Rob and I are foodies, we LOVE good food! We were very interested to see what food we would encounter - we'd never really eaten Turkish food, at least that we could remember! We enjoyed the food very much! Rob especially enjoyed the fresh fish and more exotic dishes. I enjoyed the spicy dishes - Yum!
While in Istanbul, Rob had sheep intestines called "Kokoreç" as well as some fish he didn't know the name of. I reveled in the gelato and even tried the sheep milk ice cream the area is famous for. We ate breakfast with our group at the hotel each morning (it is always included in the tours). This was an excellent opportunity to get to know our compatriots a bit better and enjoy the fresh fruit, Turkish Yogurt and great coffee!
Lunches were generally on our own, however since we were usually in the midst of a tour event, we ate with our new friends and tried whatever we felt daring enough to taste. There were always excellent places close by to eat at, most of them with an English copy of the menu, thankfully!
Dinners were sometimes as a group and sometimes on our own. We usually teamed up with another 2-6 or more folks and headed out for the evening's entertainment and culinary adventure. We enjoyed the great Turkish wines and even the Turkish National Drink - Raki (pronounced "Rakuu"). It's a licorice flavor and kicks a big punch. The Turks don't drink it as a shot, rather they add it to ice and then add water and sip it throughout the meal. Rob really enjoyed that treat, being a black licorice devotee.
One night one of our group ordered a local dish which is basically a lamb stew cooked in a sealed clay vessel which comes with a delightfully dramatic cooking vessel opening ceremony performed at your table.. One group dinner was at an open air bistro with a secret hidden under the building - there was an excavation going on down there that we went down to explore after dinner. It was softly lit and dated back to pre-Roman times - there's a whole lot of history in Turkey!
Check out this link for more info: https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/greece-turkey/turkey
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