11. A Nurturing Environment
Early
historical documents show that the basic structure of Turkish cuisine was
,already established during the Nomadic Period and in the first settled
Turkish States of Asia. Culinary attitudes towards meat, dairy products,
vegetables and grains that characterized this early period still make up
the core of Turkish thinking. 
Early
Turks cultivated wheat and used it liberally), in several types of leavened
and unleavened breads either baked in clay ovens, fried on a griddle, or
buried in embers. "Manti", (dumpling), and "Bugra," (the ancestor of "börek,"
or filled pastries, named for Bugra Khan of Türkestan) were already
among the much-coveted dishes of this time. Stuffing not only the pastry,
but also all kinds of vegetables was common practice, and still is, as
evidenced bv dozens of different types of "dolma". Skewering meat as well
as other ways of grilling, later known to us as varieties of "kebab," and
dairy products, such as cheeses and yogurt, were convenient staples of
the pastoral Turks. They introduced these attitudes and practices to Anatolia
in the 11th century. In return they met rice, the fruits and vegetables
native to the region, and hundreds of varieties of fish in the three seas
surrounding the Anatolian Peninsula. These new and wonderful ingredients
were assimilated into the basic cuisine in the millennium that followed.
Anatolia
is the region known 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 its own populace and still his plenty 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 amid
all the accompanying changes in scenery, temperature, altitude, humidity,
vegetation and weather. The Turkish landscape has the combined characteristics
of the three oldest continents of the world (Europe, Africa, and Asia)
and an ecological diversity surpassing any other country along the 40th
latitude. Thus, the diversity of the cuisine has taken on that of the landscape
with its regional variations. 
In
the eastern region, you will encounter rugged, snow-capped mountains where
the winters are long and cold, along with the highlands where the spring
season with its rich wild flowers and rushing creeks extends into the long
and cool summer. Livestock farming is prevalent. Butter, yogurt, cheese,
honey, meat and cereals are the local food. Long winters are best endured
with the help of yogurt soup and meatballs flavored with aromatic herbs
found in the mountains, followed by endless servings of tea. The heartland
is dry steppe with rolling hills, and endless stretches of wheat fields
and barren bedrock that take on the most incredible shades of gold, violet,
and cool and warm greys, as the sun travels the sky. Along the trade rotates
were ancient cities with lush cultivated Orchards and gardens. Among these,
Konya, the capital of the Selcuk Empire (the first Turkish State in Anatolia),
distinguished itself as the center of a culture that attracted scholars,
mystics, and poets from all over the world during the 13th century.
