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Turkish delights Tuba Satana, a local food and travel blogger, selects her favourite food hotspots across the country

PHOTOGRAPHY TUBA SATANA

URKEY HAS You’ll also find some of the city’s everything from most wonderful food in sizzling street unpretentious tradesmen’s food to fantastic restaurants, with an emphasis on T fine dining. It home-cooked meals and . may vary across For me, the best food is cooked at the country – they eat green home, so if you’re lucky enough food in the north and red in to be invited to a family dinner, the south – but one important accept immediately. factor remains constant: the The even more adventurous superb quality. should look out for the delicacy In , Turkey’s largest kokoreç (lamb’s intestines city, you can expect to find local cooked on charcoal), which is specialties such as served from a cart leaving the (circular with most seductive smell in its wake. seeds), roasted and But if all that sounds like too boiled corn. Istanbul’s streets much trouble, delicious döner smell of freshly baked bread, stands, (-thin pide (stuffed ) and dough with meat) shops and borek (a thin pastry filled with houses are easily found or minced meat), and is dotted throughout Turkey. brought to life by dazzling open Hungry? Let’s dig into a markets, home to butchers, selection of the tastiest treats fishmongers and shops. across the country…

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SPICE WORLD Dried peppers waiting to be filled with rice, mince meat and in

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ISTANBUL You can sample cuisine from the whole of Turkey here, but for great local cooking, head to Kantin (30 Akkavak Sokag˘ı, +90 212 219 3114, kantin.biz) in the fashionable Nis¸antas¸ı district for lunch and Lokanta Maya (35A Kemankes¸ Caddesi, +90 212 252 6884, lokantamaya. blogspot.com) at Karaköy – where the menu is seasonal and GETTING A BIT SAUCY Gaziantep's famous , changes daily – for dinner. The lettuce and green pepper tradesmen’s restaurant, S¸ahin with a secret blend of spices is served in restaurants at lunch Lokantası (11A Orhan Adli Apaydın Sk, Beyog˘lu, +90 212 244 2543) is also recommended GET STUFFED You'll find pide, a Turkish for traditional fare. flatbread, pictured here filled Seafood lovers should make with ricotta, and , at most of Istanbul's bakeries a beeline for Balıkçı Sabahattin (1 Seyit Hasan Kuyu Sokak, Cankurtaran, +90 212 458 1824, balikcisabahattin.com) and Giritli (Keresteci Hakkı Sokak, Armada Otel Yanı, Cankurtaran, +90 212 458 2270, giritlirestoran. com) in Eminönü, a peninsula steeped in history. You can’t leave Istanbul without sampling a meyhane or traditional Turkish bar that also serves mezze – and the street Asmalı Cavit, in Beyog˘lu, is filled with them. And for the best – known as lokum – in the city, S¸ekerci Cafer Erol (sekercicafererol.com) has been serving the sweet for four generations.

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TO MARKET, TO MARKET Red carrots are just some of the fresh, seasonal fruit and veg you can pick up at Bodrum's Milas market

˙ and Milas and you’ll discover IZMIR TURKISH PIE Locals here start their days exciting seasonal fruit, Borek, a thin pastry that can be filled with cheese, minced with , a pastry largely vegetables, oil, , meat or vegetables, is a popular sold on the streets of Izmir. homemade , bread, snack all over Turkey Served plain is the favourite, but and wild, green edible herbs. they also come filled with meat, Kortan Restaurant (32 cheese or spinach. If there’s any Cumhuriyet Cad, +90 252 316 room left, try a kumru, a warm 1300, kortanrestaurant.com) sandwich stuffed with loads of overlooking Bodrum Castle charcuterie and cheese from has been serving excellent fish trendy S¸evki (9 Cengiz Topel and seafood for over 30 years. Cad, +90 232 330 8600), at And if a night of dancing at Kars¸ıyaka. The sautéed liver the open-air Küba Bar (Neyzen at Cig˘erci Zarif (67 S¸ehit Fethi Tevfik Cad, +90 252 313 4450) Bey Bulvarı, Pasaport, +90 232 has whetted your appetite, 445 7526) must also be eaten Liman Köftecisi (172 Neyzen to be believed. Tevfik Caddesi, Western Bay, +90 252 316 5060) is the place BODRUM to go for a and a glass of Visit the local food markets in rakı (the local, anise-flavoured and around Bodrum, Yalıkavak, spirit) by the seafront.

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WANT CHILLI SAUCE? It's a , but not as you know it back home

MARMARIS (Kaya Köyü Turunç Pınarı AND FETHIYE Mevki, +90 542 262 1879). The best way to start your The wholesale market hall is day in Marmaris is to take a also a trendy place to visit and boat cruise, diving into the eyeball the daily catch. inviting turquoise sea. And make sure you don’t miss Having worked up a sailor’s out on those roadside gözleme appetite, drop anchor at Liman stalls, for delicious herb and Restaurant (40 Sokak 38, cheese-filled dough layers, +90 252 412 6336) inside the cooked on special metal plates. Turkish bazaar for fine soup and bug˘ulama (steamed fish), ANTALYA or visit Kordon Balık Restaurant For a real taste of Antalya, (56 Yas¸ar Aytaç Sok, +90 252 pop into S¸is¸çi Ramazan’ın Yeri 243 5251) – known as I˙smail (44 Yener Ulusoy Bulvarı, Usta’nin Yeri – where great +90 242 242 6637) and sample ingredients are the key. some delicious köfte and Tranquil, beautiful Fethiye is (salad). Have a sweet also a haven for food lovers. For HOT FROM THE OVEN tooth? Why not finish your meal A local baker serves up starters, you’ll never have your lahmacun, the Turkish with a caramelised ice fill of the heavenly slipper equivalent of pizza, cream at Zamora (55 Cebesoy lobster pasta at Osman’ın Yeri in Gaziantep Cd, +90 242 322 3632).

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ANTIOCH Sample local delicacies such as kaytaz böreg˘i (savoury pastry with minced meat) and kag˘it kebabi (oven-roasted lamb with cheese) at Sultan Sofrası (20A Istiklal Cad, +90 326 213 8759, sultansofrasi.com). For dessert, order a künefe (a vermicelli-like pastry with a sweet cheese filling) at Çınaraltı (90 Carsi Cad, Kuzguncuk, +90 216 553 7385) or a haytalı (a flour pudding-based dessert served with ice cream and rose water) at Affan Kahvesi (42 Kurtulus Caddesi, +90 326 215 1248, affankahvesi.com) while watching the local men playing backgammon or reading papers. GAZIANTEP NICE TO MEAT YOU A plate of freshly grilled Start your day bright and early kebabi is dished up at Ali around 6am with a cartlak Haydar Usta in Gaziantep kebabı (liver kebab grilled on charcoal) at Cartlak kebabı, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Ali Haydar Usta (Köprübas¸ı Sk. Food is not the only thing to indulge in at Affan Kahvesi Kaleatı, S¸ahinbey). Alternatively, in Antioch - you'll also spot for something sweeter – and locals playing backgammon more western – at that hour, a katmer (hand-stretched dough filled with , sugar and butter) from Zekeriya Usta (16C/D Çukur Mh. Körükcü Sok. B Hilmi Gecidi, +90 342 230 09 71, katmercizekeriya.com) will surely hit the spot. Gaziantep is also renowned for its spicy tomato and divine . Stock up on the latter at Koçak (Budak Mah, 3 S¸ehit Mehmet Özgil Sok, +90 342 321 0519, kocakbaklava. com) to bring a taste of Turkey back home with you.

GETTING THERE For more about Turkey visit your local Thomas Cook or Going Places store, call +44 (0)844 412 5966 or

READ TUBA'S BLOG AT ISTANBULFOOD.COM READ TUBA'S BLOG AT visit thomascook.com

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