Turkey

Celebrations

29th of October – Independence Day

The Turkish National Day is celebrated with a military parade in Ankara. Otherwise, there are small activities in Istanbul and other cities. In 2021 I accidentally joined one of them and had sooo much fun. People were singing songs and waving flags – very interesting.

Food

Kavalti - Turkish Breakfast

Turkish Breakfast is amazing! It’s definitely one of the best breakfasts I have ever had traveling. I recommend you get a typical breakfast at least once when you are in Turkey (if possible, with a great view even though it will be a little more expensive). Turkish Breakfast is salty and sweet. You will have ekmek (bread) and simit (Turkish round sesame bread), a lot of different types of peynir (cheese), yogurt, and other meze (toppings), as well as sweat dishes like Helva. There are also fresh vegetables, like cucumber, olives, and tomatoes. Another special dish for breakfast is called Menemen and is made from eggs and different sauces/spices. For drinking you will have Turkish tea, called çay.

Pilav

Pilav is a rice dish usually made from rice and some lentils or beans. You can eat them vegetarian (sada pilav) or with different kinds of meat.

Kebab and Köfte

Kebab and Köfte are different kinds of Turkish meat. Kebab is very famous around the world so I guess you know what it is. Köfte are meat balls and they are very tasty.

Dürüm, Gözleme, Pide, Lahmacun

These four are small “snacks”. Dürüm is a flat rolled-up bread with meat and vegetables inside. Gözleme is also a flat rolled-up bread filled with cheese. Pide is actually just a type of bread but it can be found in Turkey as some kind of “pizza” in a square shape. So you can eat it with cheese or salami etc. Lahmacun is also like a Pizza but round usually topped with meat and tomato sauce.

Dolma

Dolma are peppers that are usually they are filled with meat, vegetables, yogurt and sauce. I really like them.

Manti

Manti are filled dumplings with cheese or meat. They can vary in their size, sometimes they are small and sometimes they are big. They are eaten with yogurt.

Soups

Turkish people love soups so there are so many of them. The most famous ones are Yayla (yogurt soup with mint) and mercimek (red lentil soup). They are especially good for winter.

Turkish Sweets

Turkish sweets and they are really tasty! There are different types, for example, Kunefe, Turkish Delight, and Baklava. Try to get some of them at the famous Hafiz Mustafa shops

Ayran

Ayran is a drinkable milk product that Turkish people usually have with food – especially for lunch. At first, I didn’t like it but now I love it.

çay

Turkish people LOVE Turkish Tea, called çay. It is black tea (without milk) and you can add sugar if you want. People drink it the entire day – from morning to evening. I used to drink it with sugar but after some time I got used to the strong taste.