Várady Mária Magdolna, S1KVU2

Turkey

Turkey is a sizable country positioned at the conversion from Europe to Asia. Virtually the entire
Republic is situated on the Asia Minor peninsula – otherwise known as Anatolia. Although the
capital is Ankara, Turkey is much more famous for Istanbul – its largest city and seaport located at
the Bosporus strait, the merging point of Europe and Asia. Bosporus is one of Turkeys three straits
along with the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles. Besides the Turkish straits the country is
surrounded by the Black, Aegean and Mediterranean Sea. With this information in hand, it is not
surprising to learn that three quarters of Turkeys boundary length is maritime. (Yapp, M. E. &
Dewdney, J. C., 2021.)

Climate
There is no denying that Turkey has a noticeable diversity in climate. Most of Turkey, however, is
influenced by a dry semi-continental Mediterranean climate. This is due to the fact that it is strongly
influenced not only by the sea to the north and south, but also the sea of the west and the mountains
present in the majority of the country. The divergence between the sea and the mountain result in
different interior and costal fringes. Some areas have the maximum rainfall in winter time, which
is unsurprising considering the Mediterranean regime. Also, continuous summer droughts are
really common. Nevertheless, Turkey is an elevated country and as a result winters are considerably
colder than the average winter time temperature of other countries with Mediterranean climates.
There is a big difference in temperatures in summer and winter as well. With the average winter
temperature ranges from −5 °C to −40 °C throughout the country, whereas in the summer
temperature can vary from 20 °C to 30 °C. In addition, relief greatly influences the annual
precipitation, which averages from 305 to 1,000 mm. (Yapp, M. E. & Dewdney, J. C., 2021.)

Climatic regions
One can distinguish six main climatic regions: the Black Sea coastlands, Thrace and Marmara,
the Aegean coastlands, the Mediterranean coastlands, the southeast and the Anatolian interior.
The Black Sea coastlands are known as the wettest region of Turkey, because of the rainfall
throughout the whole year and a winter maximum. The precipitation exceeds 813 mm annually,
with a 2,438 mm reach in the east of the country. Frosts are not uncommon, but the Black Sea
coastlands are notorious for their generally mild winters and hot summers.
Thrace and Marmara are greatly affected by winter depressions passing through the straits. On the
contrary, summers are drier than along the Black Sea coastlands. The annual rainfall varies from
610 to 914 mm, with a striking winter maximum. In January temperatures can reach the point of
freezing, summers are however hot.
The Aegean coastlands are recognized for their Mediterranean regime. Average temperatures can
range from 7 °C in wintertime to 30 °C in summertime, accompanied by rare frosts. The annual
rainfall can exceed 610. Drought is expected during summer.

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The Mediterranean coastlands have some similarities with Aegean coastlands. At sea level the
average temperature in the summer exceeds 28 °C. Annual precipitation can decrease from 1,000
mm in the west to only 24 inches in the Adana Plain. There is also barely any rainfall during
summer time.
The southeast is not only hot, but also dry during the summer months. With cold winters, freezing
is a common occurrence. Still in the summer time temperatures can rize up to 30 °C. Annual rainfall
can very from 305 to 610 mm.
The Anatolian interior is known for its semicontinental climate with a large temperature span. From
−2 °C in Ankara, an during the winter months to 23 °C during the summer months. As it was
assumed, precipitation is influenced by relief: Konya can be counted in as one of the driest places
in Turkey, although in the mountainous east the total yearly rainfall can normally exceed 24 inches.
(Yapp, M. E. & Dewdney, J. C., 2021.)

History
The Turkish tribes in Anatolia created the most powerful empire of the 15th and 16th century –
the Ottoman Empire. It gained its name from the chief Osman I. who established the empire at
the beginning of the fourteenth century.
In the beginning, the Ottomans where Islamic warriors (mainly nomads) fighting against the
Christian Byzantine empire. With time they also began to enlist Christian mercenary troops and
under Osman I., Orhan, Murad I. and Bayezid I. a formal government was established and along
with territory expansion. (Onion A. & Sullivan M. & Mullen M., 2020.)
“Starting in 1354, Orhan’s son Süleyman transformed Gallipoli, a peninsula on the European side
of the Dardanelles, into a permanent base for expansion into Europe. (…) Europe began to be aware
of the extent of the Turkish danger.” (Shaw, S. J. & Yapp, M. E., 2021.)
In 1453., Mehmed II the Conqueror seized the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople,
which ended the reign of the empire that lasted for over a millennium. Sultan Mehmed renamed
the city Istanbul and made it the Ottoman Empire's new capital. Istanbul grew into a major
international trade and cultural hub.
Syria, Arabia and Palestine have also fallen under the Ottoman control by 1517. The Empires
pinnacle has been in the middle of the sixteenth century (between 1520 and 1566), under the control
of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. It was an era of wealth and stability.
Shortly after, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Empire began to deteriorate. In the
next three centuries they lost more and more territories which culminated in the Balkan wars
(1912.-1913.) with the loss of nearly all European territories.
After entering World war I, the Ottoman Empire who sided with the Central powers, lost in 1918.
The remaining of their territories was divided between Britain, France, Greece and Russia while
the Ottoman Empire officially came to an end in 1922. when the Sultan was declared persona non
grata. (Onion A. & Sullivan M. & Mullen M., 2020.)

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Gastronomy
The Ottoman Empire gastronomy was divided into the palace and public kitchen. The palace
kitchen was additionally split into the sultan and harem cuisines.
Mehmed the Conqueror built kitchens in the Topkapi Palace which furthered the development of
the palace kitchen in the fifteenth century.
The sultan cuisine incorporated tables meant for the sultan and his council. This made it a social
activity where the cooks were constantly improving themselves to pleasure the sultan and those
around him. The banquettes became more alluring and the Turkish gastronomy enriched.
After the seizure of Istanbul, the consumption of seafood increased in the Ottoman palace. Despite
that, the sultans’ meal often contained poultry. (Batu A. & Batu H. S., 2018.)
“The meat served to the sultan was brought intact and was not torn into pieces. The sultan himself
tore the meat into pieces, and he never used a fork or knife for the same. As the meat served in his
meals was very soft, he could easily eat it with the use of his fingers without the need for a knife.
The sultan drank only soup with stewed fruit during his meal; after the meal, some sherbet was
served” (Kılıç S. & Albayrak A., 2012.)
At this time, there were two meals, while the breakfast consisted of a hearty soup.
In a special kitchen were prepared the meals for harem people, princes, and sultans. The sultan
decided in which order did the harem eat their meal. However, he did not influence a separate table,
where the wives of sultans, Haseki sultans and treasurer masters ate.
Naturally, the public kitchen was simpler and with less diversity. Men and women sat separately
except in modest houses. In such places, alongside the main course, a soup was served.
“In the Ottoman dining table, there were 5–10 types of food even when there was no special
banquet or wedding. Based on Ottoman public cuisine, there was no dining room in any Muslim
house. At the time of dining, everyone set up a dining table and ate in their apartment, room, or
garden depending on the weather condition. To perform this task, the dining table service was
simply done on a tray” (Batu A. & Batu H. S., 2018.)
Despite the small differences between sultans and palaces, dining customs stuck to Islamic
traditions from the past. After the nineteenth century, useful advancements were introduced - such
as forks and knives. (Batu A. & Batu H. S., 2018.)

Modern cuisine
In modern times, like in many countries, cuisine varies between regions: Eastern Anatolia,
Southeastern Anatolia, Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean regions.
In the Black Sea region there are over twenty dishes made from corn mixture. Moreover, anchovies
dominate the food culture as well. Some examples: stuffed fried anchovies, anchovy bread,

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anchovies rice, anchovies pan and meatballs, anchovies boiled, anchovies grill, and anchovy patty.
In conclusion, its cuisine is founded on seafood.
The Mediterranean cuisine is known for olive oil and vegetables. This is common in the Turkeys
Mediterranean regions. Olives are a symbol of Mediterranean cuisine all over Europe for over two
thousand years. (Batu A., 2016.) Grains – mainly wheat, alongside fruit, vegetables and seafood
are also the base of a traditional Mediterranean cuisine.
The Aegean cuisine derived from Ottoman empire as well as the nearby Greek cuisine. The main
difference is the predilection towards rice instead of bulgur. In comparison with other regions, the
Aegean region uses less spices. Seafood is a favourite enjoyed all year round. Their predominant
dish is dolmas.
Anatolian cuisine is most popular with dishes such as kebabs and baklava. That is not all it consists
of – mezze, spices and some other desserts can be overlooked when talking about Anatolia’s
cuisine.
A custom that has prevailed time is enjoying soup. It is always present during the beginning of a
meal and it is always served hot.
The types of soup can be divided into three different groups: floury, grain, and strained-grind soups.

Floury soup Grain soup Strained-grind soup

 wedding soup  tutmach  rubbed noodle soup

 tomato soup  lentil soup

 Toyga  vegetable soup

(soup made with yogurt, hazelnut,
rice, egg, and mint)
 Arabashe
(a kind of spicy chicken soup)

Turkish cuisines is in the top three cuisines of the world. It is famous for its meat dishes such as
doner kebab. Turks enjoy other meals as well, for instance: casserols, stews, fish stews, meatballs,
fruity meat dishes, grilled kebabs and pot kebabs, fried and roast food etc. The most often way
meat is prepared are meatballs.
In Turkish culture, bread is considered a sacred food because of its religious importance. It is an
irreplaceable part of their dining tables due to their respect towards it. Bread is placed in safe
corners and is referred to with adoration. Generally, there are three kinds of bread: flatbread, loaf
and yufka.
“It is not enough to define the place of the bread in Turkish culture as main nutrient. Bread is
considered holy in Turkish culture. Due to this reason, bread is known to be used for swearing an
oath in Turkish language, used in some idioms and various sayings.” (magazinebbm.com, s.a)

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Marriage/wedding dishes
a) Promise/Agreement (Söz Kesme)
“In Turkey, the process leading up to marriage has three stages, the söz kesme(promise/agreement
between the families), the nişan (engagement) and finally the wedding itself. At the söz kesme, the
first main things in mind are “sweetness” (agreement, good relationship) between the families, and
that things move on to a favorable end. For this reason, it is common to serve sherbets (sweetened
fruit drinks). Sweet coffee, lokum and candy is also served. In Denizli, in order to reinforce the
idea, a hot sherbet is served, so that no “coldness” will come between the couple. In Izmir, a rose
sherbet (gül şerbeti) is served, so that the couple will always smile and be happy. (This is a word
play – the word “gül” in Turkish means both “rose” and “laugh/smile.”) In Eskişehir, the
announcement of a marriage promise is announced by the giving of halkalı şeker (A ring-shaped
candy) and cigarettes. In some areas, foods such as a special pilaf (söz pilavı), an egg dish, kadayıf
and fruit are eaten.” (turkish-cuisine.org, 2021.)

b) Engagement
“The desire for “sweetness” which characterizes the agreement continues in the engagement as
well. The custom of an engagement dinner is more common. Among the foods served are lamb,
stuffed chicken, rice pilaf and bulgur pilaf with chickpeas. In one of the villages near Çankırı,
typical engagement dishes include a dish called göğlü aş, made with wheat and dried fruit leather.
In Eskişehir, flour halvah is also served.” (turkish-cuisine.org, 2021.)

c) Bridal Bath (Gelin Hamamı)

“The foods served for the bridal bath tend to be dry foods that are easy to take to the hamam. Foods
served may include çöreks, böreks, meatless stuffed vegetables, kebab, poppyseed pide, halvah etc.
Other foods may include nuts and cookies.” (turkish-cuisine.org, 2021.)

d) Henna Night
“The night before the wedding, the bride’s palms are filled with henna and her hands are bound;
this is known as henna night. The serving of food has a very important place on the henna night.
The foods include pilaf, meat dishes, noodle soup with chickpeas, rusks, and poppyseed pide. The
sweets include lokma, koz helva, zerde, rice pudding and halvah.
In some areas, sweets are served to assure a sweet tongue; in others nuts and fruit are served. In
Izmir, the nöbet şekeri is broken over the bride’s head; in Zonguldak and Devrek, bread is broken
and distributed among those in attendance. In other regions, this same tradition is performed on the
henna night, for the same purpose.” (turkish-cuisine.org, 2021.)

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Batu A., 2016. Konya in terms of culture and gastronomic tourism (Kültür ve Gastronomi Turizmi
Bakımından Konya). Acad Soc Res J, 4 (30), pp. 20-38
Batu A. & Batu H. S., 2018. Historical background of Turkish gastronomy from ancient times until
today. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 5(2), pp. 76-82.
Kılıç S. & Albayrak A., 2012. Food and beverages in Turks before Islam (İslamiyetten önce
Türtlerde yiyecek ve içcecekler). Turk Stud Int Period Lang Lit Hist Turk Turk, 7(2), pp.707-716.
magazinebbm.com, s.a. Pasta, Biscuit and Bread Culture in Turkey [online] Available at:
http://www.magazinebbm.com/english/pasta-biscuit-and-bread-culture-in-turkey/.html [Accessed
date: 15/04/2021]
Onion A. & Sullivan M. & Mullen M., 2020. Ottoman Empire. HISTORY, Available et:
https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/ottoman-empire [Accessed date: 15/04/2021]
Shaw, S. J. & Yapp, M. E., 2021. Ottoman Empire. Encyclopedia Britannica, Available et:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire [Accessed date: 15/04/2021]
turkish-cuisine.org, 2021. Special Occasion / Holiday Dishes [online] Available at:
http://www.turkish-cuisine.org/food-and-social-life-2/special-occasion-meals-
24.html?PagingIndex=2 [Accessed date: 16/04/2021]
Yapp, M. E. & Dewdney, J. C., 2021. Turkey. Encyclopedia Britannica, Available et:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Turkey [Accessed date 15/04/2021]