Turkish Coffee and other Turkey Local Custom Tips

Turkish Coffee (Türk Kahvesi) is not only a drink but also a ritual. Since it has been introduced to the western world by Turks in 16th century it is known as Turkish coffee Its served in small porcelain cups called "fincan"
It is traditionally prepared in a small copper pot called "cezve". It is made by mixing an extremely finely ground coffee with water and sugar. They are all heated together at the same time and when the liquid boils coffee, Kahve is ready to be served. Drinking a little water can help to clean your mouth and prepares you for your coffee
How to prepare
Ingredients for one cup:
2 tea spoon very finely ground coffee
1 cup of water
Levels of sweetness:
no sweet at all (sade)
Mildly sweet 1 teaspoonful sugar (az sekerli)
Medium sweet 2 teaspoonful sugar (orta sekerli)
Sweet 3 teaspoonful Sugar (sekerli)
1) Pour cold water in the coffee pot, called cezve in Turkish. Use one cup of cold water for each serving cup. Add two teaspoonful of the ground Turkish coffee per cup into the cold water. If you prefer sweet coffee, add the sugar to the pot and stir. Use appropriate size of the pot and do not fill it too much. (There are various different sizes of coffee pots in the market)
2) Place the pot over very low heat and watch while heating as it may overflow very easily when the coffee begins to foam. Carefully stir the coffee to keep the foam thick.
3) When the coffee begins to bubble, remove the pot from the heat source. Pour some (not all) of the coffee equally among the cups (about a quarter) so that all the cups share the foam. Please note a good Turkish coffee should have thick foam which is not the case in arabic countries
4) Replace the pot on the heat again, for a second bubbling then pour the rest of the coffee among the cups.
Perhaps you will find someone who will read your future from the coffee grounds. This is very popular in Turkey and sometimes you may be surprised by the things told by somebody who has no info about you. "Don’t believe fortune telling but don’t be left without fortune telling." is one of the favorite statements!!!

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Eggplant plays an important role in Turkish Cuisine and they say that there is 900 ways to cook eggplant.))))
Now this is one of the most famous of it
Karniyarik (Slashed eggplant)
4-6 medium sized eggplants
250 gr ground meat
100 gr margarine
1 chopped tomato
1 medium sized onion
1 green pepper
1 glass of water
Chop the onions and cook in a saucepan with some butter until pink. Add ground meat and roast, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper. Peel the eggplants in a ribbon fashion. Soak them in salted water for a while. Drain and dry. Fry eggplants lightly in oil. Make a deep lengthwise incision in each eggplant. Place the eggplants in a saucepan, with the cut sides facing up. Place some stuffing on each eggplant and top each with a slice of tomato and green pepper. Add a small amount of water and cook over low heat for 25-30 minutes.

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Long ago, a visit to Hamam was an elaborate affair, requiring planning and the help of servants. It was natural for a woman visiting a Hamam to bring with her a bundle of up to 20 different articles, which she would use during her visit. Let's see what sort of things she would have brought to the Hamam.
The pestemal, a large striped or checked towel fringed at both ends; usually a colored mixture of silk and cotton or pure coton or even pure silk; the woman would wrap herself in it, and it would cover her from armpit height to mid-thigh, worn as the woman made her way to kurna (the marble basin).
A pair of wooden clogs called nalin: exquisitely carved and embroidered most often with mother-of-pearl, or even sheathed in tooled silver; sometimes they had jingles, or a woven straw sheath, or vere appliquéd with felt or brass; clogs kept the wearer's feet clear of the wet floor.
The tas: metal bowl for pouring water over the body; it always had grooved and inlaid ornamentation whether made of silver, gilt or tinned copper, or of brass.
Soap, shampoo and other toiletries: these were carried in hand crafted copper or even gold plated boxes called tarak kutusu (translated to mean "comb boxes).
Soap case, made of metal, hand crafted copper or even gold plated, with a handle on top like a handbag, and perforated at the bottom to allow water to run out. Not only soap was placed in the case but also combs, both fine and broad-toothed, made of horn or ivory.

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The kese: a coarse mitten carried in the soap case, it not only scoured the dirt out of the pores, but also served to deliver a bracing massage; it was specially woven out of hair or plant fibers.
A small "jewelry box": silver, copper or wood, sometimes covered with, wicker, felt, velvet or silver; as the woman would undress in the Hamam, she would remove her jewelry and place it in this box.
Towels: there were three towels for drying, one to go around the hair like a turban, one around the shoulders, and one around the waist.
The yaygi: a Hamam carpet; the carpet was laid on the floor with another cloth spread over top of it an the women would sit to undress; after each visit to the Hamam the spread would be washed and dried, then folded away in the bundle until the next time.
The ayna: a mirror its frame and handle often made of wood, but sometimes of silver or brass; the mirror was a wital item in the bundle.
A bowl of henna, called kina and considered to strengthen the hair besides adding rich beautiful color.
A very small container, made of tinned copper, and used to mash up an eyebrow darkener known as rastik, especially popular with those of fair and auburn hair.
Another box: this one for sürme, a kind of kohl for the eyelids.
A bottle of rose water: called gülsuyu. This bottle was kept in a wooden case, and inevitably found in the Hamam bundle; no other perfume was considered proper for the newly washed body.

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Many Hamams were built during the Ottoman era, including forty by architect Sinan himself. Externally, they have a distinctive domed profile, with bottle glass directing beams of light inwards. Hamam traditionally consist of three areas:
Soyunmalik( the place to get undressed) or Camekan, a court surrounded by small individual changing rooms; Sogukluk where visitors adjust to the heat; Sicaklik or Hararet the hot and steamy marble bath where scrubbing and massage (somewhat resembling a one-sided wresting match) are performed.
A meter high marble platform Göbektasi adorns the center of Hararet room. It is located just above the wood or coal furnaces heating the Hamam. The bather lies here for a vigorous massage, Kese that involves the removal with a coarse cloth mitten of a lifetime worth of dead skin. On leaving the Hamam, you may recover with a cold drink or hot ( linden tea is the right choice) in the Camekan which nowadays serves as a café as well, or simply stretch out on the reclining couch in your private changing cubicle.
Despite the increase in household baths and showers, Hamams still thrive and many historical ones are still surviving...

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Eid ul-Adha or Kurban Bayrami is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son (Ishmael) for Allah..
This happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan.
Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice domestic animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice; this sacrifice is called "Qurban." The meat is equally distributed amongst their neighbours, relatives, and the poor and hungry.
In Turkey it is often referred to as the Kurban Bayramı or "Sacrifice Feast". Similarly, in Bosnia and Albania it is referred as Kurban Bajrami
The Qur'an describes Abraham as follows:
One of Abraham's main trials was to face the command of Allah to kill his only son.
Upon hearing this command, he prepared to submit to Allah's will. When he was all prepared to do it, Allah revealed to him that his "sacrifice" had already been fulfilled. He had shown that his love for his Lord superceded all others, that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dear to him in order to submit to God.This tradition is always criticised by non muslim communities but please keep in mind that the im is to help the poor people who dont have too much chances to eat meat.

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Tipping is standard practice in bars and restaurants, although not obligatory. Generally 10% is an acceptable rate, but even if service is included, a small token is excepted. On the other hand, there is no need to tip taxi drivers, unless some special service has been provided. For hairdressers, barbers and hotel staff tipping is again the norm, but entirely discretionary. The most demanding destination in terms of tips is the Turkish bath (hamam), where you should except to distribute around 30% to the various staff that have attended you.
Bargaining is very much an integral part of Turkish culture, a ritual that is generally excepted of the customer and enjoyed. Obviously, though, this is not true of the modern stores where price tickets are non-negoitable. The process itself may be lengthy and involve intense courting on the part of the shop-keeper, often in the form of apple tea. It is always best to work out your top price beforehand and start well below with a view to meeting in the middle. Good humour will score points in your favour, but it is considered very bad form to go though the whole process, conclude a deal and then walk away empty-handed.So be patient and try to enjoy yourself ...have good time

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The Turkish cuisine is one of the best and most varied in the world.
Its an ocean and I am not promising you to discover all the islands but anyway
I will try to give you some hints about this trip to gastronomie .
I hope that my tips will help you what to order and when to order.
Generally it starts with a soup ( if you dont want to attend a raki night)
With the raki nights you have to start with mezes (cold appetizers)
than it comes the hot appetizers like calamar,muscles,boreks etc
than it come the main dishes which can be meat or fish or both
than it comes the sweets
fruits folows the sweets
tea or coffee is the punch line
Turkish cuisine inherited its Ottoman heritage which could be described as a fusion and refinement of Turkic, Arabic, Jew,Greek, Armenian and Persian cuisines.Turkish cuisine also influenced these cuisines and other neighbouring cuisines, as well as west European cuisines. Taken as a whole, Turkish cuisine is not homogenous thats why its rich!!!
Aside from common Turkish specialities which can be found throughout the country, there are also region-specific specialities. The Black Sea region's cuisine (northern Turkey) is based on corn and anchovies. The southeast—Urfa, Gaziantep and Adana—is famous for its kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, kadayif and künefe. Especially in the western parts of Turkey, olive oil is the major type of oil used for cooking.The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions display basic characteristics of Mediterranean cuisine as they are rich in vegetables, herbs and fish. Central Anatolia is famous for its pastry specialities such as keskek (kashkak), manti (especially of Kayseri) and gözleme.The name of specialities sometimes includes the name of a city or a region (either in Turkey or outside). For example, the difference between Urfa kebab and Adana kebab is the use of garlic instead of onion and the larger amount of hot pepper that kebab contains.
Have a good trip and bon apetite..... enjoy it

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Cold Hors d'Oeuvres (Soguk Meze)
Antakya/hatay is one of turkish city near the syrian borders when I use to travel to this city the meal use to start with 40 different ( I am not kidding))) mezes served in small plates
you dont have to eat or taste all of them but they are there !!!
My list is just a small example of mezes...
White cheese (Beyaz Peynir) and mellon ( kavun)
Olives (Zeytin), black and green ,stuffed with sardines etc
Aubergine (Begendi),
stuffed grape leaves ( yalanci dolma)
Stuffed green peppers (biber dolmasi),
Stuffed tomatoes (Domates dolmasi),
Stuffed cabbage (Lahana Dolmasi),
Chopped cucumbers with yogurt and garlic (Cacik),
Aubergines with parsley (Imam bayildi / "Imam fainted),
Mussels cooked with olive oil and served cold (Midye Pilakisi).

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Fish (Balik)
Its better if you can avoid to eat fishes in summer time and the ideal time is september-february period
Bluefish (Lüfer),
Bass (Levrek),
Mackarel (Uskumru),
Swordfish (Kilicbaligi),
Red Mullet (Barbunya),
Small red mullet (tekir),
Bonita (Palamut),
Turbot (Kalkan),
Bream (Mercan),
Sole (Dil),
Salmon (Som Baligi),
Trout (Alabalik).

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