Ministry of culture and Tourism

Turkey on a plate

Think Turkey , think kebabs, think again.'Do not dismiss the dish saying that it is just, simply food. The blessed thing is an entire civilization in itself' Abdulhak Pinasi neatly sums up the attitude towards food in Turkey . Their cuisine sits comfortably among the world's finest, and as it's found at one end of the Silk Road it's diverse, and should appeal to most palettes. It starts with the ingredients - they're fresh, a tomato will taste of tomato. Eating is a leisurely process and a restaurant table is usually yours for the night, this takes some getting used to - but it's worth the effort.

We know about kebabs, but here they're elevated to an art form, grilled over hot coals and drenched in sauce (try the Iskender kebab, served on flatbread with hot tomato and yoghurt sauces). Often unwisely overlooked are meze - a number of small dishes and similar to Spanish tapas. Typical meze include an almost infinite variety of aubergine and bean salads as well as fish and deep-fried calamari, all used as an excuse to put the world to rights over a bottle of Raki (an aniseed spirit, known locally as aslan sut.the lion's milk). Rarely is there any space left for desert, but you've got to try.it is the home of baklava after all (don't worry about Turkish delight as most locals won't touch the stuff).

There are also some things that the more delicate stomach would be wise to avoid, highlights including kellepaca corba - 'trouser leg' soup, iskembe (tripe), beyin salata (brain salad) koc yamurta (ram's "eggs") .need I continue? This site will steer you between the pitfalls and the highlights, and give you some interesting tips on Turkish etiquette.

www.kultur.gov.tr

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