Top Turkey hotels
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Serves 2)Ingredients12 prawns (shrimps), de-veined with tail left on2 tomatoes, chopped (skinned and seeded)Sea saltGood splash Jingilli Leccino Extra Virgin Olive OilGood splash WAwhite wineFresh basil leaves1 red onion (small), finely choppedMethodSaute prawns in hot olive oil. Season and turn. Add onion, then tomatoes. Remove prawns then add white wine and reduce sauce. When sauce thickens, replace prawns and finish with basil.
Hummus is traditionally scooped with flatbread (such as pita), but is increasingly popular as a dip for tortilla chips outside the Middle East. Hummus is also used as an appetizer dish to accompany main courses, as part of a meze, Hummus can be garnished in numerous ways, including sprinkling parsley, paprika, pine nuts ,tomatoes, cucumber, thinly-sliced onions, sautéed mushrooms, or with whole chickpeas over top before drizzling with olive oil.Ingredients: (4 servings) · 1 ½ glasses chick-peas · ½ glass grond sesame seed (tahin)· ½ glass olive oil · 1 ½ teaspoons salt · 1 ½ teaspoons ground red pepper · 4 cloves of garlic · Juice of 2-3 lemons Soak the chick-peas in water overnight. Change the water and cook until they are well tender. Remove the skins and mash. Add “thin”, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well. Slowly add olive oil and lemon juice to make a smooth paste. Arrange on...
My family (father branch :) ) is from Adana .Eating is very important and they eat only lamb.Do not like vegies or chicken or beef.lamb and lamb.from lamb they mince it and cook Adana kebap.in Adana they say (kiyma) if it is chops from lamd (sish kebap) they call tike .When they invite you to lunch or dinner please accept.If you do not accept it they get sad.
Turks celebrate weddings and circumcisions by decorating a car with a large ribbon and flowers and then parading through the town with their friends and families' vehicles following behind them. For circumcisions, the boy is often dressed up like a prince and rides in the decorated lead car. For weddings, the bride and groom ride in the fancy car. We saw numerous processions around Turkey and it always looked like they were having fun.
Turkish is a difficult language for Americans and Europeans to understand because its roots are from Central Asia, not Europe. It is a member of any of the Indo-European language families, and its words and grammar are very different from the languages of Southern and Western Europe. The exceptions are newer words that have been added to describe modern items. A few of these, which tend to be based on English or French words include the following:Oto - carOtogar - bus stationOtopark - parking lot or parking garagetaksi - taxiinternet - internettren - trainbanka - banktourism - turizmticket - biletstation - istasyonwaiter - garsontelephone - telefonUnfortunately, the other 95% of the words in Turkish bear little or no resemblance to words in Germanic, Romance, or Slavic languages. Thank you is one of the tougher ones to learn - the Turkish words for it are tesukker ederim. It is...
Turkish women dress in a broad range of fashions, ranging from sleevelss tops to fully covered Islamic outfits. A broad generalization is that in the beach resort towns almost anything goes (including topless), and shorts and sleeveless tops are no problem. In Istanbul, you will see the full range of outfits. Ankara is a little more conservative, but still has women in both secular and Islamic dress. An outfit that covers the knees and shoulders is a good idea in both cities, since it will enable you to blend in, and will allow you to enter mosques, which are some of the most interesting sights in Istanbul. In Istanbul, always carry a headscarf in your purse, so you won't have to use a loaner when you enter a mosque. In more conservative areas, such as small towns, rural areas, and Konya (a conservative city), you will see a high percentage of women in Islamic dress (covered arms and...
Do you know that you can make your own yogurt at home?When I was a child, there weren’t so many alternatives of yogurt in packages. There were some yogurt vendors (both street vendors and shop owners) and milk vendors. We were making our yogurt at home these days. It is pretty simple.Have some milk. Let’s say 2 liters, and 2-3 spoonful yogurt.Heat the milk. Stir it once in a while after it started to boil for not to stick to the bottom of the pot. It is important to boil as much as you can. By this means, the water evaporates and you’ll have a stiffer yogurt.Prepare a spot for your yogurt pot. Spread a warm cloth –a tablecloth, a big towel and/or a wool blanket- here, put the pot here. (May be you can pick a sunny place in home) Wait until the milk get cold a little bit. I cannot give you the exact temperature but we decide when to add the yogurt by touching the milk. If it does not burn...
First of all: Don’t try this at home!I think this one doesn’t need too much explanation. Many of you know what it is. I’ll give you a rough idea about making it, but it needs so many people with empty stomachs, open air, lot’s of meat, a big shish, patience… Like a barbecue party.Find some big pieces of meat. (Big pieces = More than 1 kg each, as big as a melon or something) You’ll need at least 5 kg of meatLots of sliced onions (5 kg or more, some for marinating, some for later)A long and thick (preferably wood) shish, longer than 1 m, thicker than 3 cmIf you are in open air, like a forest, you can find a big barbecue for cooking. Or you have to make your own. You can find a big branch to carve a shish. It needs a pointed end to pass through the big meat pieces. Put the meat pieces on to the sliced onions and knead the meat with them. Juice of the onion will soften the meat. Wait for a...
We usually stuff all the vegetable we found; aubergine, zucchini, tomato, bell pepper, cabbage leaves, grape vine leaves, rarely zucchini flowers.The mixture contains rice, tomato paste, spices, onions, minced meat… I don’t like the meat in stuffed vegetables, so I’ll give you the recipe of stuffed vegetables in olive oil.Pick the vegetables you want to stuff. Mom cooks aubergine, zucchini and peppers together. You can pick an aubergine, a zucchini and several peppers. Cut zucchini and aubergines in two and empty their inner parts.For the stuffing:Cut a big onion into small pieces. Saute it in olive oil. Count the vegetables you want to fill and use this value the quantity of spoon of rice you’ll cook. Wash the rice and add it on to sautéed onions, add dried mint, salt, some spices (dolma bahari –a special spice for stuffing-, black pepper, cumin…), and tomato paste. Do not cook this...
One of my favorites. I cook this in winter, especially when I am ill. This is a good remedy for flu.I use slices of lamb neck usually (or sometimes shin); you can pick another part of lamb. It is better with bones and some fat. Boil the meat for several hours. I like the meat slipping over the bones, so I boil it over 5 hours. After that, add the vegetable. For 4 slices of neck (more than half a kilo), I add an onion (whole), 2-3 potatoes (just cut into 2 or 4 pieces), 1 carrot, 5-10 seeds of black pepper. You can also add celery, garlic etc. It is up to you.You cannot find this meal in a kebap restaurant. Try restaurants like Haci Abdullah in Taksim or Kanaat in Uskudar.
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...
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...
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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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...
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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