Kilometer 3382: Turkish way of sharing a meal
I’m not entirely sure whether the houses which host us fill up with people all of a sudden due to the hazelnut season, for the weekend, because we are there, or they just fill up with people regularly.
Breakfast in a Turkish home will include fried potatoes, an omelet, the sweetest tomatoes you have ever tasted, cucumbers, olives, jam – everything homemade and home grown – followed by cheese, bread, countless glasses of tea served regularly from two pots – one with brew and the other one with boiling water, a table that works as one big common plate, all household members, their families and half of the neighbours. The mom will make sure that you are comfortable and place a cushion on your chair, the brother will take care of your glass, so that you never run out of tea and the grandma – like a grandma – will put a second bowl of potatoes right up your face and tell the sister to go fry more eggs.
Everything is going on at once during dinner in a Turkish home. Lentil soup is washed down by ayran, a refreshing salty yoghurt-like drink, followed by bread, watermelon, beans served in five ways, potatoes served in three ways, stuffed peppers, fried peppers, braised peppers and a tomato and cucumber salad – all eaten in any order. And they said that vegetarians have a tough life here! Everyone is grabbing everything and reaching to the other side of the table with their forks. And then of course – Queen Tea enters the patio overlooking Kara Deniz – the Black Sea. After two glasses, the left-wing aunt starts screaming very loudly at the right-wing cousin. The rest of the family is observing this show with amusement and implies to us that it’s a fixed point on the agenda. Water carries sound. Crimea could probably hear the aunt quite well.
Food is a worldwide language.