The lavish and attactive cuisine that is enjoyed in Konya today, With its clay-oven (tandir) (tanduri you know) kebabs, böreks, meet and vegetable dishes and helva (halva) desserts, dates back to the feasts given by Sultan Ala ad Din Keykubat in 1.237 A.D.

Towards the west, one eventually reaches warm fertile walleys between cultivated mountainsides, and the lace-like shores of the Aegean where nature is friendly and life has alwavs been easygoing, Fruits and Vegetables of all kinds are abundant, including, best of all, sea food! Here, olive oil becomes a staple and is used both in hot and cold dishes.

The temperate zone of the Black Sea Coast, to the north, is protected by the high Caucasian Mountains and abounds in hazelnuts, corn and tea. The Black Sea people are fishermen and identity themselves with their ecological companion, the shimmering "hamsi" a small fish similar to the anchovy, There are at least forty different dishes made with hamsi, including desserts! Many poems, anecdotes and foIk dances are inspired by this delicious fish.

The southeastern part of Turkey, is hot and desert-like offering the greatest variety of kebabs and sweet pastries. Dishes here are spicier compared to all other regions, possibly to retard spoilage in hot weather or as the natives say, to equalize the heat inside the body to that outside!

The culinary center of the country is the Marmara Region, including Thrace, with Istanbul as its Queen City. This temperate, fertile religion boasts a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as the most delicately flavored lamb. The variety of fish that travel the Bosphorus surpasses that of other seas. Bolu, a city on the mountains, supplied the greatest cooks for the Sultan's Palace, and even now, the best chef's in the country come From Bolu. Since Istanbul is the epicenter of the cuisine, a survey of the Sultan's kitchen is required to understand it...
 
 

 

Home	Site Map	Contact Us