Planning a Family Trip to Turkey - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 46

particular domates (tomato) and
mercimek (lentil), and dishes
like levrek pilakisi, a hearty stew
made from sea bass with onions,
potatoes, herbs and spices that
will almost inevitably include a
substantial amount of garlic; it is
likely to be served with rice.
B ö rek is another popular dish;
made with yoghurt-rich dough
stuffed with meat, vegetables or
cheese and given its distinctive
flavour with herbs, it is often
served as part of a meze or as the
main ingredient of a meal.
Sigara börek and muska börek
are the names given to smaller
versions.
For snacks or light meals,
Dönar kebabs made with sliced
meat, and @ i @ kebabs, the skew-
ered cube meat type, are popu-
lar. Your children may be
familiar with Dönar and @ i @
kebabs from home, although
they may taste slightly different
as often they are made with
more spices. Desserts are mostly
milk pudding, fruits such as
karpuz (water melon) and kavun
(melon), or pastries made with
nuts or fruit and drenched in
honey or syrup, such as the com-
monest known sweet, baklava.
Drinks are usually red or
white wines, beers and the local
spirit raki, with soft drinks read-
ily available for children. One of
the most popular is vi @ ne, a tasty
cherry drink. Tea, or çay, is a
popular drink and often comes
flavoured. Mint and apple are
popular. Tea is drunk in small
tulip-shaped glasses or cups with
saucers, and always black. Coffee

is usually the strong, flavoursome
Turkish variety known as Türk
kahvesi and although delicious
can be an acquired taste. Ask for
it sade (plain), orta if you want
it with a little sugar, or @ ekerli
if you want it very sweet.
International coffee can usually
be found in the cities and tourist
areas.

Entertainment
Be sure to catch some of the tra-
ditional forms of entertainment
while in Turkey.

Dances

The order of Mevlevi, otherwise
known as the Whirling
Dervishes , perform an age-old
dance in traditional dress at
shows throughout the country,
but in particular the Anatolia
region. The dance is accompa-
nied by the military style music
of the mehter takymy known as a
Janissary band, which performs
using clarinets, cymbals, kettle
drums and the 'reed pipe'. The
Whirling Dervishes can trace
their origins back to the 13th
century when they were founded
by Sufimystic, Celaleddin Rumi,
also known as Mevlana. Other
traditional dances typify parties,
festivals or celebrations in the
towns and villages. Many areas
have their own folk dances. The
horon dance , for instance, origi-
nated in the Black Sea region,
the hora in the Marmara region
and the halya dance in the east
and southeast.

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