin), such as kuzu tandir, leg of lamb cooked slowly until it falls apart and kagit kebab, a lamb stew cooked inside a paper package fragrant with thyme, onions and garlic.

Sweet pastries, such as baklava, bulbul yuvasi (nightingale's nest) and sutlac, a kind of rice pudding, make up the bulk of desserts. Some patrons prefer juicy fresh fruit like water melons, cantaloupes, oranges and tangerines to the fattening sweets.

Dinner is topped off by Turkish coffee, which is served one of three ways: sade (unsweetened), orta (medium sugar) or sekerli (extra sweet).

Turkish Raki
Raki is the most popular alcoholic drink of Turkey. Meze dishes are typically consumed with the milky-looking drink, the national alcoholic beverage, flavored with anise, and served with water and ice. It has a transparent view like water, and it turns white as water or ice is added...That's why it is called the Lion's Milk. "Raki" is served cold in narrow cylindrical glasses. . It goes particularly well with mezes (hors d'oeuvres), among which the simplest and most popular are white cheese and melon. However, it may also be taken as an aperitif.

Turkey boasts three locally brewed beers as well; Efes, Tuborg and Tekel. Turkish wines are also popular. Try the brands Kavaklidere, produced in the vineyards of Ankara, and Doluca, turned out in the town of Murefte, Turkey's leading wine producing center near Tekirdag along the Sea of Marmara.

Non-alcoholic drinks
Soft drinks include the usual range of Coca Cola, Pepsi, clear lemon-flavored soft drinks like Seven-Up, orange soda, and others. Shops and restaurants sign exclusive distribution contracts with one company or the other, so you will find either Coca Cola or Pepsi, but never both. Turks just order cola and take what comes.
If you want unflavored fizzy water, ask for soda. Fizzy mineral water is maden suyu (naturally carbonated) and maden sodasi (artificially carbonated).
Fruit juice is favorite refreshment and can be excellent. These are usually available in paper containers. The best fruit juices tend to come in glass bottles and may be so thick that you will want to dilute them with spring water.
Other traditional drinks include ayran (yogurt and water mixed), which is refreshing and healthy and available in most restaurants and food and drink shops.

Turkish Tea
It is one of the most popular beverages in Turkey. The tea is served in thin glasses in order to show the color of the tea distinctly. Well - made Turkish tea should be crystal clear and of a deep mahogany - red hue.

Turkish Coffee
Coffee has played an important role in Turkish culture from the Ottoman period through the present. The serving and consumption of coffee has had a profound effect on political and social interaction, gender customs, and hospitality customs throughout the centuries. Although many of the rituals perished in time coffee has remained an integral part of Turkish culture.

Please pay attention to the following
In Istanbul the tap water is not drinkable, You can buy water to drink from shops in plastic or glass bottles.

At restaurants in cheaper places (generally used for lunch), tipping is not necessary, though some people do leave a few coins in the change plate. In more expensive restaurants, tipping is a must. Some places will automatically add a service charge of 10-15 % to your bill. But traditionally, it will be better for you to leave 10 % on the table for the waiter.