THE SWEET SİDE OF TURKEY

Hi guys, here İ am again!

One month has already passed and too many things happened! İ thought that 30 days were not enough to work and at the same time visit new places, meet new people, discover and be able to get use to new customs and tradition and, last but not least, to feel part of this lively country… but, surprise, they are! I reach the conclusion that you don’t need ages to do everything you wished for, if you are rounded by amazing people! During this short period of time a lot of my habits changed… for example İ think İ am under a strong and healthy addiction to çay (tea in Turkish). In turkey tea is drunk always, and with the world always I am not exaggerating, believe me! 

You can see people in the street sitting and sipping this hot drink…and you would say until that all normal, but then you go to offices, to schools and to rent a sky trucksuit and what do you find? Yes exactly, dispenser of free çay everywhere!The action of drinking tea is meant by Turkish as a ritual; you can even find you tube videos as regards that teach you the correct way to perform it. Tea is usually served in special glass glasses with a round wide bottom and a narrow neck accompanied by a saucer in order to help you to carry the glass without burning yourself. Before starting to sip, even if you don’t put sugar in it, you have to mixed it. Teaspoons hitting the glass make a magic and relaxing sound that echo all around turkey.

Obviously İ did not gain only good habits, in fact İ started to appreciate (a lot) sweet pastry and, as Italian, I cannot do any mention as regards of food. İ discovered that Turkey is famous for its sweet; İ have always loved the test of healthy food and my only weak point was represented by the villain chocolate… then İ tried Künefe and Baklava.

Künefe' is native to the southeastern parts of Turkey that border the Mediterranean sea from where even the best kebab are coming from, but it can be found in different varietion throughout countries in the Mediterranean and Middle East, including Turkey, Lebanon and Syria, where it is known as kunafa, k’nafe or knafeh, among other names.İt is a sin only to look at: crispy fried cheese wrap in a dough soaked in copious amount of sugar syrup, served hot out of the oven so the cheese is soft and stringy and, mostly, with pistachio powder on the top and a rounded scoop of ice cream or Turkish kaymak, clotted cream. Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. This dessert was perfected during the Ottoman Empire after invading Constantinople. Until last century baklava was thought of as a luxury; which only the very wealthy could afford. To this day, it is a very common expression in Turkey that “I am not rich enough to eat baklava every day”. People would bake baklava only on special occasions, and religious events or wedding. 

However, times have changed and İ was invited to eat it at a Turkish friend of mine house at tea break. All the other guest handle it and made disappeared the slice in one bite; and so did İ. You need to eat it really fast because, the lustful amount of syrups required you to lower as more as possible the damage that could be caused to your cloths by the overflowing of the thick sticky liquid. İf you don’t fear sweet food İ strongly invited you to give them a try; İf you do fear sugary food İ, even more fervently, invite you to taste them. İt is an explosion of flavor and energy that blows you up. Food has a strong power on your body, sweet food makes you happier but Künefe and Baklava make your mood explode and are able to change a normal day in an extraordinary one! (İ hope you are not reading this few lines just before lunch!)