It will take a lifetime to taste the finest foods of Turkey. Turkish cuisine ranks among the best three in the world, the other two being French and Cantonese. Based on the heritage of the vast Ottoman Empire, which extended from the gates of Vienna in the northwest to the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, Turkish cuisine is extremely rich. Turks favor the spicy kebabs of Adana, the tender lamb dishes of Central Asia, the steaks of Western Europe and the delightful appetizers, soups and vegetable dishes of the Aegean and Mediterranean, along with the sweet pastries of the Ottoman court, topped with a small cup of strong Turkish coffee.
Scores of wonderful seaside fish restaurants in Istanbul, Izmir, and along the Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts offer the best there is of sea food.

Kalkan (turbot), lufer (blue fish), barbunya (gray mullet) are some of main fresh fish caught in Turkey, which is surrounded on three sides by water. Meze specialities such as fried kalamar (baby squid), and midye tava (fried mussels) or midye plaki (stewed mussels served in olive oil) are also favorites dishes of Turks.

Turkish Breakfast
A typical Turkish breakfast consists of slices of beyaz peynir (white cheese), honey or jam, black olives, boiled eggs and piles of fresh Turkish bread which resemble crusty Italian loaves. More elaborate breakfasts include fresh fruit, vegetables, yogurt, accompanied by honey and jam, pastries called pogaca and various kinds of cheese borek (layered pastry leaves cooked in the oven).

Invariably, Turkish black tea, brewed until intensely strong and bitter and diluted with water, and drunk from small tulip-shaped glasses is served at breakfast and throughout the day.

Lunch
The most popular lunch time meal in Turkey is the doner kebab; layered lamb, ground beef and spices roasted on a vertical spit and served thinly-sliced over rice or in a roll with tomatoes, hot peppers and French fries. Pilic Sis, chicken cooked on skewer over a coal fire is especially tasty.

Generally, lunchtime restaurants in Turkey specialize in one kind of dish or cooking technique.

For example, kebab houses serve all sorts of grilled or baked meat dishes. The pideci, another specialty restaurant, serve freshly baked thick flat bread piled high with toppings such as cheese and eggs, sucuk (a spicy salami) or a mixture of the day's offerings. They also offer another favorite noontime snack, lahmacun (a type of Turkish pizza, topped with ground lamb, onions, spices) and served with ice cold frothy ayran, a drink of beaten yogurt, spring water and a pinch of salt.

Dinner
A traditional dinner begins with meze dishes (appetizers), a dazzling variety of cold and hot treasures, ranging from salads to savory melons.

Many Turks make a meal out of these appetizers. Vegetables cooked in olive oil and served cold, make up a large category of meze dishes, such as stuffed-green peppers, tomatoes, grape-vine leaves and mussels. The vegetables or shells come bursting with a mixture of rice, pine nuts, currants, and spices. Small lamb's brains served cold with lemon slices on lettuce are greatly sought after by Turks. There are also a variety of spreads for bread including ezme (a fiery hot tomato and onion paste), haydari (a thick garlicky yogurt dip), and cacik, a thinner version with slices of cucumber, olive oil, and parsley, often served like a soup.

Other salads are also available, such as: coban (shepherd's salad), piyaz (white beans) and karisik tursu (mixed pickles). Diners at traditional Turkish food restaurants should sample the more complicated imam bayildi (literally the priest fainted), a whole eggplant stuffed with onions, tomatoes and swimming in a sweetish olive oil dressing which is often eaten as a main dish.

The main meat dish can be a mixed grill combining bonfile (Turkish T-bone steak), pirzola (lamb chops), ciger (liver) and bobrek (kidneys), served with pilav or sis kebab, made from chunks of lamb.

In Adana, the fiery hot mixture of ground meat grilled on a skewer called, Adana kebab is a must. If a less spicy version is desired, Urfa kebab is also popular. Iskender kebab, named after its creator, the Iskenderoglu family in Bursa, is another Turkish specialty of layered pide bread, slices of doner, spicy tomato sauce, yogurt and burnt butter. Many kebab dishes are cooked in the oven (firin), such as kuzu tandir, leg of lamb cooked slowly until it falls apart and kagit kebab, a lamb stew cooked inside a paper package fragrant with thyme, onions and garlic.

Sweet pastries, such as baklava, bulbul yuvasi (nightingale's nest) and sutlac, a kind of rice pudding, make up the bulk of desserts. Some patrons prefer juicy fresh fruit like water melons, cantaloupes, oranges and tangerines to the fattening sweets.

Dinner is topped off by Turkish coffee, which surprisingly, comes from either the Yemen or Brazil, and not from Turkey. Coffee is served one of three ways: sade (unsweetened), orta (medium sugar) or sekerli (extra sweet).

International Cuisine
You can easily find all types of international cuisine in Istanbul. To decide which cuisine you prefer, you can use the quick search on the restaurant page. Prices, features, addresses, telephone numbers, and credit card usage opportunities of the restaurants are listed systematically.

Beverages
Alcoholic drinks
Raki is the most popular alcoholic drink of Turkey. Meze dishes are typically consumed with the milky-looking drink, the national alcoholic beverage, flavored with anise, and served with water and ice.

Turkey boasts three locally brewed beers as well; Efes, Tuborg and Tekel.

Turkish wines are also popular. Try the brands Kavaklidere, produced in the vineyards of Ankara, and Doluca, turned out in the town of Murefte, Turkey's leading wine producing center near Tekirdag along the Sea of Marmara.

Non-alcoholic drinks
Soft drinks include the usual range of Coca Cola, Pepsi, clear lemon-flavored soft drinks like Seven-Up, orange soda, and others. Shops and restaurants sign exclusive distribution contracts with one company or the other, so you will find either Coca Cola or Pepsi, but never both. Turks just order cola and take what comes.

If you want unflavored fizzy water, ask for soda. Fizzy mineral water is maden suyu (naturally carbonated) and maden sodasi (artificially carbonated).

Fruit juice is a favorite refreshment and can be excellent. These are usually available in paper containers. The best fruit juices tend to come in glass bottles and may be so thick that you will want to dilute them with spring water.

Other traditional drinks include ayran (yogurt and water mixed), which is refreshing and healthy and available in most restaurants and food and drink shops.

Please pay attention to the following:
In Istanbul the tap water is not drinkable, You can buy water to drink from shops in plastic or glass bottles.

Tipping
At restaurants in cheaper places, tipping is not necessary, though some people do leave a few coins in the change plate. In more expensive restaurants, tipping is more usual. Some places will automatically add a service charge of 10-15 % to your bill. But traditionally, it will be better for you leave 5-10 % on the table for the waiter.

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