Turkish Cuisine is one of the three main cuisines of the world
together with French and Chinese. Turkish cuisine, like its
cultural mosaic, is very colorful and contains countless
different tastes. This land, which first hosted Byzantine then
Ottoman Empires, does not have a mutual food culture.
Different tastes in every region contribute to the complexity of
Turkish cuisine. For example, due to heavy rains, the eastern
black sea region is not appropriate for wheat production;
therefore they specialized in dishes which rely mostly on corn
and corn flour. The Southeast Anatolian region is famous for
Kebaps, as a result of its abundant livestock. The Aegean
region, known for its olive production, is famous for its
delicious olive oiled vegetables and herbs while pastries are
the monopoly of Thrace. Istanbul cuisine combines the most
delicious flavors of each region.
This section will provide you with the best recipes for homemade
Turkish dishes and introduce you to the restaurants famous for
their Turkish cuisine. Though restaurants specializing in
Turkish cuisine in Istanbul and Ankara are listed in our Yellow
Pages, this section will feature a different restaurant each
month.
Now we wish to mention two useful idioms that should not be
forgotten: First, as most of you know, before eating it is
common to say Afiyet Olsun which essentially is the same
as saying Bon Apetit, secondly, to complement the chef, it is
polite and customary to say Elinize Sağlık which means "health
to your hands", but is interpreted as meaning "very delicious,
well done".
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