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Breakfast is generally served with feta cheese, tea, black
olives and bread. The tea in Turkey is of the highest quality.
People who go down to work early are served with breakfast at their
work places. In summers, dinner is served at eight o’clock. When all
the members of the family are gathered, dinner starts. One by one,
events of the day are shared with each other. It is like talking hub
where issues are shared, remedies are decided, future plans are
discussed, and family matters are resolved. In other words, a dining
table is the ‘headquarter’ of the whole house.
Close associates, friends and relatives, are invited way
ahead of meal time. This is done to allow maximum time being spent
together. The menu for meals depends upon the usage of alcoholic
beverages. Before the main menu is served, meze is spread on the
table to allow guests to warm up for the main course. If the main
course, require some time than offering meze is not a bad option. It
keeps the guests involved.
The sequence of dinner menu is amusing. First of all, soup is
served. Then meat is presented, along with a vegetable dish and
accompanied by traditional Turkish salad. After this, olive oil
courses are served, followed by fruit and dessert. When the guests
are finished with the eating stuff, they are offered traditional
drinks such as tea and coffee. Women have separate get together.
Neighbors and school friends gather for tea at evenings.
Tea is not
served alone; several types of pastries, finger foods and cakes, are
prepared. The key purpose of this gathering is to exchange recipes,
share experience and information about all spheres of life, private
and public. Remedies for family issues are also discussed at these
gatherings. Some women have family problems, which they share, with
their fellows.
In Turkey, the host is required to endure all the hardships
to arrange for a wonderful meal for their guests. That host also
expects the same in return. There are only two situations where the
concept of the host is not applied. One is when a huge amount of
food is prepared together by the community. This is done with
respect to special occasions. Secondly, when the families plan out a
trip, the notion of the host is ignored. When collective meals are
prepared, duties are given early as to who will make dolma, salad
etc.
Sometimes, a weekend trip to Turkish bath is also organized.
Food is prepared a day before, and all the necessary arrangement are
completed before hand. A Medical box is also taken along so as to
avoid any mishap. Morning is spent in bathing. People will then
retire into their rest places where they rest, dry off and eat food
before returning to their homes. Unfortunately, most of these
outings are gone due to the intervention of modern life. The modern
world has chocked the brilliant family life in Turkey. Though, few
families extract some time from their busy routine so as to spend
moments with their family and friends. In bigger occasions, such as
weddings, holidays and ceremonies, a proper feast is arranged.
The food culture in Turkey is an excellent one. It still
prevails in some areas of the countries though it should exist on a
permanent basis.
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