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urkish Cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the visitor. In addition to being the refined product of centuries of experience, Turkish Cuisine has a very pure quality. The variety and simplicity of the recipes and the quality of the ingredients are guarantees of delicious meals.

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ebabs are dishes of plain or marinated meat either stewed or grilled. Almost every district of Anatolia has its own kebap specialty. Lamb is the basic meat of Turkish kitchen. Pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal, form the famous "Şiş kebab", world-wide known Turkish dish. "Döner kebab" is another famous Turkish dish, being a roll of lamb on a vertical skewer turning parallel to a hot grill. You should also try "Alinazik", "Sac kavurma", "Tandır" and different types of "Köfte" as typical meat dishes.

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he aubergine/egg-plant is used in a wide variety of dishes from "karnıyarık" and "hünkârbeğendi", to "patlıcan salatası" (eggplant/aubergine salad) and "patlıcan dolması" (stuffed eggplants/aubergine). It can be cooked with onions, garlic and tomatoes and served cold as "imam bayıldı".

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delicious Turkish specialty is "pilav", a rice dish which is difficult for the inexperienced cook to prepare. In the Black Sea Region of Turkey, they make a great dish with rice and small fish called "Hamsili pilav" (Rice with Anchovy). Another interesting dish from the same region is "Miroloto".

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öreks are pies of flaky pastry stuffed with meat, cheese or potatoes. The delicious Turkish natural yoğurt, "yoğurt", is justifiably renowned. A typical appetizer prepared with yogurt is "Cacık". And, of course, don't forget to try "Mantı", with loads of yoğurt.

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ne notable variety are the "zeytinyağlılar", dishes cooked with olive oil. "Dolma" is a name applied to such vegetables as grape leaves, tomatoes, cabbage leaves, and green peppers stuffed with spiced rice (Biber dolma). You should also try "Baklalı Enginar" (artichoke with broad-beans) and "Tekmil Lahana" (complete with cabbage).

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urkish sweets are famous throughout the world and many of these have milk as the basic ingredient such as "sütlaç" (rice pudding), "tavuk gögsü" (light sweet with chicken breast), "kazandibi", "helva", "aşure", but the best-known are "baklava" and "kadayif" pastries, favorites of young and old alike.

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mong the national drinks, Turkish coffee, ayran (diluted yoğurt), şıra (grape juice), sahlep and boza should be mentioned. Turkish coffee comes thick and dark in a small cup and may be served without sugar, with a little sugar, with medium sugar or with a lot of sugar. Either way, it is truly delicious. If you like alcohol you can try "Rakı" made of distilled grape juice and anice, it is called as "lions drink" because you must be as strong as a lion to drink it.

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oups are coming in a wide variety. These may be light, or rich and substantial. They are generally based on meat stock and served at the start of the meal. Lentil soup is the most common and best loved variety, but there are other preferred soups such as "yayla" and "tarhana" soups.

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ezes are "Hors d'oeuvres" or appetizers figuring mainly at meals accompanied by wine or rakı . Eaten sparingly, they arouse the appetite before the meal proper. Examples of meze include gözleme, fried eggplants/aubergines with yoğurt, lâkerda (bonito pre-served in brine), pastırma (pressed beef), kısır, humus, fish croquettes, and lambs' brains with plenty of lemon juice. At many restaurants a selection of meze is brought to the table on a tray immediately after the drinks are served for the customers to make their choice.

Some other typical Turkish dishes are:

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Pilav: Generally made of rice, but also of bulgur (cracked wheat) and şehriye (vermicelli), pilaf (pilav) is one of the mainstays of the Turkish table. The rice should not be sticky but separate into individual grains. The pilav may include aubergines/egg-plants, chick peas, beans or peas. Although pilav is traditionally a course in its own right, in recent years it has appeared as a garnish with meat and chicken dishes at many restaurants.

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örek: Thinly rolled pastry, often the paper thin variety known as yufka (dogh), is wrapped around various savory fillings or arranged in layers . The myriad types of börek are unmatched delicacies when cooked to perfection. Böreks can be fried, baked, cooked on a griddle or boiled. Traditionally it was said that no girl should marry until she had mastered the art of börek making ! Preferred fillings are cheese, minced meat, spinach and potatoes. In the form of rolls filled with cheese or minced meat mixtures and fried, böreks are known as "Sigara (cigarette) boreği". Böreks should be light and crisp, without a trace of excess oil.

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öner Kebap: Slices of marinated lamb on a tall vertical spit and grilled, as it slowly turns, are delicious. The cooked parts of the cone of meat are cut in very thin slices by a huge sword-like knife, and arranged on a plate with flat pide (pizza) bread. This dish is the most formidable obstacle to the victory of the hamburger in the fast food market. Döner kebap in rolls with slices of pickle and chips is the most common stand-up lunch for city office workers.

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local variation of Döner Kebap would be Çağ Kebabı from Erzurum. It is made with slices of lamb threaded on a spit, with 10% minced beef mixed with milk, chopped onion, black pepper and flaked chili pepper spread between each slice to hold them together. The surface is covered tightly with wood ash, and then the kebab is roasted horizontally over a wood fire. As the outer surface browns, the cook takes a metal skewer and threads it through the cooked surface, slices off the portion with a long döner knife, and serves it with thin lavaş bread.

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öfte: The diverse köftes of all shapes and sizes are a culinary world of their own. Finely minced meat mixed with spices, onions and other ingredients is shaped by hand, and grilled, fried, boiled or baked. Köftes are named according to the cooking method, ingredients or shape. Plump oval köfte with rice dipped in egg and fried have the evocative name of "Ladies Thighs" (kadın budu). Some köftes are cooked in a sauce as in the case of the delicious "Izmir köfte", the köftes are first grilled and then cooked with green peppers, potato slices and tomatoes in their own gravy. An interesting dish called "Hamsi köfte" comes from the Black Sea region of Turkey.

As you stroll through the pages of the cities, you will be seeing local dishes and some of the recepies.