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FOOD

Turksh cuisine has been classfied with those of France and China among the innovative delights of the culinary world.Opinions on eating,however,and the comparati excellence of dishes can be very personal to a diner,whose health,weight and susceptibility to ulcers might well inflıence his or her assessment of quality.Others,enflamed by environmental or ecological convictions,might consider a bowl of porridge a banquet compared to a veal cutlet cooked rare on a French grill,bird,s-nest soup or braised dog---what ever the Chinese cll this domestic animal---or the raw liver served in an Arab restaurant(which is not a Turkish way of presentation since a Turkish chef will spice his liver and fry it with onions,or he will dice it and serve it well seasoned as a salad with olive oil.)

Since Turkish cooking originated in the Central Asian plains and the mountainous Altai, in a pastoral and nomadic setting, lamb is preferred to beef as a staple of meat dishes. Lamb is spitted, stewed, grilled in kebabs or minced kofte (meatballs or rissoles) ; mutton is roasted or casseroled. Beef is served as steak, less often roasted, or as doner kebap,spiced and compacted into a huge inverted cone and turned on a verticle rotating grill, from which fine slices are carved. There are regional variations in the way in which doner and other kebabs are prepared and served. Stuffed vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, vine leaves, aubergine, marrow, pumpkin and squash (courgettes ); stuffed mussels and shelled mussels dipped in batter, deep-fried and served with a garlic sauce; chicken boned and spiced  ( Chicken Kiev ) and chicken cooked in a Circassian way with walnut sauce; a variety of pilav dishes--- all very simple to explatin, and nothing out of the ordinary, many might say. But it is far from simple to describe the taste that expert hands and the professional mind of a dedicated chef can concoct. Those who have traveled in Greece might brush off any special claim made on behalf of such dishes, assessing them as mediocre on palate and low in satisfaction, which could be true of Greece but is an error where it is neighbours kitchen is concerned. The difference is not so much one of temperament as of obeisance to culinary art and care in preparation and  presentation, as well as willingness to please the diner.

As an alternative to meat kebabs try pieces of swordfish grilled o a skewer interspersed with peppers and onions. There are fish of all varieties, particularly from the Black Sea, perhaps seeking their escape to an illusory freedom by way of the Bosphorus . Fish , large or small , for grilling, frying,or baking on a brick or tile, can be chosen alive from the restaurant is tank in an inland city such as Ankara, where sea bass are flown in and trout are caught from nearby mountain streams.

The danger is for the weight – watcher, the traveler on a diet who cannot avoid the overpowering temptation of honeyed sweetmeats, the baklava, a tiny yuvasi ( nightingale is nest, a variety of baklava ) tel kadayif ( shredded wheat subjected to a similar process of preparation ) kabak tatlisi ( baked pumpkin served with pounte walnuts) and walnuts in strained yoghurt and served with have tasted this sweet , or pudding as it is sometimes translated, prior their arrival but will  discover in what variety in can be enjoyed. It has to be confessed, though, that with the development of international tourism the variety of dishes in tourist centers is becoming minimal.

DRINK

  Turkey has a large wine-producing industry, based on domestic strains of vine and on recognized imported ones from France. Currently on offer are over 52 varieties of red wine, 50 varieties of white,16 rose and eight sparkling wines of the red, the wines of Ataturk Orman Ciftligi can be recommended : Ankara, Ankara Altini, Boga Kani, and Kilis ; of Doluca Bagcilik ve Sarapilik: Villa Doluca ,Doluca Antik , Doluca; of Tekel : Buzbag, Buzbag (Madalyali ) , Guzel Marmara, Hosbag, Trakya ; of Kavaklidere Saraplari ; Yakat, Kavaklidere Eski Dikmen. In light wines Ankara  and Ankara Altini have white white versions; Tekel has Barboros and a white Guzel Marmara , Narbag and Trakya ; Doluca has white versions of Doluca Doluca, Doluca Antik and Doluca ; Kavaklidere has it is Cankaya and Kavak. Among the rose there are Aral Aral (Aral sarap Ltd ) Bortacina ( Yigitler sarap Islt ) Dona Villa ( Mutuk sarap San Ltd ) and Truva   ( Talay  saraplari ) ; the other companies mentioned above all hve their rose wines. Among the sparkling wines, Altin Kopuk is a Kavaklidere champagne. This is only a selected list, and and other labels you might come across in major cities and towns or outside of tehn are not to be exculuded from palatability.

Not all Turksih restaurant serve wine or alcoholic drinks, and those that do add an extra 15 percent on to the bill. There fore if you like to drink with your meal, make  sure the service is offered before taking a table.

Bottled drinking water is a Turkish industry almost as major as wine production. Citizens who have acquired a palate for the water of a particular spring will travel distances to obtain a magnum of it and initerrant vendors with their carts or motorized transport circulate with giant jars of water from one natural spring or another. Many Turks are as expert in their connoisseurship of water of water as a taster of vintage wines. Claims are made for the medicinal effectiveness of some bottled waters—for stomach or kidney disorders –such as Circir from Sariyer on the Bosphorus which is also a location of other springs.There is recommended water from Alemdag, Beykoz nd Buyukdere. Maden Suyu is a palatable bottled mineral water that is stocked by most restaurant and there is  a Maden Sodasi too which is good as a mixer. Of many labeled products Kizilay from Afyon Karahisar is highly recommended.