Turkey Local Customs

  Kirsehir
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  • Kirsehir
      Kirsehir
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  • Boza for take out
      Boza for take out
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  •   Local Customs
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  • Hakkari center
      Hakkari center
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Most Viewed Local Customs in Turkey

226.

local food   Istanbul

local food, Istanbul

 33 Reviews  This syrupy sweet treat - dessert ring - is made from semolina and deep fried. It's very rich. You can find these in street carts all around Istanbul. Not one of my favorites, but a definite must-try! 

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227.

mosques etiquette   Istanbul

mosques etiquette, Istanbul

 26 Reviews   It was nice to see and hear how Muslims pray in real, how they are invited for a pray, how they clear their bodies before pray, bowing at pray time or putting shoes after going out of mosques. Most... 

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228.

clothes   Istanbul

clothes, Istanbul

 9 Reviews   Istanbul has all the seasons like winter, spring, summer and fall. So check the weather report before your visit. The city is with more than 14 million people and very cosmopolite. Unlike some... 

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229.

tea and coffee   Istanbul

tea and coffee, Istanbul

 31 Reviews  Being a coffee lover, I assumed that I was going to love Turkish coffee. But after my first glass of Turkish tea (cay), I was hooked!! We found every excuse to stop in one of the many cafes for a... 

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230.

turkish words   Istanbul

turkish words, Istanbul

 14 Reviews  The Foreign Service Institute is a branch of the US Department of State, so all their materials are copyright-free--anybody can use them without charge. Some generous people who owned the tapes or... 

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231.

nargileh   Istanbul

nargileh, Istanbul

 11 Reviews  This is an old looking teahouse where you also get the chance to try out a nargileh (water smoking pipe which bubbles when you suck air out of it). There are a few establishments inside but the one to... 

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232.

raki (drink)   Istanbul

raki (drink), Istanbul

 8 Reviews  In meyhane culture it is very important to stay sober and cool, act reasonable while drinking. I’ve been in meyhanes in which waiters can kick you out if you get drunk and start to sing or talk... 

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233.

hospitality   Istanbul

hospitality, Istanbul

 15 Reviews  Yes, hospitality is a real characteristic of Turkish people, and my room in Dolmabahce Palace was very comfortable. I didn't want to abuse their hospitality, and that's why I didn't accept to stay... 

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234.

bargaining   Istanbul

bargaining, Istanbul

 12 Reviews   In Istanbul, and, I believe, other parts of Turkey as well, it is hard to imagine selling without bargaining. Even in shops, if you see it is like private owned, prices are not always fixed and it is... 

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235.

shoes   Istanbul

shoes, Istanbul

 8 Reviews  Getting your shoes polished won't be a problem. On the major street you will find men that handle their antique tools with great enthousiasm. My advice is to pick out a seasoned shoe shiner and not... 

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236.

phone numbers   Istanbul

phone numbers, Istanbul

 3 Reviews  International telephone access code of Turkey is 90.Then area codes. For Istanbul it is 212 (European side) and 216 (Asian side), Ankara 312 and Izmir 232. All telephone numbers are have seven digits... 

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237.

music   Istanbul

music, Istanbul

 8 Reviews  In Istanbul people listen to all kinds of music, from rock to pop to jazz to metal to electronica, you name it and there's probably a club for it. Every year there is an International Jazz Festival,... 

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238.

tipping   Istanbul

tipping, Istanbul

 2 Reviews  Turks are generally a welcoming race of people, eager to help and proud to show off their country. Sometimes the help can become overbearing. People here, once they've assisted you in any small... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Cig Kofte

by traveloturc

Çig köfte (pronounced as chigh keufte and meaning literally "raw meatball" in Turkish, also written in one word, as çig köfte) is a favorite Turkish snack and a speciality of sanliurfa region.and in the eastern part of Turkiye...In the south east part of Turkiye almost every city claims that they prepare the best "cig kofte" of the country because the receipie can differ from city to city but my favourite is the Antakya/ hatay one...A favorite way of eating çig köfte is by sandwiching it within a lettuce leaf, accompanied with good quantities of ayran to counter-act the burning sensation that this very spicy food will give.

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Pilav/Rice

by traveloturc

Pilav is the most basic meal of Turkish cuisine and can be made from rice, bulgur and arpa þehriye (noodles). You can also cook various kinds of pilav such as plain, with tomatoes, with meat and chicken stock. Ýç pilav, or pilav with almond and raisins are for more stylish tables. In short you can create several cold and warm pilavs. In order to cook delicious rice pilav first of all you should use good quality Baldo type rice. In principle the measurement for rice pilav is set 1.5 glass of water for 1 glass of rice. For bulgur and arpa þehriye pilavs use 2 glasses of water instead. Be careful when purchasing bulgur, it should be for "pilav" otherwise you cannot succeed when if you buy small grained bulgur used for Çig Köfte.Bulgur (cracked wheat) is kneaded with chopped onions and water until it gets soft. Then tomato and pepper paste, spices and very finely ground beef are added. This...

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Borek /Pastries

by traveloturc

Börek are filled savory pastries popular throughout the former Ottoman Empire. They are made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo or yufka, and are filled with salty cheese (often feta), minced meat, potatoes or other vegetables. Borek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. The top of the borek is often sprinkled with sesame seedsBörek is originated in Turkish cuisine ,Börek in Turkish refers to "yufka" dishes. Only in the Turkish language does the word börek have such wide semantics. Therefore, most of the time, the word "börek" is accompanied with another word referring to the shape, ingredients, technique for cooking or a specific region where it is typically prepared, for example, kol böreði (arm borek), su böreði( water borek), talaþ böreði(flake borek), tatar böreði( tatar borek) or sarýyer böreði( borek of Sariyer).Su böreði...

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Turlu & Guvec

by traveloturc

TURLU (mixed vegetables with meat) Clean, wash and drain the vegetables. At the same time, mix the chopped onions, tomatoes and salt. Place the cubed meat in a deep sauce pan, put in the green beans, eggplants, squash and okra separating the vegetables with layers of onion and tomato mixture. Cook over medium and then low heat for half an hour. Pilav with tomatoes, çoban salad or cacik accompanies türlü.If its made in Pan its called GUVEC

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Fasulye/Green Bean

by traveloturc

Two kinds of green beans can be found on green grocers' stands in summer. The one with bigger seeds is called "Boncuk Ayse", while the string bean which is thinner and longer is called "Calý". The cooking style of both beans is the same, but you don't need to remove the strings from "Boncuk Ayse". On the other hand, you should remove the strings from both sides of "Çali" and split each lengthwise.

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Enginar ( artichoke)

by traveloturc

Enginar ( artichoke) can be served either with olive oil as Meze or cooked as a main dish There is a Turkish belief saying that every year you have to eat as many artichokes as your age..I can understand that it becomes difficult if you are aged more than 70 !!!However always keep in mind that it suits almost every meal. For example you can create a delicious cold entrée by stuffing the cooked and refrigerated artichoke hearts with shrimp cocktail or a warm entrée by filling the artichoke hearts with mushroom ograten and baking it in the oven.

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Soup (Corba)

by traveloturc

CORBA ( soup) play very important role in turkish style cuisine because almost in every house everyday soup is the entrance of the meal and in some regions after heavy drink its very common to visit a soup house ( in general tripe soup) house for hang on..The most popular soups are Domates Corbasi ( Domatoes Soup) Ezo Gelin Corbasi ( The soup of Bride called Ezo) 1 C red lentils, soaked in water for one hour and drained8 C chicken stock1 onion, grated1/4 C rice or bulgur2 T tomato paste, diluted in 1/4 cup cold water.1/4 C buttersalt to taste1 tsp. paprika1 T dried mint Place lentils, stock, onion, rice or bulgar, tomato paste, butter, and salt into a sauce pan. Cook stirring occasionally on very low heat until lentils are tender and soup is creamy. (about one hour or less) Add paprika and mint, and let soup simmer for 5 minutes before serving. Mercimek corbasi ( lentil soup can be red...

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Piyaz

by traveloturc

Piyaz is a kind of Turkish salad or meze that is made from any kind of dry beans with hard-boiled egg and vegetables. In Antalya region of Turkey it is prepared differently from other regions with other ingredients like sesame oil. In Antalya, piyaz is not considered a salad but a main dish itself. In southern provinces like Adana, the word piyaz is used to refer to an onion and sumac salad. In fact, the word piyaz comes from pivas, Persian for onion.WHITE BEANS SALAD (FASULYE PÝYAZI) Ingredients: (4 servings) • 250 gr. white beans • 1 glass vinegar • 1 large onion • 3 tomatoes • 3 bell peppers • 1 dozen black olives • ½ bunch of parsley • 3 hard boiled eggs • 2 teaspoons salt • 1/3 glass olive oil Soak the beans in water overnight.

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Pilaki

by traveloturc

Pilaki is a Turkish meze which is a bean dish cooked in olive oil, served cold with lemon.Another type of pilaki is Barbunya Pilaki ( kidney bean)KIDNEY BEAN “PILAKI” (BARBUNYA PÝLAKÝSÝ) Ingredients: (6 servings) • 1 kg. fresh kidney beans • 2 onions • 2 carrots • 2 tomatoes • 1 teacup of olive oil • Parsley and salt Core the kidney beans and wash well. Pour it into enough water to cover and cook it until it boils. After you turn the heat off, drain well.

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eggplant (aubergine) salad with yoghourt

by traveloturc

Eggplant is very largely used in the Turkish cuisine and there are maybe more than 50 different ways to use it .Here I will try to give you some few examples EGG-PLANT SALAD WITH YOGHURT (YOÐURTLU PATLICAN SALATASI) Ingredients: (4 servings) • 6 large egg-plants • Juice of 1 lemon • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 1 teaspoon salt • 2 cloves of garlic • ½ glass of yoghurt • 1 tomato • 1 bell pepper • A few black olivesSome of the salads have funny names like "son of a dog" salad ( kopoglu salatası)Patlican soslu salad,patlican bayildi etc etc

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Top 3 Hotels in Turkey

Esans Hotel  Istanbul

 7 Reviews and 181 Opinions  a very new hotel. very near to grande museums and sophia dome. sea is very near to hotel. we enjoy... 

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Welcome Barut Hotels Lara Spa  Antalya

 5 Reviews and 511 Opinions  This was our first time in Turkey and first time in an all-inclusive hotel. i have to say - we all... 

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El Vino Hotel  Bodrum

 2 Reviews and 272 Opinions  This small property is both central (10 min walk to the bazaar and waterfront) and secluded and... 

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Hi, my wife and I organize trips for high school students (groups of approx. 35 ppl) and our next trip is scheduled for June-July... 

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A: Hi, Turkey is stable, with broad-minded politians & people. I had never thought about visiting TR, till I all of a sudden & surprisingly decided! Why? A VERY... 

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