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A Summary of the Different Regional Variations of Turkish Cuisine

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Turkish cuisine varies widely from region to region with influences from bordering countries and extensive geographical areas previously conquered or occupied by the Ottoman Empire . Modern-day Turkey can be divided into six distinct regions --the Black Seato the north, the Marmara Sea to the northwest, the Aegean Sea to the southwest and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Each of these coastal areas offers up its own unique cuisine. In addition, Central Anatolia and Eastern Anatolia, the two land-locked areas of Turkey, have their own delectable cuisine, far different from those areas near the sea. The Black Sea Turkish Black Sea cuisine most often revolves around fish. In this area you can find fish soups, fish bread, and fish cooked in a number of creative ways. This area is most-known for their hamsi, or anchovies. Unlike the salty anchovies we find in the US, here in Turkey their flavor is mild and pleasant. The Black Sea region is also well-known for their pide, a type of Turkish
smail Bkey

pizza. It is a long, boat-shaped flat bread topped with cheese and a variety of toppings ranging from cubed lamb to spinach. Trabzon, a city on the coast, is famous for its Trabzon pide, which is topped with a stringy cheese known as Trazon cheese and butter.

The Marmara Sea The Marmara sea is home to Istanbul, the former capital of the Byzantine, Roman, Latin and Ottoman empires. The food in this region is a mix of the surrounding countries which were once under their rule. Some of the most exquisite food from this region came straight out of the royal Ottoman kitchen, including dishes like Hnkr Beendi (pronounced hoon-kiar beyen-di), slow-cooked cubed lamb over a creamy eggplant puree.
Limoni

Other popular foods of this region include a large variety of seafood, kebabs, dner, meatballs and brek (pastry). In addition, yaprak sarmas (cold stuffed grape leaves), iskender (bread topped with dner meat and a tomato sauce with yogurt on the side), dolma (a variety of vegetables stuffed with rice, herbs and meat), simit (a bagel-like bread covered with sesame seeds, Turkish baguette, balk ekmek (a fish sandwich), and desserts such as baklava, ayva tatls (candied quince) and zerde are popular in this big metropolitan city.

The Aegean Sea Fish is the staple food of this gorgeous region. Sea bass and red snapper are the most popular fish here. They are served with traditional Turkish fish sides, which include fresh scallions, rings of raw white or purple onion, arugula, lemon, tahin helvas, sliced baguette, and an assortment of cheese and cold olive-oil infused appetizers. Zeytinyal, or Turkish olive oil dishes, are very popular all over Turkey, but are consumed more in this region than any other. Zeytinyal (pronounced zey-tin-yah-luh) are a number of meze that are cooked in a combination of water and olive oil, which infuse each dish with olive oil.

Ephe Drin

The Mediterranean Sea This beautiful mountainous region with crystal clear turquoise waters is known for its fish, calamari, Adana kebap, tantuni (sauted chopped meat and vegetables), knefe (a stringy pastry), Hatay-style ili kfte (bulgur fritter filled with ground beef, walnuts and Hatay herbs) and tepsi kebab (tray kebab, a baked dish of layered meat and potato or eggplant).

Eylem Culculoglu

Central Anatolia Central Anatolias rustic cuisine includes tandr kebap (kebab baked in a special tandir oven) and etli ekmek (a long flat bread baked in a stone oven and measuring over a meter long, topped with cheese, meat and other toppings), pastrma and mant (small pasta filled with meat and spices, similar to tortellini). Other favorites include etli pilav (rice cooked with cubes of lamb),
Andrzej Windak

gzleme (a super thin tortilla-like bread filled with spinach, cheese, sucuk, etc.), kekek (a creamy wheat berry stew with lamb), kavurma (sauteed meat, peppers and tomatoes), and mlek kebab (slowly stewed meat and vegetables cooked in a clay pot over a fire).

Eastern Anatolia The food here is largely influenced by bordering Arab countries to the south. Mardin-style ili kfte (bulgur fritters stuffed with ground beef, walnuts and Mardin herbs), kaburga dolmas (baked ribs stuffed with herbed rice), ikembe dolmas (boiled tripe stuffed with herbed rice) and ayval kavurma (sauteed cubes of meat, vegetables and quince), Urfa kebab, Ali Nazik (meatballs over a garlic yogurt eggplant puree), pistachios and pistachio baklava are also favorites of this region.
Yucel Tellici