Cheese is one of nature’s most tasty foods. It is eaten by everyone with great pleasure. Cheese is not only a substantial food because of its taste but it also has high nutritional value. Milk, which is itself a great source of nutrition, is processed and made into cheese. The main substance in cheese is “casein”, a protein which has no equal in nature. In addition to being rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamin A, cheese is an important nutritional source for life. (more…)

The Indispensible Ingredient of Turkish Tables: Cheese

The history of cheese probably goes as far back as that of milk. Cheese holds a special place not only in Turkish cuisines, but also in the cuisines of the world. According to many views, cheese originated in Mesopotamia, in other words in some parts of Anatolia. The type of cheese is determined by the production stage. Factors such as the quality of the milk used, the protein and fat content, the amount of bacteria that it contains, the conditions of the factory, temperature and humidity levels, the quality and the production techniques used for the additives influence the variety and the taste of cheese. (more…)

Since ancient times the people of Anatolia kept the winter snow from melting by storing it in mountain crevices which they covered with twigs. Come summer, they brought it up from its storage place, put it in bowls used for stewed fruit and, drizzling it with molasses, ate it. This sweet, which was called ‘karsambac’, is regarded as the ancestor of today’s ice cream. With the entry of sugar into everyday life, fruit juices and syrups were also made and stored for consumption in winter. And they too were poured over ice cream and eaten with gusto. Fresh snow with molasses is still consumed in some parts of Anatolia today. Many fruit flavored ice creams do not in fact contain cream or milk but are fruit sherbets. Then there are ice creams made from yogurt. (more…)

Of all Turkey’s delicious sweet confections, the most famous is baklava. This exquisite flavoured pastry has been made in Anatolia for long centuries, and its ancestor may be a dish made by the Assyrians consisting of dried fruit sandwiched between two layers of pastry and baked in the oven. The earliest record of baklava as we know it today locates it in Damascus, from which city it spread to Gaziantep and from there to the rest of Turkey. By the 17th century at least the fame of baklava had spread to Istanbul, since towards the end of that century baklava was being made by the palace cooks as a special treat for the janissaries in Ramazan. The janissaries carried the trays of baklava out of the palace in what was known as the Baklava Procession. (more…)

For those who engaged in culinary pursuits, the Turkish Cuisine is a very, curious one. The variety of dishes that make up the Cuisine, the ways they all come together in feast-like meals, and the evident intricacy of each craft offer enough material for life-long study and enjoyment. It is not easy to discern a basic element or a single dominant feature, like the Italian “pasta” or the French “sauce”. Whether in a humble home, at a famous restaurant, or at a dinner in a Bey’s mansion, familiar patterns of this rich and diverse Cuisine are always present. It is a rare art, which satisfies your senses while reconfirming the higher order of society; community and culture. (more…)

An old Turkish saying advises one to “eat sweetly and speak sweetly”. Sweets and desserts have always been an important and distinctive element of Turkish cuisine. That was true in Ottoman times and is just as true today. Interestingly enough however, they also fulfill an important social and ritual function. Halvah, a confection made from semolina, is offered on the occasion of major changes in people’s lives: a birth, a death, induction into the army, return from pilgrimage, upon settling in a new home, enrolling and graduating school; and also on special occasions such as praying for rain. (more…)

YUNUS EMRE

We know little about the life of Yunus Emre because the sources available to us are precious, scant and uncertain. Almost every significant thing about his life must be drawn from his poems.  

The empire of the great Seljuk Turks, established in Khorassan by the mid-eleventh century, had already expanded its borders to the lands of Anatolia. The Byzantine empire which ruled Anatolia launched the Crusades to preserve its borders against the threat of these Seljuk Turks. The armies of the Crusades were defeated in their battles against them, and the Seljuk Turks established precedence over the Byzantines by conquering Anatolia. Yet shortly afterwards, the empire of the great Seljuk Turks collapsed as the Anatolian state of the Seljuk Turks was formed, while the Crusades still continued. And so not only did Anatolia itself fall into ruin from the ravages of war, but the Anatolian state of the Seljuk Turks was also seriously weakened in spite of their major victory over the armies of the Crusades. (more…)

HACI BEKTASI VELI

Haji Bektashi Veli, united the Christian residents of Anatolia and Turkoman migrants with their educational and developmental activities and played an important role in the formation of cultural unity and central authority in Anatolia. Some holy men migrated to Anatolia, settled on mountains and empty crossroads and opened dervish lodges there. These institutions settled on empty land gradually became centers for culture, development and religious thought. In this manner, religious congregations spread everywhere, rules of morals, good breeding, attitudes and beliefs reached a high standard, knowledge and science were both produced and spread in these centers. The administration encouraged such holy men to settle in villages, and their educational activities gave them some privileges. As a result, even in the most desolate places in Anatolia, dervish lodges emerged, and with the effect of the education they provided, a common cultural structure began to form. (more…)

MEVLANA CELALEDDIN RUMI (1207-1273)

Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi is an Anatolian holy man who gave hope and inspiration to humanity. Mevlana was born in 1207 in Khorasan, and died in 1273 in Konya. He took his first lessons from his father Bahaeddin Veled, who was known as “sultan of scholars”. While he was studying Sufism he met Ahi Sems Tebrizi, and after this meeting his own ideas began to emerge. It is his poems about Sufism, however, for which he is chiefly remembered, respected and admired today. (more…)

Ahmet Yasevi (1093-1166) was born in the town of Sayram in western Turkistan and educated and lived in the towns of Yesi and Bukhara. He is the author of Divan-i Hikmet (Book of Wisdom). Although he knew Arabic and Persian languages, he wrote in Turkish. He followed the line of Ebu Hanife in terms of religion. He also strove to transform the system of “folk piety” which existed among Turks in villages as well as among nomads as a way of religious life into a model for Turkish Sufism. He was successful in merging ancient Turkish wisdom with Islamic concepts. (more…)