Turkish Cuisine is one of the three main cuisines of the world together with French and Chinese. Turkish cuisine, like its cultural mosaic, is very colorful and contains countless different tastes. This land, which first hosted Byzantine then Ottoman Empires, does not have a mutual food culture.

Different tastes in every region contribute to the complexity of Turkish cuisine. For example, due to heavy rains, the eastern black sea region is not appropriate for wheat production; therefore they specialized in dishes which rely mostly on corn and corn flour. The Southeast Anatolian region is famous for Kebaps, as a result of its abundant livestock. The Aegean region, known for its olive production, is famous for its delicious olive oiled vegetables and herbs while pastries are the monopoly of Thrace. Istanbul cuisine combines the most delicious flavors of each region.

This section will provide you with the best recipes for homemade Turkish dishes and introduce you to the restaurants famous for their Turkish cuisine. Though restaurants specializing in Turkish cuisine in Istanbul and Ankara are listed in our Yellow Pages, this section will feature a different restaurant each month.

Now we wish to mention two useful idioms that should not be forgotten: First, as most of you know, before eating it is common to say Afiyet Olsun which essentially is the same as saying Bon Apetit, secondly, to complement the chef, it is polite and customary to say Elinize Sağlık which means "health to your hands", but is interpreted as meaning "very delicious, well done".