FOOD & DRINK IN TURKEY Would someone come to Turkey just to eat out? Yes! Turkish food is famous throughout the world, and is considered one of the 3 pre-eminent cuisines alongside French and Chinese. The painstaking preparation of simple but fresh ingredients brings out the richness of their flavours in a way that never fails to delight. The range is enormous, from an array of soups to an astonishing variety of meze (traditional Turkish appetizers), followed by meat and fish dishes.
Turkish olives
All Turkish food is prepared from fresh ingredients, often grown organically or raised free range. All this is seasoned with herbs and spices often found locally - oregano, marjoram, and thyme grow wild in profusion on the hills along the Mediterranean coast. The country produces a wide variety of fruits, nuts, and vegetables, and being surrounded by sea on three sides, the range of fish to be found is considerable.
Alcohol Alcoholic drinks include light Turkish beer, excellent wines, and the national drink, ‘raki’ (a potent anisette), which clouds when water is added giving it the popular name “lion’s milk.” Drinking raki is a pleasurable rite in itself, and is traditionally accompanied by a variety of ‘meze’ (small plates, dips etc). “Efes” and “Tuborg” are the most common local beers.
Lady and Donkey in Turkey
The Turkish wine industry has been making a great deal of progress in recent years. The region was famed in ancient Greek times for the quality of its grapes and wine, and there is now a great profusion of very drinkable Turkish wines on the market.
Juices and water There is a wide selection of fruit juices ‘meyve suyu’ on offer, and through the summer and autumn you can find freshly squeezed orange juice and then pomegranate juice all over the place. Tap water in the major cities is chlorinated and so drinkable, but very good bottled mineral water from Turkey’s mountains is widely sold. Just ask for “sise suyu” (bottled water), pronounced as “she-shey sue-you”. Turks can argue for hours on the respective merits of different mineral waters, or their own local springs.
Local specialities
Turkish ‘çay’ or tea
We highly recommend trying a cool glass of yogurt whipped with water (and sometimes salt) to make a refreshing drink called “ayran” (pronounced ‘I ran).You’ll also be able to supp a cup of Turkish coffee. It was Turkey that first saw the growth of coffee houses, centuries before Starbucks, so try one of these miniature hits of caffeine (no grande/huge lattes here) when you can. Be sure to let the coffee grounds settle, then drink only about half the cup, avoiding the sludge at the bottom.
Turkey has always been known as one of the most energetic and interesting destinations in the world. When travelling in Turkey, it feels like a journey back in time from one legend to another. A visit to the historic city where the Ottoman and Romans once resided will definitely leave you breathless. Adding up to these historic sites and popular turkish thermal baths, Turkey also offers the Turquoise coasts, which have crystal-clear waters of the Mediterranean, sunny beaches, while the Black Sea region have a range of lovely unharmed beaches and fishing villages.
AVERAGE AIR TEMPERATURE IN TURKEY IN DEGREES C
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Antalya
10
11
13
16
20
25
28
28
25
20
15
12
Izmir
9
10
11
16
20
25
28
27
23
18
15
10
Istanbul
5
6
7
12
16
21
23
23
20
16
12
8
Trabzon
6
6
7
11
15
20
22
22
19
15
12
9
Ankara
-0
1
5
11
16
20
23
23
18
13
8
2
Diyarbakir
2
2
8
14
19
26
31
31
25
17
10
4
Erzurum
-9
-7
-3
5
11
15
19
20
15
9
2
-5
AVERAGE SEA TEMPERATURE IN TURKEY IN DEGREES C
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Antalya
17
17
17
18
21
24
27
28
27
25
22
19
Izmir
11
11
12
15
20
24
26
26
24
21
17
13
Istanbul
9
7
8
11
15
20
23
23
21
17
14
11
Trabzon
10
9
9
10
14
20
24
25
24
20
16
13
Altinkum has an excellent reputation for its food, with many
restaurants catering for both Turkish and English tastes. The fact that
Altinkum is very much a resort for Turkish holidaymakers as well as
westerners guarantees that genuine Turkish cuisine is in plentiful,
value for money, supply..
Grilled meats and salads, hot and cold mezzes, pides and lahmacuns served piping hot straight out of the clay oven, traditional dondurma (ice cream), lamb and chicken based casseroles such is the tantalising array of Turkish dishes. Eat them with the local wine, or even better with raki,
the national aniseed based alcoholic drink similar to French pastis or
Greek ouzo – by the end of such a meal you will certainly be in your
holiday mood.
And
if you find yourself yearning for a traditional roast dinner come
Sunday, then some of the restaurants here do one which is better than
the offering in many English pubs!!
If you are a fan of doner kebabs
after a tipple or two, then the taste of a proper one here in Turkey
will make you wonder what you’ve been chomping on all these years. Your
true doner will taste infinitely better. Head up to Didim main town and go to one of the local lokantes. We can guarantee you will be coming back year after year just for one of these doners.
If you head out of Altinkum in a hire car, check out some of the roadside restaurants.
What they lack in interior design, they more than make up for in taste
and quality. Look out for çöp şiş – mini lamb or beef kebabs barbecued
fresh over an open charcoal grill and served with grilled onions and
tomatoes, and a fresh green salad drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, and traditional pitta bread. These kebabs are usually eaten with ayran, a yoghurt based drink.
Kuzu tandir is a succulent lamb dish
where the lamb I has been cooked for many hours in a Tandoori oven. It
comes out so tender it almost cries as it falls off the bone.
