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 Turkish Coffee by H-TownJourneyman
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 Tea is synonymous with Turkish
hospitality by Tijavi
Turkey is a tea-obsessed country. From my observation, an average Turk downs at very least 5 cups a day. It is also a very powerful social lubricant -- friends usually congregate in cay bahcesi (tea houses) after a day's work or schooling.
To tourists, there is no escaping tea. Unless you belong to some "cloistered" tour group, you will for sure get lots of invitation for tea. Never mind if you don't understand each other, the Turks, being one of the world's most hospitable people, will insist that you oblige their invitation.
I was strolling around Sivas one day and trying to take snaps of a bakery when a young man approached me, grabbed my hand and led me to his father's tea house, where I was served a LARGE cup of tea. So I sat there, all smiles and with my very limited Turkish chatted with the two of them for more than an hour - about Sivas, family, football, etc. They never accepted my offer to pay for my tea.
There were lots of instances where I got invited for tea by the locals. Tea is synonymous with Turkish hospitality and tourists should come prepared to guzzle gallons of it.
And my Turkish coffee? Oh well, our office assistant knows how to make one good cup. Leave a Comment
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 Tavla and nargileh go hand in
hand by Tijavi
Nargileh, also known as hookah and sheesha in the Arab world, is the various-flavored waterpipe so ubiquitous in cafes, and now, a favorite pastime of tourists, too. I have tried it several times, and I seemed to like. Just don't remind me that one sheesha (as it is more known in the Gulf Arab states) session is equivalent to smoking a dozen cigarettes, according to a friend. Oh well, we only live once.
Tavla, or more well-known as backgammon, goes hand in hand with the nargileh. It is arguably the most popular "sport" after football. Some Turkish friends have taught me how it's played, but it seems I just coudn't get the hang of it. Perhaps, I had too much nargileh? Leave a Comment
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 royal mezes by traveloturc
beyaz peynir (feta),
kashar cheese
kavun,(mellon)
acili ezme(This is usually a hot one! Diced tomatoes, peppers and onions.),
haydari(yoghourt with garlic),
patlican salatasi (eggplant salade or Pureed aubergine salad),
kalamar(calamar),
enginar( artichoke),
cacik, Chopped cucumber with garlic and yoghurt
pilaki (White beans with carrots and potatoes cooked in olive oil)
dolma or sarma(stuffed vegetables),
köfte(meatballs)
Arnavut Cigeri: Chopped and fried liver with onions
Russian salad: Potatoe salad with vegetables and mayonnaise.(sometimes ironically its called american salad)
Imam bayildi (The priest fainted)!: Aubergine stuffed with tomatoes, onions and garlic cooked in olive oil.
Fava (broad bean puree)
Çerkez tavuğu (meaning Circassian chicken)
Börek (very thin dough layers staffed with cheese, meat or vegetables)
Hummus (prepared from sesame, chickpea, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice)
Haydari
Saksuka
Tarama (roe of the carp)
Olives
Mixed pickles
After eating a large selection of Mezes with bread, many people find they do not need to order a main course which is why often, your order for your main course will not be taken until you have finished your mezes.
Or try to taste all of them ...they are not for feeding !!!
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Hospitality is a tradition in Turkey.Most of them invite you for tea, coffee, or their flat for dinner...first what they want is to know you better, they appreciate u guys coming from far away and visiting our country, plus turkish people can't travel alot..İf u are invited to a turkish familt house remove your shoes before entering home,beacuse of being clean is one of the condition of Islam.And go with an empty stomach,turkish womans know how to cook delicious. don't reject something they will be desapointed. .
P.S don't let the dodgy carpet salesman make u think wrong about Turkish Hospitality. Leave a Comment
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In Tukish it is called ' Nazar Boncuk '.Original form is blu eye, believed to protect from bad luck.
When a chil bon,reletives and friend give him/her an evil eye as a present..and u can see an evil eye outside of the house, in the office, in the car.Some superstitious people carry it in their under wear..
It could be a really nice local present to your friends or relatives.. Leave a Comment
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Turkey is a laic and democratic country (religion and state are separated ) And It is not the other Islamic Countires, and we will never let them do this to our country.We are free to chose cover ourselves or not..
Just being respectfull to relious people will be ok for you such as Avoding entering mosqoue at prayer time,when u are inside a mosque,don't disturb them,don't take flash photo and don't walk directly infront of them then it means thier pray will be broken and they need to do all that stuff all the beginning.
As for dressing up , u can wear whatever u want , and don't do alot of kisses with your boy/girlfirend inpublic, nothink would happen, but they would give you dirty looks. Leave a Comment
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Turkish men greet with kissing each other from cheeks,it is normal thing..lol .Men kiss men, women kiss women, religous women don't kiss men from cheeks, just shake each others hand or if it is the frst time we meet, we just shake hand..
When a younger person greet an older person like grandmother/father younger one kiss the hand and take the hand towards forehead.This is a kind of respect.. Leave a Comment
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We mean ' yes ' ( evet ) by nodding forward and down.
And to say 'no' ( hayır ) we noad our head up and back or raise our eyebrowns at the say time o say no..that's what I do all the time..
we mean ' I don'T know ' by wagging our head from side to side...
So now you all know how to ignore 'dodgy carpet salesman around instead of talkinh..lol... Leave a Comment
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When we translate this proverbs it sounds so funny and sometimes unmeaningfull..
there u go..
-If God closes one door, He opens a thousand others
-God finds a low branch for the bird that cannot fly.
-God has created us brothers but has given us separate purses
-If skill could be gained by watching, every dog would become a butcher.
-If a dog’s prayers were answered, bones would rain from the sky ( I like this alot, we use it for sleazy guys :)
-Every “bad” has its “worse. ( thansgiven)
-Empty words will not fill an empty stomach.(for ***s )
-A lake forms drop by drop ( be patient)
-Killing two birds with one stone. ( LOL I like this one too )
-A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship ( hospitality )
-Beauty Passes, wisdom remains ( yeap, I do agree )
-Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once.
-The sheep separated by the flock is caten by the wolf. ( I'm telling this to my kiwi mates)
-Stick the needle into yourself (to see how it hurts) before you thrust the packing-needle into others ( that is good one though)
-A heart in love with beauty never grows old.
( I'm sure all u guys have it )
I'm ending up with saying 'Wish well, be well.. '
P.S some of them are like aussie slangs,but they pull legs much more than us... Leave a Comment
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