roadside attractions

Do you see this epic etli ekmek? It has its own stand! A speciality of the Konya region, etli ekmek is similar to pizza and lahmacun, a meat and bread deliciousness that can apparently stretch to a metre long. This particular one was downed with ayran at a roadside stop next to a gas station on the way to Demirkazık— and just look at this very well-presented Turkish coffee with its bird-sized lokum:



You never know what you might find on the side of the road in Turkey— strictly speaking of food and drink, you could come across anything between a moustached man with a log-burning stove and a kettle of çay, to something like this.

shou helwa

I've been taking advantage of the hot water and home cooking at my mum's house this week, and luckily managed to see my Tante Leyla, who was in town from Lebanon for a few hours before catching a cruise ship to Dubrovnik with her friend. We had enough time for a lightning speed catch-up over a few cups of Turkish coffee and lunch. My aunt is a fantastic reader of coffee grounds. Each time she visits, we go through the ritual of cooking the coffee in its long-handled pot, watching it rise, pouring it into little cups, and sipping it carefully until the grounds are in a glistening, muddy mound at the bottom.

I gulped down the piping hot kahve and thrust the cup into her hands. She flipped it over onto its saucer, set it to dry, and calmly lit a cigarette. When it was ready, she slowly turned the little cup over, raised an eyebrow, and took a long, thoughtful drag from her cigarette.

"Ahhh... shou helwa!" she smiled, and consulted her friend.
"Helwa iktir!" her friend agreed.

In a cloud of smoke and Arabic, I learned that many wonderful things were in store for me. I'll be keeping them my delicious little secrets, as I don't want to jinx the good fortune drawn in my cup. You never know. I am reminded of a quote I read recently by Roald Dahl, one of my all-time favourite writers:

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

fortune in a cup

I love a tradition that involves a hot beverage, imagination and a long chat. When you reach the end of your dainty cup of silty Turkish coffee, it's tradition to flip your cup upside-down on its saucer, and examine the patterns formed by the grounds for signs of love, adventure and money.

I see dancing nudes, the Himalaya, a shirtless bearded man and a sea horse.
What do you see?

tea or coffee?

One of the things I love about about living in Turkey is that there's no shortage of places to caffeinate oneself. From a çay that'll put hair on your chest, to a dark and silty kahve, you never have to look very far for a fix. In both hole-in-the-walls and chic restaurants, Turkish tea is typically served in elegant little tulip-shaped glasses, but you'll often see a man with two thermoses and a stack of small paper cups walking the streets bellowing "Çay!" I love this. I can get a spot of tea on the street for a lira and go about my business. Waiting for a bus? Have a çay! Feel like sitting in the park? Çay!

If tea isn't your thing, you might opt for a strong and muddy kahve. Rich in flavour and thick on your tongue, Turkish coffee is an acquired experience for some. If you can get past the texture, a dainty little cup of kahve is a real treat. Order it in one of either three ways: sade, orta or şekerli— sugarless, medium sweetness or sweet. I like mine somewhere in the middle. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you might get a cup that has been brewed with cardamom— this is more of a Middle Eastern thing and is not common in Turkey— but if you get the chance to try it, ooh you'd better give it a go. It's heavenly.